Donovan Brown

Technology Blog

How to add a SharePoint portal after you created the Team Project

27 August 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem: I created a team project and did not select the option to create a share point site and now I want to add one. Solution: Create a dummy site and remove the link to sharepoint and wire it up to the original team project. Or two create a new site in SharePoint and wire it up. Explantion: There is a great write up here on how to do both options.

How to Xcopy deploy using TFS 2010/2012

01 August 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem I need my VS2010/VS2012 build to perform an “Xcopy deployment” of my ASP.NET application to an existing virtual directory. Solution Customize the build template to use the CopyDirectory activity to copy the ASP.NET application to the virtual directory. Explanation One of the benefits of ASP.NET development is the simply “Xcopy deployment”. ASP.NET applications require no changes to the registry and have no special installation requirements for the hosting server.  Therefore, you can use the drag-and-drop feature in Microsoft Windows Explorer, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or the DOS Xcopy command to copy files from one computer to another. The only prerequisite of this technique is the virtual directory in IIS must already be created and configured. The goal of this build is to not have to install any special features or extensions in IIS to facilitate deployment of my ASP.NET application.  I want my environments to match production as close as possible and I never intend on installing IIS Extensions in production. When you configure a build definition that builds and ASP.NET application the binaries directory and drop location contain a folder named _PublishedWebsites.  Each ASP.NET application built during the build will have a sub directory that contains all the files needed for the application. To perform an “Xcopy deployment” we simply need to identify the source and destination directories.  We are going to store this information in arguments passed to the build.  To begin open the DefaultTemplate.xaml file in VS2010 and click the Arguments button at the bottom of the workflow designer to show the workflow arguments.  Add two string arguments  VDir and SiteDir. Now let’s add a nice coat of polish on our arguments.  Click the ellipses next to the default value of the Metadata argument to show the Process Parameter Metadata Editor window.  Click the Add button and enter in the following information and click OK. Parameter Name – VDirDisplay Name – Virtual DirectoryCategory – DeployDescription – The full UNC path to the virtual directory to copy the website too. Editor – leave blankRequired – leave unchecked View this parameter when – Always show the parameter and Parameter Name – SiteDirDisplay Name – Site DirectoryCategory – DeployDescription – The sub directory of _PublishedWebsites to copy from.Editor – leave blankRequired – leave uncheckedView this parameter when – Always show the parameter   We are simply going to add a CopyDirectory activity that uses the arguments we just created to perform the copy.  To begin we must locate the correct area of the build template to add our CopyDirectory activity.  I find the quickest way to do this is to click the Collapse All button at the top of the workflow designer window.  Now double click on the words Double-click to view on all of the following activities: 1.    Run On Agent2.    Try Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items 3.    Sequence4.    Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items5.    Try Compile and Test6.    Compile and Test7.    For Each Configuration in BuildSettings.PlatformConfigurations8.    Compile and Test for Configuration When we configured the metadata for our arguments we left the Required checkbox unchecked.  This will allow users of this build template to leave the values for VDir and SiteDir blank if they are not building an ASP.NET application or simply do not want to deploy them.  Therefore, we need to check the value of the arguments to determine if we need to perform the copy or not.  In the toolbox expand the Control Flow tab and drag and drop the If activity right above the If Not Disable Test activity.  Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the if to show its contents. In the Condition text box enter the following: Not String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(VDir) From the toolbox drag and drop a Sequence activity from the Control Flow tab onto the Then side of the If.  Change the DisplayName of the sequence to Deploy ASP.NET Application. We add a sequence here so that we can use multiple activities. Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the sequence to show its contents.  This is where we are going to add the activities needed to copy the ASP.NET application to the virtual directory in IIS. Now we can add the CopyDirectory activity and set the properties to deploy our ASP.NET application during the build.  To get started simply drag and drop the CopyDirectory activity from the Team Foundation Build Activities tab into the Deploy ASP.NET Application sequence.  With the CopyDirectory activity selected set the following values in the properties window: •    Destination – Vdir•    Source  - BinariesDirectory + "\_PublishedWebsites\" + SiteDir Now save your xaml file, check in your changes and queue a new build. You can download a copy of the final file below. TFS2010 DeployTemplate.xaml (55.16 kb) TFS2012 DeployTemplate.11.1.xaml (75.68 kb)

I need to build a project that is not supported by MSBuild

15 July 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem My solution contains a .vdproj and it is not supported by MSBuild. Solution Call devenv from team build using InvokeProcess for .vdproj projects. Explanation This customization can be extended to build any project types not supported by MSBuild (vb6, power builder, fortran, VC++ 6, etc).  Any project that can be built from the command line can also be built using TFS 2010 Build using this technique. We are simply going to add a switch statement that uses the extension of the project to determine if we pass it to MSBuild or perform the build ourselves.  Let’s start by opening DefaultTemplate.xaml from the BuildProcessTemplates folder.  To begin we must locate the correct area of the build template to add our switch statement.  I find the quickest way to do this is to click the Collapse All button at the top of the workflow designer window.  Now double click on the words Double-click to vew on all of the following activities: 1.    Run On Agent2.    Try Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items 3.    Sequence4.    Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items5.    Try Compile and Test6.    Compile and Test7.    For Each Configuration in BuildSettings.PlatformConfigurations8.    Compile and Test for Configuration9.    If BuildSettings.HasProjectsToBuild10.    For Each Project in BuildSettings.ProjectsToBuild11.    Try to Compile the Project12.    Compile the Project The Compile the Project Sequence contains the Convert Server Path to Local Path and Run MSBuild for Project activities.  We are going to add our switch around Run MSBuild for Project.  In the toolbox expand the Control Flow tab and drag and drop the Switch<T> activity right above the Run MSBuild for Project activity.  When prompted for type, select String and click OK. Our switch is going to test the extension of the current project being built. If the extension is .vdproj we are going to call devenv ourselves to build the setup project.  If the extension is anything else we are going to simply let MSBuild build it.  So the first thing we need to do is find the extension of the project being built.  The Convert Server Path to Local Path activity stores the project path in localProject which we can use to find the extension.  Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the Switch<String> activity to show the expression and cases of the switch.  In the Expression text box enter the following: (New System.IO.FileInfo(localProject)).Extension.ToLower()This line of code uses an instance of the FileInfo class to gain access to the extension of the current project being built.  We call ToLower to make sure the case of the extension is known for our comparison.Now click the word Default to display the activity area of that case.  Drag the Run MSBuild for Project into the default case. At this point the template works exactly as it did before we touched it. After our customizations you will still be able use this template for all your current builds that use the default template. Now it is time to add the case for the .vdproj projects. Click the words Add new case. In the Case Value combo box type .vdproj without ”’s.  The switch already knows that what you are going to type is a string so you DONOT type the “’s.  If you do it will fail because “.vdproj” is not equal to .vdproj. From the toolbox drag and drop a Sequence activity from the Control Flow tab onto the .vdproj case.  Change the display of this sequence to Build Setup Project.  We add a sequence here so that we can use multiple activities. Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the sequence to show it's contents.  This is where we are going to add the activities needed to build the setup projects. Before we can add the InvokeProcess activity to build the setup projects we first need to know the command line.  Below is an example of the command line to build a setup project.  Notice we must provide the configuration to build "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv" "C:\Builds\1\Build Sandbox\HelloWorld\Sources\HelloWorld\Setup\Setup.vdproj" /build Release Now we can add the InvokeProcess activity and set the properties to build this command line during the build.  To get started simply drag and drop the InvokeProcess activity from the Team Foundation Build Activities tab into the Build Setup Project sequence.  With the InvokeProcess activity selected set the following values in the properties window: •    Arguments - """" + localProject + """ /build " + platformConfiguration.Configuration•    FileName - """C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv""" The rest of the values can remain with their default values.  Pay close attention to the number of “’s and white space.  Because localProject may contain spaces we must quote the string. The same is true for the path to devenv.exe.  Whenever I use an InvokeProcess activity I always expand it and add a WriteBuildMessage under Handle Standard Output with the Message set to stdOutput and a WriteBuildError under Handle Error Output with the Message set to errOutput.  This will allow that information to be show in the build output.  At this point if we check in our changes and add our .vdproj file as an Items to Build from the Process tab of the build definition the setup project will be built.  Be sure and remove the .vdproj project from the solution or you will continue to get errors from MSBuild. However, it will not be in our drop location.  The reason for this is because only items that are in the binaries folder get copied to the drop location.  The final piece is to add a CopyDirectory activity under the InvokeProcess to copy the contents of the output folder of the setup project to the binaries folder. With the CopyDirectory activity selected set the following values in the properties window: •    Destination - BinariesDirectory•    Source - (New System.IO.FileInfo(localProject)).DirectoryName + "\" + platformConfiguration.Configuration + "\" Your Build Setup Project sequence should look like this:  Now save your xaml file, check in your changes and queue a new build. You can download a copy of the final file below. TFS2010 DefaultTemplate.xaml (59.14 kb) TFS2012 DefaultTemplate.11.1.xaml (81.14 kb)

One lab machine will not connect to test controller!

22 June 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem I have a lab environment configured with 4 machines. It is running in Network Isolation, and has workflow and test capability enabled.  The testing capability fails only on one machine.  Solution Adjust the binding order of your network adapters so that external adapter is first.  To do this bring up the Network Connections window and click on the Advanced menu.  If the Advanced menu is not showing press the Alt key to display it. From the Advanced Menu selected Advanced Settings.  The Advanced Setting dialog will open. Use this dialog to move the external network adapter to the top of the list. Explanation If you are getting a message like the one below: "The machine is not ready to run tests because of the following error: Unable to connect to the controller on '<TestControllerFQDN>:6901'. Reason: No such host is known. Make sure the test controller is online and the firewall on the test controller is not blocking the connection." The chances are if you try to ping the Test Controller machine from the lab machine it will fail.  If the internal network adapter binds first it may cause issues when trying to resolve network names.  Simply move the external network adapter to the first position.

I can't run VMM and I am an admin

15 June 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem When I run VMM I am given the error I don't have permissions to run VMM on localhost. Solution You have to have a current VMM administrator to add you to the Administrator role in VMM under Administration tab. Start VMM Click the Administration tab Select User Roles Double Click Administrator under Profile Type Click the Members tab Click Add… and add the user

Command line tool for Work Item Queries

16 May 2011 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem I need to script my work item query administation. Solution Use the Work Item Query Administration tool from CodePlex http://wiqadmin.codeplex.com/ Examples This will list out all the queries and the paths you need to export them wiqadmin list /collection:http://MytfsUrl:8080/tfs/defaultcollection /p:MyProject /recursiveThis is how you can export one once you know the path. Make sure you use “ on the path wiqadmin export /collection:http://MytfsUrl:8080/tfs/defaultcollection /p:MyProject /n:"Team Queries/Iteration 1/Active Bugs" /f:bugs.wiql

Where do I place pre-conditions for test cases in MTM

24 September 2010 Donovan-Brown Work (0)
Problem: I have preconditions for a test case in Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) but I don’t know where to store or how to notify the tester before executing the test. Solution: Attach a preconditions document to the first step of your test case or create the preconditions as a shared step. Explanation: When creating a Test Case in MTM you can have attachments on each test step in a test case.  One solution to the problem of preconditions is to attach a document that contains the preconditions to the first step of your test case.  Now when the tester begins the test case the first step will be presented with a link to the preconditions document.  From there the tester can simply click the link to open the document and perform the necessary preconditions for the test case. This same method can be used for any post conditions as well be attaching a document to the final step of the test case. Another option is to create the preconditions as shared steps and include them as the first step in the test case.