Do I need to install TFS power tool if I use VS 2010

3
votes

I'm looking at the list here Team Foundation Server Power Tools March 2011 and I wonder if it is helpful for my case - I'm using Visual Studio 2010 as a TFS client tool to connect to TFS servers; I don't have access to any TFS Servers.

It's confusing to me - the features such as 1) Team Foundation Server Backups, 2) Process Editor, 3) Work Item Templates, ect. are the ones for TFS server side, not absolutely not client side.

So I guess the tool is both a tfs server-side tool and a tfs client-side tool.

If you know it clear, please share. Thank you!

Ps. They said they have the Windows Explorer intergration which is quite cool: I love to check out a data/xml/image file without opening the IDE.

3
visual-studio-2010tfs-power-tools
The question is confusing too, what do you want to check out from when you have no TFS? If you don't have a TFS anywhere, the TFS Power Tools are pretty much useless to you. – TToni
@Toni: I have update my question to make it clearer. Thank you! – Nam G VU

3 Answers

4
votes

If you are not using TFS, the TFS power tools are of no use for you.

The explorer integration is the same kind of integration that TortoiseSVN has - icon overlays and a right-click context menu, only for TFS.

2
votes

Yes, they are useful if you are going to work with a TFS for Source Control. Your main IDE might be Visual Studio, and if you use the Team Explorer window in VS, then you also are using TFS in the background. In that case the power tools are a great help.

1
votes

If you have access to a TFS Server and want to install just the Shell integration of the Power Tools, but not the IDE integration, you can do so, if my memory serves correctly.