Rename work item type fails

Question

In TFS2010/TFSPowerTools2010/Process Explorer I am creating a custom process template. I define a new work item type (WIT) called "Enhancement" copied from the CMMI "Change Request" WIT.

Then I want to rename the friendly field name of the work item type "System.Title" (called "Title") to "Summary".

When I upload my custom process template to the TFS server and create a team project, and then create a new Enhancement, the info in the required field text still shows :

"TF20012: Field "Title" cannot be empty.

Why ?

(I want to see "TF20012: Field "Summary" cannot be empty.)

Answer 1

What you can do is create a new field and make it required. Call it Summary, etc. Change the Title label and textbox from the stock values and point it to your new field. Do not remove the System.Title field from the field list.

In the work flow, use the Summary value to populate the System.Title field, which is not on the form. Then if they try to save without a Summary, they will get the correct error and System.Title will have a valid value for reporting.

Be sure you account for the System.Title field everywhere it is referenced in the work flow.

Answer 2

You aren't able to rename a system field like System.Title. It's used by other work item types across the team project collection and the server instance. It also has to be filled in by the default rules. You can rename the "label" that gets shown to the end user by going to the layout tab of the work item type editor (in the TFS Power Tools) and find the control and change it's label attribute but leave the field the same.

Answer 3

In Visual Studio I was looking at a WinForm and saving the form I got this error:

Microsoft Visual Studio Save failed.

TF20012: Field 'Title' cannot be empty.

OK

Since its a TF error I closed all the Work Items (even unsaved ones...) and then saving the Winform worked.

I am not sure how VS thought the Work Item was the active code window I saw looking at.