TFS db migration to new server; need to re-bind project?

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

Hello, all.

I've done a bit of searching in the forum on this topic, but couldn't seem to find anything that reflects my current situation...

My company is setting up a new source control server and migrating our existing TFS database to reside on it. I've had my Flare project bound to TFS for several years now and all is working swimmingly. Once the new server is in place, my hope would be that I can simply "re-point" my project to the new path and —voilà!— I'll be back up and running. Based on my (minimal) experience with Flare and TFS binding and some other posts I've seen, however, I don't know if the process will be that simple.

I was thinking that I *might* get away with just editing the "CatapultProject" element attributes in my existing .flprj file to match the new server information, as follows, but I don't know if it will work:

<CatapultProject Version="1" SourceControlBound="true" SourceControlDatabase="http://my-new-tfs-server-info/tfs/DefaultCollection/" SourceControlProviderType="Microsoft Team Foundation Server" ProjectGuid="d4253fa2-4330-4fa5-8ec1-54b817b4f110" SourceControlDatabaseRoot="$/my-new-tfs-root-info/"></CatapultProject>

One concern I have with this approach is that the "ProjectGuid" value might be a unique ID that's not only associated with my project, but also with the server on which the TFS database resides. If that's the case, I suppose the existing value would become "invalid" for the new server setup—but I don't know...

I do know that one way to handle this would be to just entirely ditch the existing project files from my local drive, and then create a new Flare project using the "Bind to Source Control" option (pointing to the existing project in TFS). Will this process clear all the history information for my project files, however? Presumably not, but I need to be sure.

If anyone can offer some advice on the best/easiest path forward, I'd appreciate it.

[NorthEast]

I think you should just be able to edit the path in the flprj file.

Before you start, unbind your current project from the old source control location. Also check its workspace mappings are removed in Visual Studio (or TFS Explorer).
You can then delete the local files if you want to.

To update the project in the new location in TFS:

1) In Visual Studio (or TFS Explorer), go the new project location in source control.
2) Check-out the flprj file (you'll need to map this to a local folder somewhere), and edit the paths in the flprj file to your new location in source control (as in your post above). Then check-in the file.
3) Remove any workspace mappings you had to set up in (2) above.
4) Open Flare and import the project from its new location in source control, using: File>New Project>Import Project > Source Control (?). (help: http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare ... ol_tfs.htm)

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

Thanks for your quick and detailed response, Dave.

I just have one question (since I'm not very experienced with TFS terminology/concepts): How do I go about checking that the project's "workspace mappings" are removed in Visual Studio? I just poked around a bit in there and found the "Advanced > Remove Mapping..." context menu option:

RemoveWorkspaceMapping.png

Is this what I'm looking for?

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

4) Open Flare and import the project from its new location in source control, using: File>New Project>Import Project > Source Control.

One more question, Dave:

If I check the .flprj file out via VS, map it to the directory where my project is going to reside locally, edit the paths therein and check it back in, would the project not then be considered "bound" to TFS (at its new server location)? It seems like I could just double-click the .flprj file at that point to launch Flare, which would then cause all the project files to download to my local drive. Do I actually need to do: File > New Project > Import Project > Source Control to achieve the binding?

I'm willing to follow your instructions exactly as you've stated them; I'm just a little curious about the last step. Thanks, again!

[NorthEast]

I haven't got VS here right now, but to check and remove workspace mappings, I go to a Manage Workspaces screen.
- Open the Workspaces drop-down list on the toolbar and select Workspaces..., or use File > Advanced > Manage Workspaces (?)
- Select the workspace and click Edit to see the mappings.

Looks like this: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181383.aspx


Yeah, you need step (4), so Flare will get the files from source control and set up the mapping/binding.
I know you've just set up and then removed a mapping in VS (just so you can edit the flprj), but I prefer to let Flare set up the mapping and get the files.

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

Thanks for the reply, Dave. I'll carry out all the steps!

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

I think you should just be able to edit the path in the flprj file.

Before you start, unbind your current project from the old source control location. Also check its workspace mappings are removed in Visual Studio (or TFS Explorer).
You can then delete the local files if you want to.

To update the project in the new location in TFS:

1) In Visual Studio (or TFS Explorer), go the new project location in source control.
2) Check-out the flprj file (you'll need to map this to a local folder somewhere), and edit the paths in the flprj file to your new location in source control (as in your post above). Then check-in the file.
3) Remove any workspace mappings you had to set up in (2) above.
4) Open Flare and import the project from its new location in source control, using: File>New Project>Import Project > Source Control (?). (help: http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare ... ol_tfs.htm)

By way of follow up, Dave, I've successfully re-bound my Flare projects (I have 3) to the new TFS server using the instructions you provided. Thanks so much for your help!

I did have a little trouble with step 4, however, for each of the projects:

• For two of the projects, Flare successfully created the respective workspace mapping (which I could see via Visual Studio's "Manage Workspaces" interface), but it came back at me with a message indicating something about not being able to find the project (.flprj) file. I didn't take note of the exact wording; I just went into VS and manually did a "Get Latest Version" at that point. Once done, I could open the project in Flare, check-out and check-in files successfully, etc.
• For the third project, Flare didn't even get as far as creating a workspace mapping; it only created the local project folder, then gave me the same message about not being able to find the project file. With this project, I went into VS and manually created my workspace, then did a "Get Latest Version" to bring all the files down to the local drive. I was also able to open the project in Flare and manage files as expected.

So, the whole thing was not nearly as smooth and easy as I might have hoped, but at least I'm back up and running!

[NorthEast]

Curious - by step (4) you're just importing a brand new project from TFS on a 'clean' PC.

Anyway, glad you got it working.