Can multiple people share the same shelve set in TFS?

Question

I am looking for an alternative to branching in TFS with the goal of allowing multiple developers to continually integrate into a single changeset that is not in branch (aka a shelveset).

I know that a single user can update their own shelveset, and other users can pull that shelveset - but is it possible to allow several users to modify the same shelveset?

I understand that branching is preferred but I would still like to know if it is possible, maybe by using some sort of TFS powertool or modification.

Answer 1

No this is not possible. A shelveset is owned by a single user. it's also not recommended, as the shelveset is only a single snapshot of the change.

If you'd like something like this, you could consider git tf to create a local git repository which can be synced between two developers. Once they're finished one of the developers can push the change(s) back into TFS.

Moving from TFVC to Git has become easier with the release of TFS 2015u1:

Team Services | TFS 2015

In Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 1, a project administrator can add a Git repo to a team project created with Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC). You can also add a TFVC repo to a team project created with Git. This allows you to adopt a new version control system while preserving all the data in your team project.

As to ways to persuade people to move, that's a hard question. You'd first need to understand what is holding them back, explain the, what advantages Git brings, what disadvantages you see in the current setup. You will probably need to hand-hold or train them so they get comfortable with Git. Using git-tf for a while may give them more confidence to make the move.