Is it possible to change default "Team foundation Server URL"?

Question

We don't have team system web access on the same server as TFS. Is it not possible to change the default "Team foundation Server URL"? Now the users has to change this every time they log in...

Answer 1

Hi Milzit,

You can change the default tfs server url by changing the web.config file of TSWA. You can find this file at "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio [2005 or 2008] Team System Web Access\Web\"

Inside this file there's a setting called "tfsserver" that lets you to add serveral tfs servers. You only need to replace the server url in this place as follow:

 

Code Snippet

<tfServers>

   <add name=http://YOUR_SERVER:8080 />

</tfServers>

 

 

Hope this helps,

Answer 2

Is it possible to lock this field down so that another URL can't be picked by the user?   I'm setting up a hosted TFS environment and it seems like a security concern to allow a user to redirect the app tier.

 

Answer 3

Hi Chris,

I'm not completely sure about understanding your question, anyway I'll answer what I understood and if it isn't what you were asking about correct me.

Regarding to the initial question, you can add more than one Team Foundation Server to the list to let the user pick one of them in order to consume data from it. Now, about your question, I understood that you want to lock this field to avoid users from selecting another Url.

There isn't any option in TSWA configuration that let you lock/unlock this field, but since it's a Web project and we only need to modify the UI behavior it's easy to achieve.

Go to your TSWA installation folder, usually "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team System Web Access\" and then to "Web\UI\Controls" and open the Login.ascx file. This user control is the control that is shown in the login page and it contains the field we are looking for.

Then look for a tag control called "EditableDropDown" and add a property called "EditMode" and set it to "false". Your code should be like this.

 

Code Snippet

<tswa:EditableDropDown

   ID="eddServerName" runat="server" SuggestedMode="true"
   Required="true" Width="200px" Height="20px" ValidationGroup="form"
   CausesValidation="True" NotAllowedBackgrounColor="" ListItemCssClass="f_i"
   ListItemCssClassHover="f_hi" EditMode="false">
</tswa:EditableDropDown>

 

This way you won't let the users to write an Tfs Url, they just can pick one of the list, and if it's only one the have to connect to this TF server.

Hope this help.

P.S.1 - Maybe I have'nt understood you and this doesn't helps you in anything, if this is the case, please try asking again and explaining a bit more your situation.
P.S.2 - Remember that this is an unsupported issue, and do it at your own risk. Since it's only modifying a property in a control is shouldn't cause problems but you know.....

Answer 4

I think you did understand and I'll try the modification you suggested.   To me, it's a security/usability concern to allow a user to come through forms login process and have the ability to freely select the URL of an application layer to go against.    For example, I setup a public facing Web Access instance with my TFS server as default.   But if someone comes to my site and plugs in https://tfs02.codeplex.com:443/ as the server URL they can point it at CodePlex.   I don't want anyone being able to do this.    

 

It's kind of like Outlook Web Access.  When I check my work email over the web, I don't get to point it at a different exchange server.   

 

So I think your workaround will do, but it does seem like it should be a selectable configuration setting ( and the default setting )  to restrict instance choices to the Sys Admin defined URL list.

Answer 5

Great Chris :-)

It's a pleasure to help, and yes this could be a great option to add in tswa. Maybe someone who can do something about it is reading this.. ;-)

Best regards,
J.

P.S. If you find the answer useful plesase mark it at correct