index > Team Foundation Server - Reporting > How to create report on custom defined plain text fields

How to create report on custom defined plain text fields

I added a release notes text field to my work item definition and would like to get this text in a report.

What datasource should I use to retrieve this data. I'm now using TfsWorkItemTracking but I do not know if this is the best way to go.

paso

Is this is stupid question or does no one knows the answer ?

Same for http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=771860&SiteID=1

paso

Forget it. It looks like TFD databases were designed with no reporting feature in mind and reporting was added later only to demostrate how cool you can connect every object with any other object, not for real life usage.

mfridental

Hi Paso,

Good question. You can get the custom fields you defined from the TFSWarehouse database. In this database, find the table called Current Work Item from there you can query the same to get the Custom fields.

If not check with Work Item table also.

Regards,

Kathir

Kathirvel

I could not find these fields in any of the tables of the TFSWarehouse DB. The only place I could find them was in the WorkItemsAre table of the TfsWorkItemTracking DB, but the columns representing these fields have names like Fld10045, Fld10046, etc.

paso

Paso,

When you extended the work item type and added the release notes text fields did you mark the field as "reportable"? See http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms194942.aspx for more information on how to mark fields as reportable and make them available in the relational warehouse and/or the OLAP store.

Ameya

Ameya Bhatawdekar MSFT

You're right. I did not make it reportable. I must have copied the definition from the Sytem.Description field which is not reportable.

Can I still make it reportable now, even when some records have already been using this field ?

Thanks !

paso

I tried to make this field reportable but its not allowed. Dimension and detail is only allowed for following types Integer, Double, String, or DateTime (see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms194942.aspx)

paso

you are right...

Regards,

Kathir

Kathirvel

reply 9