check out TFS at a specific change set

Question

I'm using TFS and VS 2012 and my project is in a broken state and I can't figure out why. I'd like to go back to a previous version of my solution when I know it worked and make changes on that working version. However, when I choose to check out a specific changeset, it seems to me like it's only changing the files that were changed in that changeset. When I use git and check out a revision, my code looks exactly like it did at that revision. Files that didn't yet exist at that revision are removed, files that did exist have contents as they were at that revision, etc. But I can't seem to do the same in TFS. I can't figure out how to get all of the files (and only the files) in the state that they existed when a particular changeset was checked in. Am I missing something? Any help REALLY appreciated.

Answer 1

Try using the Advanced option when you right click on a solution or folder in Source Control:

Then when the dialog appears, check both check boxes so the version you have is overwritten with the specific version you want by selecting Changeset from the ddl and entering the changeset you are after...

This should overwrite the existing solution files with the specific version.

If you have trouble doing it over top of existing files, delete the source on your local machine first and get the specific version after that.

Answer 2

A changeset is just the files checked in at one time, not a snapshot of the whole system. You want to use labels for that. A label will mark all the files in their present state, just as you describe Git doing.