Is it possible to change the length of a string Work Item field in TFS 2010?

Question

Hi all,

I'm trying to add 3 fields to some Work Item templates in my TFS 2010 project so we can do simple release notes documents generated via reporting services.

Using the Process Editor (in TFS Power Tools Sep 2010) I have added 3 fields, all String types - "Version", "Title" and "Description". Each has had the Reportable attribute set to "Detail". I used String since it seemed only that type was reportable.

This works well and I have produced a report that shows simple release notes that I enter in Work Items.

The trouble is with my Description field. It seems the string field can be no longer than 256 characters and if I try and enter more when editing an item I get an error.

I initially considered using a field type of (ideally) HTML or PlainText but the process editor warns me it's not reportable.

So, finally my question - is there a way of increasing the length of a string field in TFS 2010?

Thanks, Chris.

Answer 1

You're going to be stuck with the 256 character limit for reportable fields. However, understand what "reportable" means-- it means that it won't be replicated to the TfsWarehouse database or to the OLAP cube. You'll still be able to access it through queries within TFS / TFS Web Access, as well as through Excel integration. Most of your reporting needs may be able to be satisfied through these means.