Q1: Which versions of the Microsoft Outlook and the Team Foundation Server (TFS) does the TeamCompanion support?
A: New TeamCompanion version 3.0 supports Outlook 2010 64-bit and 32-bit, Outlook 2007 and Team Explorer 2010* configurations. TeamCompanion version 2.2 supports Outlook 2007 and Team Explorer 2008 configuration. TeamCompanion version 2.0 supports Outlook 2003 SP2 and newer and Outlook 2007 and Team Explorer 2005 and 2008 configurations.
*Team Explorer is a free Microsoft TFS client that needs to be installed on the client machine prior to installing TeamCompanion. Team Explorer 2010 can connect to the TFS 2010, TFS 2008 and TFS 2005.
Q2: Do I need a TFS license to use the TeamCompanion?
A: Yes. In order to use the TeamCompanion to connect to the Team Foundation Server, you need to have a TFS CAL.
Q3: Can I use my single user TeamCompanion license on multiple computers?
A: No. The license can be activated on one computer only. If you want to move it to another computer to use the TeamCompanion, you will need to deactivate the license on the old computer and activate the license on the new one. You can activate and deactivate the license in the License Activation dialog accessible through the Info menu option in the TeamCompanion menu.
Q4: What is the difference between the trial and registered versions of TeamCompanion?
A: There is NO difference between these two versions, except that the trial version is limited to 90 days evaluation period. By activating the trial version with your user email and registration code you are registering TeamCompanion for use as defined by EULA (unlimited time and commercial use).
Q5: What are the prerequisites for the TeamCompanion for Outlook 2007?
A: Before installing the TeamCompanion you need to install the following:
- Microsoft Outlook
- Team Explorer (TFS client)
All other prerequisites are packaged within the TeamCompanion setup package.
Q6: How can I modify the format of the e-mail created using the Create e-mail from work item functionality?
A: You can do this in the 'Create e-mail' tab, inside the 'Options' dialog (TeamCompanion menu -> Options). Inside the tab you can set the subject and the body of the e-mail which will be created out of the Work Item. The text that will be set as the subject or body can contain special placeholder fields (identified by curly brackets {}). These placeholders will be filled by values from the Work Item during e-mail creation. You can also set the body to be the same as the preview of the Work Item which is visible in the Outlook 'Reading' pane.
For example you can set the following body text:
Title: {System.Title}
Asigned To:{System.AssignedTo}
Created by:{System.CreatedBy}
Description:{System.Description}
Link: {TeamCompanion.WorkItemUrl}
TSWA: http://yourhost:8080/wi.aspx?id={System.Id}
This will fill the body of the new e-mail with the following information: Work Item title, name of the person that created the Work Item, name of the person that the Work Item is assigned to, Work Item description, the link to the read-only work item which can be opened in a web browser and the link to Team System Web Access which can be used for editing the Work Item. You do not need to know the various Work Item field names in order to use them. When you click on the 'Add field' button you will get a popup with all available fields to choose from.
Q7: Why is the list of Work Item fields that I can choose when configuring how to create e-mail or appointment out of Work Item very small?
A: The list of Work Item fields depends on currently selected default project (default server and project can be selected in the TeamCompanion toolbar). If you have no selected project then a default list of Work Item fields will be used. As soon as you select a project a full list of all Work Item fields available for that project will be displayed when selecting fields.
Q8: Can I customize the TeamCompanion toolbar?
A: Yes, you can use the standard customization options provided by Outlook (right-click on any Outlook toolbar and click on 'Customize'). Once you have clicked on 'Customize' a popup dialog named 'Customize' will appear, where you can select which toolbars are displayed. While this dialog is open, you can right-click on any toolbar button and set its properties through a context menu. For example, if you right click on the TeamCompanion 'Connect' button and select 'Image and Text' menu item - this will make the 'Connect' button appear as a button with an image and a caption. If you select the 'Default style' menu item, then the button will appear just as an icon.
Q9: I have removed some buttons from the TeamCompanion toolbar; how can I bring them back?
A: If you have accidentally removed some buttons you can reset the toolbar by just deleting it in the 'Customize' dialog (see previous FAQ entry on how to get the 'Customize' dialog) and then restarting the Outlook. This will cause a new TeamCompanion toolbar to appear.
Q10: How can I access project documents?
A: There is no direct way to open project document from the TeamCompanion. You can, however, open the project portal in your browser and then navigate to the documents section. Project portal can be opened by right-clicking on the project node and selecting the 'Project Portal' menu item. You can also open the project portal by clicking on the toolbar button 'Project portal'. This will open the project portal of the default project.
Q11: What does the 'Refresh metadata' menu item on the Team Foundation Project context menu do?
A: When you add a Team Foundation Project in the TeamCompanion, data such as Work Item types and Work Item fields will be retrieved from the server. Since it is possible later to change this data on the server (new Work Item types and Work Item fields can be added), then you should execute this action so that the TeamCompanion is aware of such changes. Alternatively you could remove the project from the TeamCompanion and add it again.
Q12: Why are Work Items inside the query not refreshed when I select a query?
A: The TeamCompanion will automatically retrieve work items for a query only the first time you select a query. If you wish to update the query then you must manually refresh it by right-clicking on the query node and selecting the 'Refresh' menu item, or by clicking on the 'Refresh' toolbar button while the query is selected.
Q13: I have encountered an error; how can I report it?
A: In most cases, when an error occurs, a special dialog will popup where you can follow the instructions and report an error. If you have encountered an error and the dialog has not appeared, you can still send us the error report manually. To do this, open the 'Report an Issue' dialog accessible through the Info menu option menu item in the TeamCompanion menu. Enter error details and any other comments and click the Send button.
Q14: How to uninstall TeamCompanion?
A: Simply go to the 'Control Panel->Programs and Features' for Windows 7 or Vista users or 'Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs' for XP users, look for 'TeamCompanion for Outlook' and deinstall it.
Q15: I pressed the 'Ignore' button during the deinstallation of TeamCompanion and it does not seem to be deinstalled.What now?
A: If you have Outlook running during the deinstallation of TeamCompanion you will be asked to either manually shut down the Outlook or to ignore shutting down the Outlook. If you don't want to shut down the Outlook and press the 'Ignore' button, the deinstallation will continue and all TeamCompanion binaries will be removed, however, the PST file and the TeamCompanion menu and toolbar will stay within the Outlook. You can remove these three items by doing the following:
1. PST File: File->Data File Management menu; select TeamCompanion and remove the item.
2. TeamCompanion menu & toolbar: right click on an empty toolbar area or on a menu and select 'Customize' menu option.
'Customize' pop-up dialog appears:
a) select 'Toolbars' tab -> select TeamCompanion and delete it
b) select TeamCompanion menu (Customize dialog is opened!) -> right click and choose 'Delete'
Q16: What should I do if TeamCompanion is not visible in Outlook after installation and even after I restarted my Outlook application?
A: When you downloaded TeamCompanion, together with the setup.exe and msi file, two folders were created - Office200XPIA and VSTOSERuntime. Please close your Outlook application (be sure it is really closed, because Outlook sometimes stays opened after closing - it is visible and killable in Task Manager) and manually execute msi scripts from the Office200XPIA folder. After that start the TeamCompanion msi and choose to repair existing installation. Now when you start Outlook, TeamCompanion should load.
Q17: When I open a work item in the TeamCompanion, work item custom controls don’t load successfully and are not visible. What should I do to make them visible?
A: Properly installed Team System work item custom controls will be enabled if you increase custom control assembly trust level to the Full trust.
To do that open the .NET Framework 2.0 Configuration console from the Control Panel / Administrative Tools window. Under the My Computer section select the Runtime Security Policy node. From the tasks list that should appear on the window right side, choose the Increase Assembly Trust task. You will be guided through the procedure. Just be sure to set the Full trust as a new assembly trust level.
Q18: How to ensure that the TeamCompanion will be completely removed from my system after uninstalling?
A: If during TeamCompanion uninstall Outlook application is closed, the TeamCompanion will be automatically completely removed.
If during TeamCompanion uninstall Outlook application is running, you will get a warning message and have two possibilities – to close Outlook application and retry or to ignore that warning.
If you select to ignore given warning, TeamCompanion PST data file, toolbars and menus will remain visible even after the Outlook is restarted. In that case you will be able to remove those toolbars and menus manually anytime. To do that, click the right mouse button on any Outlook toolbar and select the Customize option. A Customize dialog box is opened. While this dialog box is opened select the TeamCompanion toolbar from the toolbars listed and press the delete button. To remove menus, while the Customize dialog box is still opened, right click on the TeamCompanion menu and choose the delete action.
To remove the TeamCompanion PST data file, go to the File menu and choose the Data File Management action. A dialog box with all currently connected data files listed will appear. Select the TeamCompanion data file from the list of available data files and press the Remove button. The TeamCompanion data file will be instantly removed from the Outlook user interface.
Q19: I have uninstalled TeamCompanion, but the TeamCompanion menu and toolbar are still visible in Outlook?
A: TeamCompanion isn't completely removed. Most probably Outlook was left running during uninstall. For the solution, see the answer for the previous question.
Q20: I have installed TeamCompanion successfully, but each time I try to execute some query I get an 'error occurred' message?
A: This issue is caused by the Outlook installation which fails to properly integrate with user Exchange account.
If you run Outlook 2003, ensure that at least SP2 is installed. After that, run the 'Detect and Repair…' option from the Outlook 2003 Help menu.
If you run Outlook 2007, locate and run ‘Microsoft Office Diagnostics’. This tool can be found under ‘Programs\Microsoft Office\Microsoft Office Tools\ Microsoft Office Diagnostics’.
Q21: Today when I started my Outlook, TeamCompanion reported that I'm using trial/unregistered version although I have a valid, already registered, version? I also have Outlook Microsoft CRM add-in.
A: This is a known issue that can happen if you are using Outlook CRM add-in together with the TeamCompanion add-in and your computer is put to the sleep mode. After the computer restore TeamCompanion may report that the license is lost. Also, you'll be unable to reactivate the license again.
This issue has been fixed in TeamCompanion version 2.2. If you are experiencing this issue, please download the newest version from
http://www.ekobit.com/ProductsDetailView.aspx?id=29.
Q22: While trying to open and save some work items, an error occurred displaying following error message: Could not load type 'Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client.WorkItemTypeDeniedOrNotExistException'. How to fix this issue?
A: This error indicated that during your environment configuration some Team Explorer components failed to be updated. The most possible reason is the installation order of the Team System related components and the fact that you have installed Team Explorer after installing Visual Studio 2008 SP1. If you do clean install, correct installation order is Visual Studio 2008, Team Explorer and finally Visual Studio 2008 SP1.
So, to solve this issue run the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 install for the second time to patch all Team Explorer related components.
