I'm very pleased to announce that the wait is over. Today the first official update for SourceSafe 2005 went live on the web . Download away -- it's only 3.5MB. To quickly bring new readers up to date: this update is a rollup of 64 VSS bug fixes . We focused hard on customer pain points; almost 3/4 of...

My post about VS 2008 and the SourceSafe CTP generated lots of questions . I'll do my best to answer all of them. Q: Why wasn't this information in the VS2008 README? A: It should have been. It was definitely in the Orcas Beta1 and Beta2 READMEs. I haven't checked the RTM copy but if it was missing then...

Just a quick note to let you know that I've updated the list again. To recap: you can get fixes #1-57 today via the CTP build. English only, I'm afraid. The final GDR ships later this year in all supported languages (English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish).

You've probably all seen Soma's announcement that the 2008 suite of products officially shipped this morning. Good luck downloading -- our servers are pegged :) If you plan to use VS 2008 with SourceSafe, make sure to pick up the Update CTP too. Without it, some features like "Open from Source Control...

When you run Get on a folder (aka project) in VSS Explorer, you're presented with these options: (if you don't get this dialog, try holding Shift) Most of the options are obvious, but not "build tree" -- at least not to me. The online help explains it thusly: Projects only. Overrides the working folders...

One of the changes made between VSS 6.0 and 2005 was to replace ancient file dialogs with common dialogs from the Windows Shell wherever possible. Check out the 6.0 version of Set Working Folder : It just screams "Win 3.1", complete with floppy diskette icon in the dropdown. By contrast, if you install...

I've been on vacation the last two weeks, and was silent for several weeks before that. Lots of things from that time stretch I want to share. Most notably, we wrapped up the promised "VSS GDR CTP". Brian Harry was kind enough to announce its RTW in my absence (including an all-too-necessary jab at its...

We finally have a name. Last time I blogged about the future of SourceSafe , I had to constantly refer to "the next servicing release." No more. That next release will officially be a "GDR" -- and it's coming sooner than you think. Some brief history on Developer Division nomenclature. Hotfixes are one...

Solution Explorer isn't working the way I expect. How do I fix it? In TFS, the answer is usually quite simple, because TFS uses workspaces to do most of the dirty work. So if you're familiar with our workspace model, a quick behind-the-scenes tour of solution binding should equip you to solve most problems...

"I've written an app using IVSS . Why won't it start?" This question has come up a few times. Unfortunately, Dependency Walker can't answer it. And the issue probably won't reproduce on the developer's machine if he has the full SourceSafe 2005 installed. So let's spell it out: regsvr32 /s ssapi.dll...

Many of you have wondered aloud when VSS 2005 SP1 will finally arrive. I can't answer that yet, because the answer may be "never." Fortunately, that's just semantics, as we'll see in a moment. I do have some information for you today -- all of it good -- as well as a way you can help. Why "the next SourceSafe...

Power users should be familiar with the great work Alin did during his time on the SourceSafe team. He was one of the most active forum participants and compiled a great set of tips on his personal website . Not to mention his extensive development on the product itself. Until now, his website was...

The rules for U.S. daylight savings time are changing in 2007 . SourceSafe cares about time zones, so you should too. Complete details are in KB article 931804 . To quote one section heading, " If you do not update the servers and client computers, you may lose check-in information ". There, do I have...

I want to expand on the Microsoft support lifecycle policy I mentioned before. To reiterate, VSS 2005 gets "mainstream" support for quite some time while 6.0 will enter "extended" this July. I won't repeat everything in the support doc (read it!). Bottom line, the bar for non-security hotfixes to 6.0...

Amid all the furor over Whidbey SP1 and the forthcoming Vista GDR , there hasn't been any statement on what it all means for SourceSafe users. Rest assured we have some official KB articles in the works. But I think it's important to share this info with the community as soon as possible -- if anything...

As most SourceSafe users have probably discovered by now, TFS does not get the latest version of a file on checkout. I've seen the online debates continue long after we shipped, but as far as I'm concerned Doug Neumann ( by way of Buck ) and Ed Hintz wrote the definitive explanations last year. Meanwhile...

On the Microsoft forums , that is...no, I didn't suddenly eclipse Raymond . As you probably haven't noticed, this blog has lain dormant for 18 months. (if blog with no readers falls by the wayside, does it make a sound?) Meanwhile, the last 11 months have seen a wild experiment in direct customer interaction...