How To Get TFS Power Tool Check-in Policies for VS2005 to Work with VS2008 (Orcas)

edhintz — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:54:02 GMT

The current TFS Power Tools support TFC/VS 2005 only. However, there are beta customers of VS2008 (aka Orcas) who want to use the check-in policies from the TFS Power Tools.

With a few manual steps (below) you can get the TFS Power Tool Check-in policies to work with VS2008 and observe how .Net binding redirects work as a bonus. I've only done some basic ad-hoc testing with this approach, so standard disclaimers apply. This is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confer no rights. No need to consult a physician first, but please back up where stated to back up.

Place Check-in Policy Assemblies

If your client machine has TFS 2005 installed, you can install the Power Tool setup as normal (if you have not already). If your machine only has TFC/VS2008, then you will need to find a machine that has VS 2005 installed, install the Power Tools, then copy the following binaries

Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ChangesetComments.dll

Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.CustomPathPolicy.dll

Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ForbiddenPatternsPolicy.dll

Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.WorkItemQueryPolicy.dll

For the rest of the steps, we'll use the same default location where the Power Tools install as the location for these check-in policies, namely,

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005 Power Tools\Check-in Policy Pack

Modify Registry so VS2008 (Orcas) Can Find The Policies

Edit the text below and put it in a .reg file. Be sure to replace the path to your installed path if is is not the same as shown below.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\TeamFoundation\SourceControl\Checkin Policies]
"Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.WorkItemQueryPolicy"="C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005 Power Tools\\Check-in Policy Pack\\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.WorkItemQueryPolicy.dll"
"Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ChangesetComments"="C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005 Power Tools\\Check-in Policy Pack\\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ChangesetComments.dll"
"Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.CustomPathPolicy"="C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005 Power Tools\\Check-in Policy Pack\\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.CustomPathPolicy.dll"
"Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ForbiddenPatternsPolicy"="C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005 Power Tools\\Check-in Policy Pack\\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.PowerTools.CheckinPolicies.ForbiddenPatternsPolicy.dll"

Set Binding Redirects in DevEnv.Exe.Config

Since the TFS Power Tool Check-in policy assemblies reference the 8.0 assemblies, we need to configure devenv.exe to use the 9.0 assemblies whenever the 8.0 assemblies are referenced. Here is how you do that.

1. Close all instances of devenv.exe

2. Find where VS2008 (Orcas) devenv.exe is installed. Typically

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE

3. Backup the existing devenv.exe.config file

4. Edit devenv.exe.config by adding the following in the <runtime><assemblyBinding> section:

5. Save devenv.exe.config

Restart Visual Studio 2008 (Orcas)

Restart Visual Studio 2008 (Orcas) and the Power Tool check-in policies will be available.

Check-in Policy Compatibility between TFC 2005 and 2008

edhintz — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:28:00 GMT

A frequent question among TFC 2008 beta customers is about check-in policy compatability. Will check-in policies work across TFC 2005 and 2008?

The answer is that evaluation works across versions in both directions, but editing the policy definition only works in one direction (TFC 2008 can edit a TFC 2005 policy but TFC 2005 cannot edit a 2008 policy).

Policy Version Added	Evaluate Policy		Edit Policy
	2005	2008	2005	2008
2005	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2008	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

Policies are enforced on the client and require the proper assemblies to be installed on the client. If you have a custom or 3rd party check-in policy that works with TFC 2005, you will need a TFC 2008 version of the policy installed on TFC 2008 machines.

What about the popular Power Tool Check-in Policies?