VSTS Plugins For Excel
Overview
Welcome to the ultimate resource for enhancing your project management and team collaboration with the VSTS plugin for Excel. Perfect for project managers and teams who rely on Azure DevOps and Microsoft Excel, this plugin streamlines workflows by enabling bulk updates, adding attachments, and leveraging native Excel functionalities within your Azure Boards. On this page, we'll delve into what VSTS is, explore the seamless integration between VSTS and Excel through plugins, illuminate common use cases, and provide answers to frequently asked questions. Discover how this powerful tool can transform your project management efficiency and data handling capabilities.
What is Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS)?
Microsoft Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) is an online hosted service from Microsoft, providing a cloud-based Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) system. As a cloud-hosted DevOps suite, VSTS offers a comprehensive range of capabilities that are integrated or can be used independently. This service is designed to support game developers with tools for Agile planning and a variety of source control options including Git and TFVC.
VSTS encompasses a broad spectrum of development and deployment activities, including requirements capturing, project planning following Agile or traditional methodologies, work item management, version control, build, deployment, and manual testing. Additionally, it offers Cloud-hosted build agents, the possibility to use self-hosted agents on Azure, and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines with robust Azure integration. VSTS further includes services such as test and package management.
Also known as Team Foundation Server (TFS) on the cloud, VSTS is tightly integrated with the Visual Studio .NET Integrated Development Environment (IDE), facilitating a seamless workflow for developers. The system also supports a range of data types and provides type conversion functions to ensure that variables are coerced to the correct data type, thus enhancing the robustness of the software development process.
VSTS Plugins for Excel
Bulk Modification of Work Items
The Excel plugin and integration with VSTS allow users to add or modify work items in bulk. This capability streamlines the process of updating multiple items at once, saving time and effort.
Adding Links and Attachments
Users can add links and attachments to multiple work items simultaneously. This feature ensures that relevant information and documents are easily accessible within the work items.
Utilizing Native Excel Features
The plugin leverages native Excel features to support actions such as summing columns, copying and pasting rows, and filling down data into cells. These familiar tools enhance the functionality of the Excel plugin when managing work items.
Tree Hierarchy Management
Work items can be demoted or promoted within the tree hierarchy using the indent and outdent icons. This feature helps in organizing the work items according to their relationships and dependencies.
Publishing Changes
With the VSTS Excel plugin, any changes made to work items can be published directly from Excel, ensuring that updates are reflected in the VSTS system.
Reporting and Charting
Users can create reports or charts from flat-list queries using the Excel plugin. This functionality is useful for visualizing work item data and generating insights from Azure DevOps Server.
Resolving Errors
The plugin provides tools to resolve publishing and linking errors, ensuring data integrity and consistency across work items.
Common Use Cases
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Use case 1: Bulk addition or modification of work items in Microsoft Excel for Azure Boards and Azure DevOps ServerV
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Use case 2: Managing work items and their tree-topology links using the tree list feature in ExcelV
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Use case 3: Creating Excel reports from work item queries for data analysis and presentationV
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Use case 4: Leveraging native Excel features such as summing columns, copying rows, filtering, and sorting for enhanced work item managementV
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Use case 5: Offline work on work items that can later be published upon reconnection to Azure DevOpsV
Frequently Asked Questions
What versions of Excel are compatible with the VSTS plugin for Excel?
The VSTS plugin for Excel is compatible with Microsoft Excel 2010 or later versions, including Microsoft Office Excel 365.
Is the Azure DevOps Office Integration add-in necessary for using the VSTS plugin with Excel?
Yes, the Azure DevOps Office Integration add-in is required to use Excel for work items and is available from the Downloads page.
Can I share Excel workbooks connected to Azure DevOps?
Yes, Excel workbooks connected to Azure DevOps can be shared by disconnecting the connection to prevent accidental changes.
Can I use Microsoft Project Integration and the TFSFieldMapping command with Visual Studio 2019 and Azure DevOps Office Integration 2019 or later versions?
No, Microsoft Project Integration and the TFSFieldMapping command are not supported for Visual Studio 2019 and Azure DevOps Office Integration 2019 or later versions.
What issues may I encounter when publishing work items in Excel?
Publishing issues in Excel may occur due to data conflicts, validation errors, or inaccuracies in summary values.
Conclusion
Whether you're looking to extend your Office experience with the newer, lightweight Office Add-ins, or utilize the robust VSTO Add-ins that integrate deeply with Excel 2010 and Excel 2013, connecting VSTS to Excel enables powerful data management capabilities through queries. This seamless integration supports various query types and list formats, from simple flat lists to complex tree lists with hierarchical relationships, facilitating both the viewing and bulk updating of work items directly within Excel. Rather than navigating the complexities of plugins, consider using Sourcetable to import your VSTS data directly into a spreadsheet, streamlining your workflow even further. Sign up for Sourcetable to get started and elevate your data management to the next level.
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