Team Foundation Sidekicks

Team Foundation Sidekicks version 1.1 is released

A new version of Team Foundation Sidekicks is released today. Version 1.1 introduces new History Sidekick, as well as a brand new user interface concept. From now on, all Sidekicks will be accessible from a single application, not requiring you to download and install multiple apps to gain access to all of the Workspace, Status, and the new History Sidekick features.

Version 1.1 of the Team Foundation Sidekicks can be downloaded here.

The following is a list of the new features in this release, along with a couple of screenshots that show-off new UI:

General

• Log on to TFS by either specifying a user-name and password or using the current-user credentials
• Uniform GUI environment for accessing many hard to find features for TFS administration

History Sidekick

• Search item (file or folder) by name using wildcards and select found item in version control tree
• View selected item history either for all users or filtered by user
• Compare file versions selected in history
• View selected item's branches tree and selected branch properties
• View selected item's merge history; it is possible to view separately all merges performed with selected item as a merge target (merges to) or with selected item as a source (merges from)
• Compare merge target and source file versions in history
• View selected item merge candidates in a tree view; it is possible to select single merge source from the list
• Compare merge candidate file version with latest version of target file
• View selected item labels either for all users or filtered by user; the information displayed includes item version in label
• Compare file versions between two labels

Status Sidekick

• View tree of pending changes filtered by specific user name (user may be selected from list of valid users), TFS project name  and change creation date range
• View lock icon indication in pending changes tree to easily identify locks
• Customize detailed list format and export list to CSV file
• Unlock one or more locked files/folders
• Undo one or more pending changes on files/folders

Workspace Sidekick

• Workspaces may be viewed either in sortable detailed list or in list grouped by name, computer or owner
• View selected workspace details and folder mappings
• Add new folder mapping to selected workspace
• Delete selected workspace folder mappings
• Duplicate selected workspace mappings to one or more new workspaces (allows specifying owner user and computer for multiple new workspaces simultaneously)

Click here for Team Foundation Server Sidekicks product page.

The functionality in this release is based on feature requests we have received through our clients, as well as requests expressed in public TFS forums. Feel free to comment on your experience with the application or let us know what you would like to see in the next release.

What the heck is Harvest?

Today I would like to touch upon the topic somewhat unrelated to TFS, that of application in many aspects similar to TFS but one that has been around for ages. No, not ClearCase; I am talking about Computer Associates Harvest Change Manager. There is a good reason for that too (since we have recently released Harvest related utility application into a public domain).

To make the things shorter and somewhat entertaining - for those who think that there were no commercial life-cycle and configuration management applications before ClearCase or PVCS, Harvest (called then CCC Harvest - for Configuartion and Change Control) was there in 1977! The application parent company changed several times but the tool is still on the market and is currently version 7.1.

Personally I have been working with Harvest since version 3.0 (back there in 1996), and I still believe that there is plenty of wisdom in its methodology and flexibility of the tool is almost unrivaled even today (and am talking about flexibility without writing any code!). But with great sadness I must admit that the application did not reach the fame it justly deserves - it is sold and there are clients around the globe, but the community... Well, there is virtually no community; there are no Harvest evangelists out knocking at your door, there are no hats with Harvest logo being handed out at conferences... Were you even aware of the application before that post?

What am I driving at? The community, man - that's the foundation to build on! Harvest is yet another example of the great application (and I mean great) that did not quite get to the top because the community was not engaged enough.

As part of Team Foundation community nowadays I do feel different. I feel the creativity bubbling, see things happening - even the fact that TFS may not be perfect (to phrase it gently) drives the creativity. Overall I enjoy it immensely, so kudos to Microsoft Team Foundation Server team and keep it up to!

Dixi.