Team Foundation Server - Source Control Integration

[Michael Bulgrien]

Wow! What can I say? I love it! Today was my first day really exercising BC3 with Source Control Integration enabled. Being asked if I want to check out a file on edit is so cool. Yes, other IDEs do it...but to do it from Beyond Compare itself is great! No more BC comparing and merging all day long then trying to check out your changes at the very end. Way to go Scooter team!

Now, if you can just get BC3 to change to a new TFS workspace when you open a different controlled directory, that would be sweet.

[outbred]

How did you get TFS to integrate with BC3? It is not detecting TFS as my source control provider...

[Michael Bulgrien]

You need to have the Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=87e1ffbd-a484-4c3a-8776-d560ab1e6198&displaylang=en) installed.

[outbred]

Worked like a charm...

[bc3tech]

anybody noticed they are getting the attached error now?

The only link i can find to it is my recent integration of this in to my BC3 installation.

[Michael Bulgrien]

No, but just in case it applies,
here's the link for the Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=faeb7636-644e-451a-90d4-7947217da0e7).

[Aaron]

Let us know if you are still having trouble after looking at Michael's link.

[bc3tech]

Let us know if you are still having trouble after looking at Michael's link.
problem persists - the link he gave appears to be the same as what i have installed. i was presented with "repair / remove" options and chose "repair" then re-configured BC for SCI, error message has returned.

[Aaron]

We haven't had any other reports of this error. What steps and circumstances cause this error to pop up?

Do you think a fresh uninstall/install would help rather than a repair? (I am hesitant to recommend it since I'm not sure how much work it would take).

[bc3tech]

We haven't had any other reports of this error. What steps and circumstances cause this error to pop up?

Do you think a fresh uninstall/install would help rather than a repair? (I am hesitant to recommend it since I'm not sure how much work it would take).
We appear to have found the cause, although the "workaround" is not a solution at all.

We (everybody on our development team) sees this error when we configure Source Control Integration within BC such that when you make a change to a file under your source control root on the local hard drive, an automatic checkout can be done.
If we so much as load any file under the source tree, this error shows whether the file is checked in/out. Upon removing the association to the source control provider so this functionality isn't available, the error goes away.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Did you happen to find and read this forum post:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=139

Do you have the proper version of .Net installed for the msscci? Which versions of Visual Studio/TFS are you running? Under what OS?

[bc3tech]

Hello,

Did you happen to find and read this forum post:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=139

Do you have the proper version of .Net installed for the msscci? Which versions of Visual Studio/TFS are you running? Under what OS?

no i hadn't seen that post.

Keep in mind i don't have any problems w/ getting bc3 to execute from visual studio, that integration is working fine. It's the integration allowing bc3 to check out files from w/in itself when i make changes to one during a compare/merge. Enabling that gets me this error msg, disabling it makes it go away.

I am running on Windows7 now which, from what i've been seeing, doesn't cause things to behave that much more different than Vista - i will try the 2008 scci on Monday and update this thread. Thanks for the link.

[Michael Bulgrien]

I decided to retest the source control integration with Visual Studio Team Foundation Server due to the problems reported in this thread... and due to the fact that I wanted to test the Source Control Integration in a cross-domain scenario.


In BC3 I opened Tools \ Source Control Integration...
Under the "Enter path to add a new association" text box I entered the Local Folder exactly as defined under one of my defined Workspaces in Visual Studio Source Control Explorer.
I was prompted for and specified which Team Foundation Server to use since I have two defined under the Tools \ Connect to Team Foundation Server... option in Visual Studio (one 2005 TFS Server and one 2008 TFS Server). If you are not prompted, you can click the Configure... button on the BC3 Source Control Explorer dialog to trigger the functionality.
The Team Foundation Server I specified is on another domain with a one-way trust (the domain that TFS Server is on trusts the domain that my current windows login is on, but not visa versa). I was prompted for and entered the password of my alternate credentials on the other domain.
After completing the setup of my Source Control Integration, I launched a compare of two files under source control from a BC3 folder compare session and merged a line of code from one file into the other.
I launched a compare of two files under source control from a BC3 folder compare session and merged a line of code from one file into the other.
I returned to the folder compare session and used the Source Control context menu to Check Out... the file that I changed.
I used the Source Control context menu to Check In... the file that I changed. This launched a dialog that prompted me for comments, which were then passed on to a spawned check-in dialog from Visual Studio.

Note: I had the latest version of the file that I changed, checked out, then checked in. I did not attempt to check-out an older version of a file, so I cannot speak to what would happen in that scenario. That being said, I did not experience any errors during any step of my test.

Observations for the Scooter Team:

While playing around with the Source Control Integration, I did experience some occasional slowness and painting issues that was related to BC3 waiting for a response from the cross-domain TFS Server. I did not consider this to be an error.
If I opened the Source Control context menu immediately after checking out a file, the "Check Out..." option was still enabled, and the "Check In..." and "Undo Check Out" options were still disabled. Closing the context menu and opening it again caused the options to be updated to reflect the true status of the file. Again, I did not consider this to be an error...just a timing issue with room for improvement. In my opinion, if a user has checked out a file, BC3 should update the status immediately or disable all options (including the Check Out option) until it has verified the new status of the file.
I have more than one workspace defined in Visual Studio Source Control Explorer. If I define multiple entries in the BC3 Source Control Integration (one for each defined workspace) then BC3 only manages one of the workspaces per session. In other words if I compare two folders, each under a different source control workspace, the source control context menu only comes up for one side of the compare even though both sides are under source control. I've reported this issue before. It would be nice if BC3 had the ability to switch workspaces on-the-fly. In other words, if the user activates a folder compare pane that points to a different folder under Source Control Integration (i.e. a path under a different Source Control association but using the same TFS server) BC3 should disconnect from the TFS server then reconnect to activate the integration for the new workspace. Note that workspaces cannot overlap...so no local folder will ever fall under two different TFS workspaces.

Feedback to bc3tech

...we configure Source Control Integration within BC such that when you make a change to a file under your source control root on the local hard drive, an automatic checkout can be done.

How are you performing this configuration? I've never configured BC3 to automatically check out a file when it changes...nor have I seen an obvious option to do so...is this really a BC3 configuration, or a Visual Studio configuration? Perhaps this is the key to why you are experiencing an error, and I am not...???

Scooter: What is the "Display silent check out command in menus" option on the Source Control Integration dialog? When and how should it be used?

[Michael Bulgrien]

...if the user activates a folder compare pane that points to a different folder under Source Control Integration (i.e. a path under a different Source Control association but using the same TFS server) BC3 should disconnect from the TFS server then reconnect to activate the integration for the new workspace...

Admittedly, automatically disconnecting from and re-connecting to a TFS server when a user changes panes might be time consuming and potentially annoying if a user is not changing panes for the purpose of performing source-control activity against another workspace... so another idea is to show the Source Control context menu under the other side with a single sub-item:
Activate Source Control Workspace
This would let the user control which workspace should be active for that session and switch between them at will (as can be done in Visual Studio Source Control Explorer).

Again, the way to determine if a TFS workpace needs to change is to compare the path of the new folder compare pane with the paths defined under the BC3 Source Control Integration dialog. If the base folder falls under a different association, then that pane is out of context with the currently active TFS workspace. BC3 must reconnect to TFS to activate the workspace associated with the new folder compare pane before the user can perform any source control activity from the context menu.

[Michael Bulgrien]

anybody noticed they are getting the attached error now?

The Error and Event Messages in Team Foundation (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa337645(VS.80).aspx) documentation shows your reported error to be a Team Foundation Server error message:

TF30073: The string must have at least one character.

Please verify if you get this error when doing source control activity from a Beyond Compare 3 folder compare session, from Visual Studio 2008 Source Control Explorer, or in some other way.

Also, if you are not aware of it, the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Power Tools (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=fbd14eea-781f-45a1-8c46-9f6ba2f68bf0) now include TFS Windows Shell Extensions that allow you to perform source control activity from the Windows Explorer context menu. Please note that the TFS Windows Shell Extensions are not installed by default. Choose Custom when prompted at installation to add the tool to the installed components.

I do not have the TFS Windows Shell Extensions enabled on my system. I do not know if enabling them will affect the Beyond Compare 3 Source Control Integration, but thought you might be interested in the availablility of this option.

[bc3tech]

I start beyond compare, and go to the SCI options area. Then I add my Source control project mapping, see "ss1.jpg" and "ss2.jpg"

then i do a comparison w/ files under my source control tree. I am prompted to connect to a TFS server the first time, see "ss3.jpg"
and then am immediately greeted w/ the problem addressed by this thread, see "ss4.jpg," on each and every comparison involving a file under the source tree from here on out

If i disable SCI, i am able to compare the same files w/ no error prompts.

If indeed this is an error thrown to us by TFS, then I am curious as to what's causing it. Our entire development team has no source control issues w/ either VS.net 2005, 2008, 2010, or the TFS powertools shell extension. BC is the only one that exhibits this behavior.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Is it a conflict between BC3 integration and the TFS Windows Shell Extensions? Have you tested it on a system that does not have the TFS Windows Shell Extensions in place?

[bc3tech]

Is it a conflict between BC3 integration and the TFS Windows Shell Extensions? Have you tested it on a system that does not have the TFS Windows Shell Extensions in place?
uninstalled shell extensions, re-set up BC3, same thing happens.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Can you create and email your BCSupport package (Help menu -> Support; Export) to support@scootersoftware.com

Please include a link to this forum post, and make sure the Support package includes your BCPrefs.xml. If it does not include the BCPrefs.xml you should be able to manually get it by going to the Help menu -> Support; click the blue link to Explore your settings folder, then grab it from there.

[fpdave]

has this issue been resolved as I also get the error message

"The string must have at least one character.
Parameter name: name"

every time, after a (hidden under VS) popup asking for my TFS server.

[Aaron]

I tried searching for an email from this registered user but did not find one.

Are you using the latest BC3 install (3.1.7)? Were you able to try some of the above troubleshooting steps? Such as trying it on another machine, or one without TFS Windows Shell extensions?

[gezza]

I have this issue too. Have read all the previous posts and seem to have done everything I can think of.
I am using VS2008 TS - but also have VS2005 installed for older projects. Our TFS server appears to still be at version 2005 (not upgraded to 2008).

I have tried installing (mutually exclusively) both "Visual Studio Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider" (VS 2005) and "Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider". I set up the workspace from the tools menu.
In both cases when from Windows Explorer I try to compare two files in the workspace folder tree I get a little message box saying:

"The string must have at least one character.
Parameter name: name" [OK]

After clicking OK there are no context-menu options or anything to allow source control manipulation.
Comparing files outside the workspace folder causes no problems....

Is there a resolution for this issue yet ?

[Michael Bulgrien]

I have never been able to reproduce this problem. Is it possible that you are running TFS in workgroup authentication mode? Do you have to enter your user credentials every time you open Source Control Explorer?

If you've installed TFS on a server that not part of an Active Directory domain, then perhaps your user credentials are not being authenticated properly.

Windows (XP/Vista/2003) has a feature that allows you to store a "network credential" in the OS for servers you access. If you have TFS running in workgroup authentication mode, try this:

1. Go to: Windows Start menu | Control Panel | User Accounts
2. You should see the User Accounts dialog. Select your user ID
3. Click on Advanced Tab -> Manage Passwords
4. Click on Add, provide the TFS server name, your user ID and Password, click OK.

[bc3tech]

I have never been able to reproduce this problem. Is it possible that you are running TFS in workgroup authentication mode? Do you have to enter your user credentials every time you open Source Control Explorer?no. this is our corporate domain.

[fpdave]

I also have this issue.
I have TFS 2008, VS 2008, I'ce def'ly got the 2008 MSSCCI, and get exactly the same error message and no src control integration, which is very annoying.
I'm running on Vista 64bit, and in a corporate domain, and dont get asked for a log in to the TFS src control.

[lioncall]

Same issue here. Windows 7 64bit, VS 2008, 2008 MSSCCI, corporate domain. Using 3.1.10 (build 11626).

[JimW]

Is this the root cause? This work-around worked for me.

I recently moved to Windows 7 and VS2010 from Vista and VS2005 and started getting the "string must have..." error since the new box had different mappings. I found that if I mapped to the root of TFS I would get the error (e.g. Project = $/) If I switched to mapping to subprojects (e.g. $/Projects and $/Prod, etc.) the error went away and I could use source control in BC.

I switched back and forth and could easily re-create the problem if $/ was mapped.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Is this the root cause?

Thanks Jim... perhaps that will turn out to be the common thread. I've never seen the error on my system... but then again... I've never mapped directly to the TFS root.

[bc3tech]

Is this the root cause? This work-around worked for me.

I recently moved to Windows 7 and VS2010 from Vista and VS2005 and started getting the "string must have..." error since the new box had different mappings. I found that if I mapped to the root of TFS I would get the error (e.g. Project = $/) If I switched to mapping to subprojects (e.g. $/Projects and $/Prod, etc.) the error went away and I could use source control in BC.

I switched back and forth and could easily re-create the problem if $/ was mapped.
nice troubleshooting... however what are we expected to do if we work w/in multiple projects of TFS? kind of a pain to keep switching it if you're BC'ing between the projects. But maybe it'll give the scooter guys something to check out and get this thing solved once & for all :)

[Michael Bulgrien]

what are we expected to do if we work w/in multiple projects of TFS? kind of a pain to keep switching it if you're BC'ing between the projects.

I agree. That is precisely why I made the following recommendation earlier in this thread (http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=19570):



Observations for the Scooter Team:
... ... I have more than one workspace defined in Visual Studio Source Control Explorer. If I define multiple entries in the BC3 Source Control Integration (one for each defined workspace) then BC3 only manages one of the workspaces per session. In other words if I compare two folders, each under a different source control workspace, the source control context menu only comes up for one side of the compare even though both sides are under source control. I've reported this issue before. It would be nice if BC3 had the ability to switch workspaces on-the-fly. In other words, if the user activates a folder compare pane that points to a different folder under Source Control Integration (i.e. a path under a different Source Control association but using the same TFS server) BC3 should disconnect from the TFS server then reconnect to activate the integration for the new workspace. Note that workspaces cannot overlap...so no local folder will ever fall under two different TFS workspaces.

Additional comments were appended in this post (http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=19571).

[John Boncek]

As far as I can tell, no one ever responded to this part of Michael's post:


Scooter: What is the "Display silent check out command in menus" option on the Source Control Integration dialog? When and how should it be used?

This has mystified me also. The only references I find to "silent" in the Help have to do with scripting. I've tried checking this box and don't see any difference. Thanks for your assistance.

John Boncek

[Craig]

Scooter: What is the "Display silent check out command in menus" option on the Source Control Integration dialog? When and how should it be used?

It controls whether the "Checkout" command in the "File" and "Actions" menus prompts before checking out files. Some source control providers will allow you to add a checkout message or have an advanced dialog. If that option is checked BC will just checkout the files without prompting.

If a source control system doesn't have either of those dialogs then the option is ignored.

[darkfader]

I wrote a small cmd script to update BC3 source control mappings from TFS.
You need the Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider of course.
Close Beyond Compare before running because it updates the xml configuration file.
I hope this is useful to someone.

[dannward]

Our IT team recently migrated our TFS environment to a new server, and in their infinite wisdom, changed the structure of the URL from

http://tfs.blah.com:8080 (which worked with BC3 and power tool extensions) to http://tfs.blah.com:8080/tfs. The BC3 SCC configuration menu does not let me enter a complete URL to the server, only the servername and port.
Any ideas how to get this working?