Share via

Manage field mappings for TFS-Project Server integration

  • Article

TFS 2015 | TFS 2013

Note

TFS 2017 and later versions no longer support native integration with Microsoft Project Server. If you upgrade to TFS 2017 or want to use a third party option, see Synchronize TFS with Project Server.

You can customize how you synchronize data between Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) and Microsoft Project Server by modifying the field mapping file. This file defines the data fields that are synchronized and how they are synchronized to support the integration of TFS and Project Server. You can manage this file by using the following options of the TfsAdmin ProjectServer command-line tool:

  • /DownloadFieldMappings: Downloads the field mapping file that is defined for a project collection.

  • /UploadFieldMappings: Validates the XML syntax of the field mapping file, and uploads it to a collection. To validate the syntax but not upload the file, you can use the /validateonly option.

Note

The field mapping file for the integration of Team Foundation Server and Project Server is distinct from the field mapping file for Microsoft Project. For information about how to download or upload the second file, see TFSFieldMapping.

For more information about the contents of the field mapping file and how to customize it, see Field mapping reference and Customize the field mapping.

To use the TfsAdmin ProjectServer command-line tool, open a Command Prompt window where either Visual Studio or Team Explorer is installed and enter:

cd %programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Common7\IDE

On a 32-bit edition of Windows, replace %programfiles(x86)% with %programfiles%.

Requirements

To use these commands, your Administer Project Server integration permission must be set to Allow for the project collection. Also, the service account for Team Foundation Server must be granted the necessary permissions to interact with the instance of Project Web Access or Project Web App (PWA) that will participate in data synchronization. For more information, see Assign permissions.

Syntax

TfsAdmin ProjectServer /DownloadFieldMappings /collection:tpcUrl /filepath:mappingFile [/encoding:encoding]  

TfsAdmin ProjectServer /UploadFieldMappings /collection:tpcUrl /filePath:mappingFile [/encoding:encoding] [/validateOnly] [/useDefaultFieldMappings] [/force]

Parameters

Parameter Description
/collection:tpcURL Specifies the uniform resource locator (URL) of a project collection. You specify the URL in the following format:

http://ServerName:Port/VirtualDirectoryName/CollectionName

If you do not specify a virtual directory, you specify the URI in the following format:

http://ServerName:Port/CollectionName
/filePath:mappingFile Specifies the path and file name of the XML definition file that contains the field mappings. Note: If you are using Windows Vista, you might not have permissions to access certain folders. If you try to export the work item type to a location where you do not have permissions, the registry virtualization technology automatically redirects the exported file and saves it to the virtual store. To avoid this redirection, you can export the file to a location where you have permissions. For more information, see the following pages on the Microsoft website: Registry Virtualization and Common file and registry virtualization issues in Windows Vista.
/encoding:encoding Specifies the name of an encoding format for the .NET Framework 2.0. The command exports or imports the XML data in the encoding format that you specify. For example, /e:utf-7 specifies Unicode (UTF-7) encoding. If you do not specify this parameter, the command tries to detect the encoding and uses UTF-8 if detection fails.
/validateOnly Validates the mapping file but does not upload it.
/useDefaultFieldMappings Uploads the default field mappings instead of a custom mapping file. For more information, see Field mapping reference.
/force Overwrites the existing mapping file. You must specify this option if you specify the /useDefaultFieldMappings switch when you replace the existing mappings with different mappings.

Remarks

You can map only enterprise custom fields or fields that are built in to Project Server. You must specify the name of a valid field in Project. To determine the name of a built-in field, remove any spaces from the friendly name, and prefix the result with "pj". For example, the field name for Status Manager is pjStatusManager, and the field name for Custom 01 is pjCustom01. Restrictions exist on how you can map built-in and custom fields, and you must match the data types of fields. For more information, see Restrictions on mapping fields.

When you run a TFSAdmin ProjectServer command, a message indicates the action that is being performed and the affected object. For example, the following message shows that the field mapping file is being downloaded:

Download field mappings from DefaultCollection

Another message appears after the command actions are completed. For example, the following message appears when the field mapping file has been downloaded:

You have downloaded field mappings to C:MappingFile. . . Done.

Notes about uploading field mappings

If a field mapping file is uploaded successfully, the following changes are made:

  • Each mirror field in Team Foundation is configured to comply with the mapped fields.

  • For work item types that have been mapped for a collection or a project, the new mappings appear on the Project Server tab of the work item form.

Important

When you map a field from Team Foundation Server to Project Server, make sure that you match the data types of those fields. Otherwise, the following error might appear when you try to upload the field mappings:

Index (zero based) must be greater than or equal to zero and less than the size of the argument list.

For more information, see Data Types and Field Mapping Criteria.

Examples

Download the field mapping file that is defined for a project collection

The following example downloads the field mappings that are defined for AdventureWorksCollection to AWMappingFile.xml.

TfsAdmin ProjectServer /DownloadFieldMappings /collection:http://AdventureWorksServer:8080/AdventureWorksCollection /filePath:"C:AWMappingFile.xml"

Upload the field mapping file for a project collection

The following example uploads AWMappingFile.xml to AdventureWorksCollection.

TfsAdmin ProjectServer /UploadFieldMappings /collection:http://AdventureWorksServer:8080/AdventureWorksCollection /filePath:"C:AWMappingFile.xml"

Configure TFS-Project Server integration
Customize the field mapping
Field mapping reference
Restrictions on mapping fields
Map integration components