TFS

The process of merging items that are not directly branched from each other is called
a baseless merge. For example, you might want to merge a change between two
release branches, which are siblings of each other, without merging up to the parent
branch. You can only perform a baseless merge by using the Tf merge command.
You cannot perform a baseless merge from within the Visual Studio IDE.
When you perform a baseless merge, TFS does not have any information about the
relationship of the files in the branches. For example, if you have renamed a file, this
will be viewed as a deleted file and a new file will be added in the branch. For this
reason you have to perform more manual conflict resolutions than when you perform
a normal merge. However, you only have to perform this conflict resolution once.
After you have performed the baseless merge, TFS records merge history and
establishes a relationship between the folders and files.
Summary of Steps
• Step 1 – Evaluate Whether a Baseless Merge Is Needed
• Step 2 – Perform a Baseless Merge Using Tf.exe
• Step 3 – Resolve Merge Conflicts
• Step 4 – Check-In the Merged Changes
Step 1 – Evaluate Whether a Baseless Merge Is

Needed
In this step, you evaluate the branches and items to be merged to determine if you
need to do a baseless merge or whether a regular merge will work.
If you are the owner/administrator of your team project, you will know the
relationships between the branches or items. From Visual Studio, you can only
merge the branches or items that have a parent-child relationship. If your project
contains branches or items that do not have this relationship, you require to perform
baseless merge.
If you are not aware of all the relationships between the branches or items, you can
evaluate whether you need to use a baseless merge as follows.
1. Open Source Code Explorer.

2. Right-click the branched folder and then click Merge.
3. In the Source Control Merge Wizard dialog box, click the Target
branch drop-down list.
If you do not see an entry for the branch you want to merge, this indicates
that no merge relationship exists between these branches. In this case you
must perform a baseless merge.
Step 2 – Perform a Baseless Merge Using Tf.exe

In this step, you use the TFS command line tool Tf.exe to perform a baseless
merge.
To perform a baseless merge:
1. Set the Workspace for both branches by performing a “Get Latest” operation
on the branches to be merged:
a. Open Source Code Explorer.
b. Right-click the folder for the first branch to be merged, and click Get
Latest Version.
c. Repeat the previous step for the second branch to be merged.
Note that if no workspace is mapped, Visual Studio prompts you to select a folder on
your local drive.
1. Open a Visual Studio command window.

2. Run the following Tf.exe command from the command line:
Tf merge /baseless <<source path>> <<target path>> /recursive
Example
Tf merge /baseless c:\data\proj1 c:\data proj2 /recursive
If you need to merge specific versions of the code changes, you can use the version
switch with Tf.exeas follows:
tf merge /baseless <<source path>> <<target

path>> / recursive /version:<<from Changeset>>~<<to
Changeset>>
Example
tf merge /baseless c:\data\proj1 c:\data\proj2 /recursive

/version:C123~C125
Step 3 – Resolve Merge Conflicts

In this step, you resolve conflicts that might occur when performing a baseless
merge. After you run the Tf.exe command, it displays a Resolve Conflicts dialog
box with a list of the files that have conflicts.
1. Select each file and click Resolve.

2. In the Resolve version conflict dialog box:
a. If there are no content changes, select the Keep changes in the
target branch resolution option and then click OK.
b. If there are content changes, select the Merge changes in merge
tool resolution option, and then click OK.
3. In the merge tool, click the conflict regions in the upper pane or type in the
lower pane to apply changes for each conflicting line.
4. After you have applied changes for all of the conflicts, click OK in the merge
tool.
5. After all the conflicts have been resolved, click Close.
Step 4 – Check-in the Merged Changes
In this step, you check-in the baseless merged changes
1. Open Source Code Explorer.

2. Right-click the target folder in which you have merged the changes and
click Check-in pending changes.
3. In the Check-In Source Files dialog box, ensure that all the files to be
checked in are selected.
4. Click Check In.

TFS

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

TFS

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

TFS

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The process of merging items that are not directly branched from each other is called

Step 1 – Evaluate Whether a Baseless Merge Is

1. Open Source Code Explorer.

Step 2 – Perform a Baseless Merge Using Tf.exe

1. Open a Visual Studio command window.

Tf merge /baseless <<source path>> <<target path>> /recursive

Tf merge /baseless c:\data\proj1 c:\data proj2 /recursive

tf merge /baseless <<source path>> <<target

tf merge /baseless c:\data\proj1 c:\data\proj2 /recursive

Step 3 – Resolve Merge Conflicts

1. Select each file and click Resolve.

1. Open Source Code Explorer.

You might also like