Nonstop errors integrating Flare 10 with TFS 2013

[KCinColorado]

I've spent the better part of the last 3 days trying to get Flare 10 to work with Visual Studio 2013 Team Foundation Server. Has anyone successfully done this???? I have 2 projects that engineering moved from VSS to TFS. I think I have imported one of those projects 5-10 times now. And either it's workspace issues (workspace doesn't exist/workspace already exists), mapping (deleting TFS cache, starting over), or this big fat error this morning which appears when I opened Flare from home, on the VPN, Visual Studio successfully connected, for a project that we thought was FINALLY imported and bound in Flare, and which I worked with yesterday afternoon at the office, making changes to various files, which Flare successfully checked out of TFS as I worked... this same project could not be opened this morning from home, had to be reimported (after renaming workspace AGAIN, deleting TFS cache AGAIN, etc...):

at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Client.TeamFoundationClientProxyBase.ProcessHttpResponse(HttpWebResponse response, Stream responseStream, WebException webException, XmlReader& xmlResponseReader)
at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Client.TeamFoundationClientProxyBase.ExecWebServiceRequest(HttpWebRequest request, XmlWriter requestXml, String methodName, HttpWebResponse& response)
at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.VersionControl.Client.Repository.QueryWorkspace(String workspaceName, String ownerName)
at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.VersionControl.Client.Client.GetRepositoryWorkspace(String workspaceName, String workspaceOwner)
at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.VersionControl.Client.Workspace.Refresh()
at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.VersionControl.Client.Workspace.TryGetServerItemForLocalItem(String localItem)
at B3.SourceSafeKit.TeamFoundationServerProvider.GetRemotePathFromLocalPath(IUrl url)
at B3.SourceSafeKit.TeamFoundationServerProvider.LoadInfo(IUrl url, Int32 version, Boolean updateMap)
at B3.SourceSafeKit.TeamFoundationServerProvider.GetItem(IUrl url)
at B3.SourceSafeKit.SourceControlProvider.StartWatch(IUrl url, Boolean refreshing)
at B3.SourceSafeKit.TeamFoundationServerProvider.TryGetLocalSourceItem(IUrl url, ILocalSourceControlItem& local)
at B3.AppKit.ExternalImageManager.GetSourceControlImage(IUrl url, ISourceControlProvider provider)
at B3.AppKit.Editor.GetSourceControlImage(IUrl url)
at B3.FileBrowserKit.FileBrowserTreeView.OnDrawNode(DrawTreeNodeEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.TreeView.CustomDraw(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.TreeView.WmNotify(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.TreeView.WndProc(Message& m)
at B3.AppKit.CustomTreeView.WndProc(Message& m)
at B3.FileBrowserKit.FileBrowserTreeView.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

My engineering manager, who has been working with me on these issues for 2 days, is out of patience, VERY disappointed in Flare, and ready to move my projects back to the old VSS because he has no more time to devote to this. I've been on the phone with MadCap support for hours, yesterday and again this morning.

Is Flare just "not ready for prime time" where TFS is concerned? I'm SO bummed and so out of patience with the whole thing. Is anyone else going through this hell?

[JBrown]

I am having similar issues with just binding a project, I keep getting the "Team Foundation Server cannot be reached". Yet it displays fine in the sharepoint explorer. Im on day 2. Can we just start billing MadCap for time lost??

[KCinColorado]

I feel your pain! I got the "unable to connect" message several times too. I think it stopped happening after I deleted the TFS cache. Have you tried that?

After I FINALLY got my second project bound to TFS, I opened the first one, which had been working, and it appeared to be bound (lock icons appeared in Content Explorer, etc.) but Flare would not allow me to save any changes due to "source control errors" when Flare attempted to check out the file that I'd modified. The error box advised me to review messages before closing, but it contained no messages.

I called MadCap Support (AGAIN - grateful for the Platinum coverage) and we discovered that one of the many times that I renamed the Workspace in TFS, I'd forgotten to delete the renamed one after Flare recreated the correct workspace. So I had two workspaces. They said that caused my first project to become unmapped. So while Flare could communicate with TFS, TFS could not release the files for editing because the project was no longer mapped. Once we deleted the leftover workspace, unbound the project from source control, backed it up elsewhere, and REIMPORTED it (OMG, I can now import projects in my sleep!), all has been well with both projects.

Very painful transition! Advice? Make sure you have only one workspace, and that each project is mapped to your local project directory (from the TFS side) before you check in/out files from Flare. I'm also checking in all pending changes before exiting Flare every time I use it, JUST in case there is another issue between the two applications. So far, so good. No issues for 2 days... I'm cautiously optimistic!