Updating binary files in TFS Source Control

Question

So I decided to add my referenced 3rd party dlls to source control in a separate folder called lib and then reference them from said directory.

This works just fine, but when I want to update the files, TFS seems completely oblivious to the fact that the files have actually changed. Even if I copy over the old files, there seems to be no way of checking in the newer ones. If I choose the Check-in pending changes from the source control explorer, I get an info box saying there are no changes. But if I run a compare to a single DLL between latest and workspace versions, TFS does tell me the files are indeed different.

So is the only solution to delete the files from source control and then re-add them back as the newer versions, or could I just somehow update them?

Answer 1

Team Foundation Server (through 2010, and with 2012's "Server Workspaces") use a "Checkout/Edit/Checkin" model for version control that differs from many other types of version control systems (eg, "Edit/Merge/Commit" systems).

In order to update your binaries, you need to explicitly check them out and update the contents. You can then check them in. This type of system is tuned for dealing with large repositories and large files like binaries since it need not scan your disk to determine whether files have changed or not.

If you prefer to work with an Edit/Merge/Commit type system, which will scan your disk looking for changes and you need not explicitly check files out, this is available in TFS 2012 (as "Local Workspaces").