Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition FAQ

Article
02/22/2012

This topic answers some of the most common questions about Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition.

Which version of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition should I install?

The most recent version of Team System 2008 Database Edition is Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2. The steps to install this version depend on how your computer is configured.

For a detailed list of prerequisites and installation instructions, see the General Distribution Release (GDR) for Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition Readme.

If you have…	You should...
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals GDR	Install Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite. Install Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1. Install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2.
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition SP1 -OR- Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite SP1	If you have not already installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1, install it now. Install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2.
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR v2 RC1 or an earlier pre-released version	Uninstall Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR v2 RC1 or an earlier version. Install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2.
No existing versions of Visual Studio Team Database Edition installed	Install Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite. Install Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1. Install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2.

Why upgrade to Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2?

When you upgrade to Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2 from an earlier version, you can experience improved performance and stability. This update fixes over 40 problems found in the original Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release. For an overview of the issues fixed in this release, see the VSTS DB Team blog entry: Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2.

Is a GDR R2 update available for the Database Edition Power Tools?

A refresh of the Power Tools is scheduled to be released for Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2 in the future. Updates about the release schedule for these tools will be posted on the VSTS DB Team blog.

I have installed the GDR, but now I see duplicate commands on the menus in the IDE. How do I fix this problem?

In some cases, when you install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR v2, duplicate commands appear on menus such as the Data menu and the Edit menu.

To fix the duplicate menus

Close all instances of Visual Studio Team System 2008 editions.

At the Windows Command Prompt, type the following command:

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\DBPro\DBProRepair.exe RemoveDBPro2008

Press ENTER.

At the Windows Command Prompt, type the following command:

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe /ResetUser

I have installed the GDR, but now the Unit Test Wizard isn't working. How do I fix it?

Problems can occur in the Create Unit Tests wizard when you create a unit test for a method in a solution that contains a Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR project, a Silverlight project, or a WIX project in Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1. The problems with the Create Unit Test wizard can include some or all of the following:

There are no type lists in the Types panel.
The Output project list is missing.
When you click the Settings button, the wizard closes immediately.
The OK button is unavailable.

A hotfix is available to resolve these issues. To learn more about this issue, as well as the hotfix install location, see Knowledge Base article 962866.

How do I get Database and Development Editions together?

An excerpt from the press release dated Sept. 29, 2008:

"As a benefit to existing Software Assurance (SA) customers, those who currently own Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition will receive all the following products starting Oct. 1, 2008, for free:

Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Software Developers
Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Database Professionals

The products will be available to SA customers through their normal Microsoft Developer Network channel. More information can be found at Microsoft Software Assurance."

For the full press release, see Microsoft Unveils Next Version of Visual Studio and .NET Framework.

If you have not yet purchased an edition of Visual Studio Team System 2008, visit the following Web site for information: Special Offers for Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio Team System 2008.

When should I use server projects?

You can use server projects, a new feature introduced in Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR, to enable your team to define a server-level configuration for their SQL Server databases in a stand-alone project. By using a server project, you can share an expected configuration and objects among database projects. A server project can be referenced by multiple database projects without duplicating server object definitions. For example, you might have three database projects, each representing a user database on your target server. Each database project should have a reference to the same server project to make sure that the configuration of the target database server is consistent.

User-level database objects should still be defined in database projects.

For more information, see Introducing New Features In The VSTS Database Edition GDR.

How do I manage SQL Server permissions when I deploy my database to different staging environments?

When working with database applications, you often use different servers when you deploy to development, integration, pre-production, and production environments. SQL permissions often vary based on which server you are deploying the database to. Patrick Sirr and Duke Kamstra have collaborated to give you three different methods of managing SQL Server permissions using Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database edition and server projects: pre-build events, post-deployment scripts, and Visual Studio Extensibility. For more information, see the following blog post on MSDN: Template Driven Sql Generation.

How do I fix Error TSD03006?

If you reference objects that are defined in the system schema from the database project, you must also reference master.dbschema. If you do not reference master.dbschema from your project, error TSD03006 appears.

To reference master.dbschema in the database project

In Solution Explorer, right-click the References folder and click Add Database Reference.
Select Database project schema (.dbschema) and click Browse.
Navigate to [Program Files]\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VSTSDB\Extensions\SqlServer\2008\DBSchemas and specify the master.dbschema file.

Note

If you are not using SQL Server 2008, browse to the folder that corresponds to your version of SQL Server and specify the master.dbschema file found there.

After you add the reference to master.dbschema, you might notice a change in performance when you deploy or load the database project. To resolve this problem, consider customizing master.dbschema. For more information, see the VSTS: DB Best Practices blog entry Right sizing the master.dbschema file for better design time performance.

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