A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a New Branch in TFS Visual Studio 2017

Understanding What a Branch is

Before embarking on the journey of creating a new branch in TFS Visual Studio 2017, it is critical to understand the concept of branching. For those unfamiliar with this software development practice, a branch is a separate copy of the source code that enables developers to implement changes without impacting the main branch or the codebase.

Branching is a routine practice in software development, especially when multiple developers need to work on the same code simultaneously, as it enables each team member to make changes without impeding one another’s work.

Steps to Create a New Branch in TFS Visual Studio 2017

While creating a new branch in TFS Visual Studio 2017 may seem like an intimidating task at first, follow the steps below to make the process relatively straightforward:

Step 1: Launch Visual Studio and Connect to TFS

Launch Visual Studio 2017 and connect to your TFS project by selecting the “Team Explorer” option from the “View” menu. Once you open the Team Explorer window, you’ll see the button labeled “Connect” at the window’s top. Click on the button to connect to your TFS project.

Step 2: Navigate to the Code Tab

Having connected to TFS, navigate to the “Code” tab in the Team Explorer window. Here, you should be able to view the existing branches in your codebase.

Step 3: Create a New Branch

To create a new branch, right-click the branch you want to branch from, then select “New Branch…”. In the dialog box that pops up, enter the name for your new branch and specify the path where you want to create it. You can also opt to create a new folder for your branch if necessary.

Step 4: Specify Branching Options

On the “Branching Options” dialog box, choose how you prefer to create your branch. You can branch from the latest version of the source code or the version last checked in by a specific user. Select the option that suits your needs and click the “Create Branch” button to create your new branch.

Step 5: Verify New Branch

After successfully creating your new branch, you should see it under the “Code” tab in the Team Explorer window. You can now switch to the newly created branch and begin making changes to the code.

Conclusion

Creating a new branch in TFS Visual Studio 2017 is a fairly easy process that you can accomplish in a few straightforward steps. Following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can easily create a new branch and start implementing new features and improvements for your codebase without interfering with the primary branch. With branching, software development becomes more streamlines, efficient, and collaborative.