How to: Create a Settings File for Source Control Analysis and Migration

You create a settings file to control how the source control data is analyzed or migrated to Team Foundation. You create a settings file to analyze the migration process, first to identify up front any issues that might occur during the migration, and then modify that settings file to actually perform the migration.

Before you create the settings file, you must:

  • Identify the folders in Visual SourceSafe that you want to migrate.

  • For migration, identify where you want to migrate your Visual SourceSafe folders: either empty folders or destination folders where the converter can create folders in Team Foundation source control. The converter does not create a destination folder if the folder is at the root folder ($/) in Team Foundation source control.

  • To map Visual SourceSafe users to Team Foundation Server users, use the user mapping file generated during analysis. For more information, see How to: Edit the Source Control Migration User Mapping File.

The settings file format is slightly different when you are running analysis from that used for the migration. The following sections highlight the differences.

To create a settings file for analysis

  1. Create an XML file by using any editor, such as Notepad.

  2. Copy the text from the Settings File Format for Analysis section in Sample VSS Converter Settings File into the XML file.

  3. In the <VSSDatabase> section, specify the location of the Visual SourceSafe database on which you are running the analysis.

  4. Optionally, specify a name and location for the user mapping file in the <UserMap> section. If you do not provide a file name, the converter generates the file that has the name UserMap.xml in the current folder.

  5. In the <ProjectMap> section, specify the Visual SourceSafe folders to analyze.

  6. Under the <Settings> section, in the <Output> section, you can specify the file name and location of the analysis report. If you do not specify a file name, the converter generates the file that has the name VSSAnalysisReport.xml.

  7. Save the settings file as an XML file (with an .xml file name extension).

To create a settings file for migration

  1. Copy the settings file that you created for the analysis and save it under a new name. For reference, see "Settings File Format for Migration" in Sample VSS Converter Settings File.

  2. Change the migration settings file as follows.

    • In the <ProjectMap> section, for each Visual SourceSafe folder you are migrating, add the destination folders in Team Foundation source control. Use the following format to add a Destination section:

      <Project Source="$/FolderA" Destination="$/TeamProjectA"></Project> 
      

      Note

      If your project source is $/FolderA and your destination is $/TeamProjectB/ProjectB a Visual SourceSafe project $/FolderA/ProjectA becomes $/TeamProjectB/ProjectB/ProjectA in Team Foundation source control, instead of $/TeamProjectB/ProjectB/FolderA/ProjectA.

    • Under the <Settings> section, add a <TeamFoundationServer> section, and specify the name, port and protocol for the Team Foundation Server to which you are migrating. Use the following format:

      <TeamFoundationServer name="TFS_server_name" port="port_number" protocol="http"></TeamFoundationServer>
      

      For example:

      <TeamFoundationServer name="My_TFS_server" port="8080" protocol="http"></TeamFoundationServer>
      
    • Optionally, under the <Settings> section, in the <Output> section, specify the file name and location of the analysis report. If you do not provide the name of file, the converter generates the file that has the name VSSMigrationReport.xml.

      Note

      The converter uses SQLExpress during migration to store some metadata. This metadata typically takes a very small percentage of data during migration.

      In the unlikely event that your migration fails because of the 4GB limit of SQLExpress, you can set the converter to use SQLServer instead by adding the following line to the <Source name="VSS"> section of the settings file: <SQL Server="SQL_Server_name"></SQL>. For example:

      <Source name="VSS">
         <VSSDatabase name="c:\VSSDatabase"></VSSDatabase>
         <SQL Server="MySQLServer"></SQL>
      </Source>
      
  3. Save the settings file as an XML file (with an .xml file name extension).

See Also

Tasks

Walkthrough: Preparing to Migrate from Visual SourceSafe to Team Foundation
Walkthrough: Migrating from Visual SourceSafe to Team Foundation
How to: Create a Team Project
How to: Add a Project or Solution to Source Control

Concepts

Sample VSS Converter Settings File

Other Resources

VSSConverter Command-Line Utility for Source Control Migration