Frequently asked questions about using CollabNet
TeamForge
Use this background knowledge to help you exchange information, track work and
collaborate with your team.
- Can I assign an artifact or task to a group of users?
Unfortunately this is not possible with the current implementation of groups in CollabNet Team Forge.
- What is an association?
CollabNet TeamForge allows users to easily associate, or link together, any objects in the system to simplify knowledge sharing and provide traceability throughout the lifecycle.
- How does CollabNet TeamForge support documents?
A key element in a successful product development project is ensuring that stakeholders from all functional groups are involved in an iterative document review and approval process, particularly for critical documents, such as Product Requirements Documents.
- Which arbitrary HTML elements can I customize?
CollabNet TeamForge Snippets are customizable HTML text fragments that can be inserted in predefined locations in CollabNet TeamForge pages.
- Can I request a role?
If you are a project member in CollabNet TeamForge, you can request a role in your project.
- Can I specify an alternate email address?
Yes, of course you can specify one or more alternate email address. CollabNet TeamForge supports user profiles with one primary email address and upto three secondary email addresses.
- Why don't I have access to the "Reported in Release" information in my artifact?
If you cannot see the "Reported in Release" information in your artifact, ask your project owner to add the role required to obtain access to this information.
- Moving to a CollabNet TeamForge project from a CollabNet Enterprise Edition project
If you have used the tools in CollabNet Enterprise Edition, you'll find the equivalent tools in CollabNet TeamForge familiar.
- What is change management?
Change management is about monitoring and addressing work items, product defects, feature requirements, and support requests.
- Do I have to use the administrator-given password always?
No, you don't have to use the adminstrator-given password beyond your first login into CollabNet TeamForge.
- What software configuration management tools are available in CollabNet TeamForge ?
From within CollabNet TeamForge, users can browse the contents of a project's source code repositories and view detailed information about code commits, changed files, and associations with other CollabNet TeamForge items.
- How do I create an artifact via email?
To create a tracker artifact using email Send an email message to <tracker id>@<TeamForge server>.
- Frequently asked questions about provisioning hardware with TeamForge Lab Management
Use this background knowledge to help you get the most out of TeamForge Lab Management.
- I don't need the priority and assigned-to fields, how do I get rid of them?
These fields are used internally by the system and can not be deleted or disabled.
- Why do the open tracker counts differ from when I filter on "Open"?
The "Open" category on the summary screen is based on the meta status "Open". It includes multiple statuses; Open, Fixed, and any other statuses that are defined as equivalent to Open by the tracker admin for your project.
- Why can't I edit a document when it opens in my browser?
If you click on a document in TeamForge (for example, a Word doc), and it opens in your browser instead of launching a separate MS Word window, chances are you will not be able to edit this document. The reason for this is because your browser has either called one of the MS document viewers, which do not have native edit capabilities, or the browser has "swallowed" the running MS Word process and the document has written to your %TEMP% directory as a read-only file. You can either choose to download the file to your desktop and then click on it to edit, or configure your browser to not swallow the application (this is described in various MS KB articles).
- Can I force files to be downloaded, rather than opened in the browser?
You can configure the application to force your users to download files, instead of letting them open them within the browser.
- Why are some uploaded documents missing icons when displayed in TeamForge?
TeamForge has a small internal mapping of which icon is associated with which mimetype(s). This mapping is necessarily small, as a complete mapping would be exceedingly large, and almost always out of date. You can examine the mimetype that TeamForge is receiving by examining the document's attributes using our SOAP API. You can also override this mimetype info via the API by uploading a new version of the document (which can be the exact same document contents).
- Can I link to documents outside of TeamForge?
TeamForge has the concept of a "url doc" to support this very usage. When creating a document in TeamForge, simply choose this type from the Create screen and then enter the URL that references the document in the existing external system. This will create a "placeholder" document in TeamForge that can be associated to, reviewed, etc as if it were a normal document, while maintaining the document's actual contents in the external application.
- Can I lock a document in TeamForge?
Absolutely, yes. You can specify a document as locked at any point in time (document create, document edit, etc). You can do this via the normal UI or via the SOAP API. Simply check the Lock document box while in Edit Document.
- Does TeamForge automatically resolve conflicts in documents made by multiple concurrent editors?
If you store your documents in CVS, Subversion, or some other SCM tool, then that tool will handle conflict resolution per its normal means. However, if you are using the Document Manager component of TeamForge, then there is no automated means within the product to prevent another user from uploading a newer version of a given document that does not contain the changes you just uploaded. To prevent this, we recommend you use the document locking feature of TeamForge to prevent others from editing a document you are editing.
- Why can't I reply when someone comments on my review?
By default, TeamForge doesn't add the review initiator to a review, which would be needed to facilitate this. To work around this, simply add yourself as an optional reviewer when creating the review. Alternatively, some customers have chosen to create a forum in TeamForge, and then include the forum's posting address in the review notes.
- What document types are supported in TeamForge?
TeamForge supports all known and unknown document types. In fact, TeamForge makes absolutely no distinction on a file type when uploading a document. This means that you can even upload binary files (like a Zip archive) into the document manager. Note that while TeamForge will accept any incoming data stream as a document, it does use the mimetype sent by the browser to determine if it has the proper icon to display for the document.
- What is a document in CollabNet TeamForge?
For CollabNet TeamForge purposes, a document is any file that you track with a document artifact.
- Why doesn"t an open review automatically close when a new version of the document is uploaded?
TeamForge doesn"t automatically close a document review under any circumstances (new document version, review due date passes, etc). This was a conscious decision on our part in which it was decided that TeamForge cannot always be aware of the business rules or personnel availability at a customer. For example, TeamForge cannot know that the one person whose document review input is most needed is on vacation for the four days the document was under review. If TeamForge were to close the review, then it would disappear from the user"s My Page. Additionally, TeamForge cannot know that a new version of a document supersedes the prior versions (or that it doesn"t supersede it). You may be uploading a "draft" or "work-in-progress" of the new version as document review feedback is received and if TeamForge were to close the review at this point, you might have received feedback from less than 1 percent of the reviewers.
- I am unable to edit a specific artifact via email, but I can via the web UI. Why is this?
There may be workflow rules applied to the tracker that require specific fields to be set. As you can only define the artifact title and description via email, the artifact creation fails. If you wish to create artifacts in this tracker via email, the tracker admin will need to disable these workflow rules.
- How can I monitor a forum or mailing list?
There are two methods for monitoring a forum or mailing list in TeamForge: At the Discussion Forum level and at the My Workspace level.
- Why is SourceForge Explorer forgetting my settings and not logging me in?
Certain conditions can cause SourceForge Explorer to stop functioning properly and to start behaving oddly. This can manifest itself as the app not logging you into SourceForge, or forgetting your settings, or other general strange behavior.
- Why don't I see all tracker fields when attempting to export the report?
When viewing the Report Details tab, you will see two Export buttons. The top button will only export fields that exist in all trackers. To export all fields of the specific tracker, use the Export button located below the tracker that contains those fields.
- What is the file size limit on uploads or attachments in TeamForge?
TeamForge has a 2GB file size limit on uploads or attachments.
- How do I create a new forum topic?
A forum can have any number of topics. A topic start a message thread to which other users can reply. Create a new forum topic to begin discussion of a new subject.
- How do I find the email address for a forum?
The email address for the forum is displayed on the Topic Summary page. If a mailing list is not enabled, you will not see an email address on the Topic Summary page.
- How do I remove a user from a discussion?
Unfortunately there is not currently a way for a TeamForge admin to remove a user from monitoring. You will need to have the user login and remove themselves from monitoring via the Monitoring button on the My Workspace page.
- How do I post a reply to a forum topic?
To post a reply to a forum message, follow the steps below.
- I can see the message I posted to a discussion in the web UI, but I didn't receive any of the responses via email. Why is this?
In order to receive form posts via email, you must monitor the forum. You can do this by placing a check next to the forum you wish to monitor and choosing "monitor selected" from the Monitor drop down at the bottom of the Forum list.
- What is a discussion forum?
CollabNet TeamForge discussions provide workspaces where project members can work together online or by email.
- Why are some of the discussions threaded?
Posts that are sent the mailing list address of the discussion will create new topics, and hence will not be threaded. Posts that are made in response to another post will be threaded beneath the original post.
- What is CollabNet Build and Test?
CollabNet Build and Test is a plugin for the Hudson continuous integration tool. It provides integrations for CollabNet TeamForge tracker, file release and document applications, authentication and authorization, and TeamForge Lab Management.
- How can I import tasks into TeamForge Task Manager?
Tasks can be imported into the Task Manager by using the CollabNet TeamForge Task Management Plugin for Microsoft Project
- Can I associate objects of different projects?
Yes, you can associate an object (for example from document to subversion commit) in one project to an object in another project if you have access or are a Site Admin.
- I deleted the email that verifies my CVS password. How can I retrieve my password?
You can sync up your TeamForge login and CVS passwords by changing your password in TeamForge:
- Does CollabNet TeamForge support merge tracking?
The Subversion repositories that are installed with CollabNet TeamForge run on Subversion 1.5, which supports merge tracking.
- What happens when I post to a moderated discussion forum?
A message to a moderated discussion forum is held until a moderator acts on it. (Except if you are a trusted user. These messages don't require moderation.)
- Who can be a moderator?
A discussion forum moderator is selected by the forum administrator.
- How can I reduce the number of emails from monitoring a folder?
Monitoring a folder might spam the mailboxes with emails that are generated for every small change. Email notification preferences under the Monitoring sub-tab under My Workspace can be modified to Send Daily Digest Email, which provides a summary of the email alerts.
- How can I stay informed about events on my CollabNet TeamForge site?
To keep up with changes, you can be notified by an automatic email when an item you are interested in is updated.
- Why would I want to make a discussion forum moderated?
Automated processes can only do so much to protect forum quality. Moderated posting can be thought of as a temporary transfer of control from automated processes to a human decision maker.
- Is it possible to move an artifact from one tracker to another?
Yes. Simply use the cut button to remove the artifact, then paste it to another tracker. The destination tracker need not be in the same project, but if the tracker definitions differ data could be lost.
- Can I move a discussion to another project?
No. Discussions cannot be moved between projects.
- How can I change the display order of the fields in my tracker?
Simply drag and drop the fields within your browser. Horizontal rules may also be added in this manner.
- How do I find the version of my MS Project plugin?
To obtain the plugin version, select SourceForge>Synchronize, and when the login pops up, hoveri the mouse over the SourceForge masthead. A tooltip will pop up with the component version numbers.
- Synchronizing my project plan, why do I get the error "Unable to check for pending changes"?
This error indicates that at some point after importing your project into TeamForge, you went into TeamForge and deleted the top-level task folder that was imported.
- How can I access the native install version of TeamForge? I can only find the VMWare version.
You will need to contact your account manager; the TeamForge VMWare license does not include access to native install media.
- How do I create a parent/child artifact?
A tracker artifact can be a parent or a child to another artifact.
- How do I put a notice to my users on the project home page?
To do this you will need to create a news item within the project. News items are posted and displayed on the project home page. News items are also displayed on the TeamForge home page.
- What is an agile project team?
As a member of a project team, you implement product features according to user stories created by the product owner and planning input from the project leader.
- What is a release?
A release is a group of one or more files that are published as a unit.
- How do I remove a news item?
You can delete any news item that you no longer want displayed on the project home page. Deleting a news item from a project also deletes it from the TeamForge home page.
- What kind of objects can I create reports on?
Reports can report on data from trackers and tasks. Task reports can report on data in a single project or across multiple projects. Tracker reports can report on data in a single tracker or across multiple trackers in a project.
- How do user roles work?
Project administrators can define specific access permissions for individual project members. They do this by using global project roles and/or creating roles and assigning the roles to project members.
- How do I save a report so I can run it again later?
In order to save a report for later use, you will need to define the report criteria and save it in a report template.
- What's the best way to search the CollabNet User Information Center?
Searching this site with the Eclipse search tool is a little different from searching the Web with a service such as Google. Here are some guidelines for getting the most out of a search on this site.
- Can I subscribe to a CollabNet TeamForge discussion forum's mailing list through an email?
Sure, you can subscribe to a discussion forum's mailing list to keep up with changes, via an email. When you subscribe or monitor a discussion forum, you are notified by an automatic email whenever there is any update to the discussion.
- What is a task dependency?
Task dependencies show what must be done before a given task and what will be done after the task is complete. Project managers can create dependencies between any two or more tasks in a project.
- Why can't I synchronize between Microsoft Project and CollabNet TeamForge?
Some conditions, such as having tasks that are pending change approval in CollabNet TeamForge and Microsoft Project, cause synchronization to fail.
- Why are Microsoft Project and CollabNet TeamForge doing things I don't expect?
When you synchronize Microsoft Project and CollabNet TeamForge, in some conditions the tool works as designed but the behavior might seem unexpected. For example, an empty task folder in CollabNet TeamForge creates a blank task in Microsoft Project.
- What's the difference between an ALM user license and an SCM user license?
The type of license you have determines what you can do on your TeamForge site.
- What fields can I use in a tracker?
You can use fields provided by TeamForge, and you can create your own custom fields. Most trackers use a mix of TeamForge-provided fields and user-defined fields.
- What is a tracker?
A tracker is a collection of records that follow the development of a unit of work from conception through to completion. You can create a tracker to manage almost any kind of work that your project calls for.
- What is tracker workflow?
To help users handle their tracker items effectively, you can set up some workflow rules. Workflow rules require a user to do something to a tracker before they can reassign it or update its status.
- What is an activity table component?
An activity table is a special kind of text component that gives project members quick access to a focused set of artifacts, action items and work products.
- What is a project page component?
A project page is a collection of simple portlet-like components that enable you to add custom HTML content, reports, project tracker queries, and much more to the project home page so your team quickly access what is important.
- What is TeamForge?
CollabNet TeamForge integrates software configuration management (SCM), continuous build and test, issue tracking, project management, lab management, and collaboration tools into a single Web-based application lifecyle management platform that empowers distributed teams to deliver great software.
- What is a wiki component?
A wiki component lets you link to an existing wiki page from a project page.
- Which role is assigned to me?
There are several ways in which you could have been assigned certain roles in CollabNet TeamForge. Your access to the projects depends largely on the permissions granted to you via your roles.
- Who can work with documents?
Any project member with the Document Edit permission can edit a document.
- Why would I attach things to a wiki?
The most common example of when you would attach something to a wiki would be when you need an image in the wiki page and you're concerned that if the image is hosted remotely (a corporate web server, for exampe), it might be moved or removed. Additionally, you might wish to attach a file to a wiki page if the attachment is only truly important in the context of the wiki page and therefore isn't important enough to be uploaded to the Document Manager of TeamForge.
- How do I delete an attachement from a wiki page?
Use the steps below to delete an attachment.
- I set my project to "use wiki homepage" so why isn't my wiki showing up?
TeamForge currently uses two distinctly different wikis. There is the wiki you've already edited, which is available by clicking on the Wiki button at the top of any project page, and there is the "project home" wiki, which is what you enabled in the Project Admin screen. If you visit the project home page after setting this option, and you have the proper RBAC permissions, there should be an Edit button in the bottom-right corner of the home page under the graphs. Use this button to edit the project home page wiki.
- How do I edit the wiki home page?
Once you've enabled the wiki as the project home page option in Project Admin, you must return to the project home page by clicking the Project Home button. There will be an Edit button on the bottom right of the page under the graphs. You may need to scroll your browser window to the right to see this button.
Related reference information
