Shelving your code in TFS

 

TFS allows you to set aside pending changes in your TFS workspace if you want to work on something else for awhile, or if you want another coder to review your changes before you commit them, or if you want to pass off files you've been working on to another team member. When you create a shelveset TFS saves the items along with any associated Work Items or Check-in Notes to a separate repository, though not the source control repository itself.

Shelving a set of pending changes

1. In the Pending Changes view, click the down arrow icon and select Shelve.

   

2. In the Shelve - Source Files dialog box, type a name for your shelveset, any comments to help you remember the set, and, if necessary, deselect any file(s) you do not want to include in the shelveset. You can also associate a Work Item with your shelveset. For more information, see Associating Work Items with Changesets and Shelvesets.

   

Finding and Unshelving a set of pending changes

1. In the Pending Changes view, select the down arrow icon and click Unshelve.

2. In the Unshelve dialog type the name of any team member with a TFS workspace and click Find to retrieve a list of that team member's shelvesets. In the example below we are retrieving one of our own shelvesets, and selecting the one we created above. Click Unshelve.

    

Viewing Shelveset Details

To view details of a saved shelveset:

1. In the Unshelve dialog, after you have completed your search (Steps 1 -2 above), right-click a shelveset from the list and select Details.

2. In the Shelveset Details dialog, right-click a file and select from the popup menu. By selecting View, the shelved file opens in your Eclipse editor window where you can examine it before unshelving it. You also have the option to use the compare editor. For more information on this option, see Comparing versions .