Walkthrough: Adding Links and Attachments to Work Items

This walkthrough takes you through adding different link types to a bug work item. The bug work item type is one of the work items that are included in MSF for Agile Software Development process guidance.

After you have completed this walkthrough, you will be able to use each link type in a work item. What you learn here about how to work with the Bug work item type is easily associated with other work item types.

In this walkthrough, you will complete the following tasks:

• Add a hyperlink to a Web site from the work item description.

• Add a hyperlink to the form Links tab.

• Add an attachment to a work item.

• Add a related link to another work item.

Note

This walkthrough is based on the work items available in MSF for Agile Software Development. If your project is using a different methodology, your work items may be different. MSF for Agile Software Development is one of the process guidance templates that are included with Team Foundation. For more information, see Finding and Using Process Guidance or How to: Access Process Guidance in the Project Portal.

Prerequisites

• An existing Team Foundation connection. For more information, see How to: Connect to Team Foundation Server.

• An existing team project. For more information, see Creating a Team Project.

• Several work items added to a team project. For more information, see Walkthrough: Tracking Work Items.

Required Permissions

To perform this walkthrough, you must be a member of the Contributors group or have the View work items in this node, and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. For more information, see Team Foundation Server Permissions.

Adding Hyperlinks

You can add hyperlinks to any URL (Web) or UNC (server) location by typing or pasting the address of any Web site. Team Foundation work item tracking formats the hyperlinks into active links that can be clicked to jump you to the linked object. For this walkthrough, you will copy an address from the Web and paste it into the work item.

To add a hyperlink to a Web site from the work item description

1. Open your Internet browser and open any Web site.

2. Highlight the Web site URL in the Address bar, and on the browser's Edit menu, click Copy.

3. In Team Explorer, open a bug work item that has been previously entered, click the Description tab, and in the Description box, add some information about the hyperlink you are adding.

4. With the insert pointer where you want to add the hyperlink, on the Edit menu, click Paste.

   Note

     You can also type the Web site address if you know it.

5. On the File menu, click Save All.

To add a hyperlink to the work item Links tab

1. Open your Internet browser and open any Web site.

2. Highlight the Web site URL in the Address bar, and on the browser's Edit menu, click Copy.

3. In an open bug, click the Links tab, and then click Add.

4. In the Add Link dialog box, under Link Type, select Hyperlink.

5. Under Address, right-click, and select Paste.

6. Under Comment, type "This is a test of the hyperlink from the Add Link dialog box."

7. Click OK.

8. Test the link by clicking the Links tab, highlight the link, and then click Open.

9. On the File menu, click Save All.

Adding Attachments

Attachments are any kind of file that adds to understanding the work item. It could be a document, a picture, a drawing, a spreadsheet, or anything else that will help the person working with the work item to understand the issues involved.

To add an attachment to a work item

1. In an open scenario, on the File Attachments tab, click Add.

2. In the Add Attachment dialog box, under Attachment, type the location and file name or click Browse to locate the file.

3. Enter a Comment that explains what the attachment is and why it is important to the bug.

4. Click OK to save the attachment.

5. Test the attachment by clicking the File Attachments tab, and double-click the attachment to open it.

6. In Team Foundation, on the File menu, click Save All.

Adding Related Work Item Links

To add a related link to another work item

1. Open a Quality of Service Requirement work item, and on the Links tab, click Add.

2. In the Add Link dialog box, under Link Type, select Work Item.

3. For Work item ID, click Browse.

4. In the Choose Related Work Item dialog box, select a query, and then click Find.

5. From the work item list, select a work item, and then click OK. The Description is added automatically.

6. For Comment, type "This is a test of the Related Link from the Add Link dialog box."

7. Click OK.

8. On the File menu, click Save All.

See Also

Tasks

Walkthrough: Tracking Work Items
How to: Add Hyperlinks to Work Items
How to: Add Related Work Item Links
How to: Attach Files to Work Items

Concepts

Querying for Work Items