Sync bugs

[Ola]

Hi,

I've come across a problem when trying to sync bugs from TeamPulse to TFS, I get the error message: "Input string was not in correct format". In the log it says:
--------------------------------------
2011-05-12 14:07:23,001 [5] DEBUG  - Created SyncAction of ChangeType 'Add' for EntityType 'Bug' with Id '9'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,002 [5] DEBUG  - ... Added SyncActionField for target field name 'System.Title' with desired value of 'Product Administration - New Category'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,004 [5] DEBUG  - ... Converted Status from 'Not Done' to 'Not Done' for Bug #9 using ValueMapping 'BugStatusMapping'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,004 [5] DEBUG  - ... Added SyncActionField for target field name 'System.State' with desired value of 'Not Done'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,004 [5] DEBUG  - ... Added SyncActionField for target field name 'Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Severity' with desired value of '3 - Medium'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,004 [5] DEBUG  - ... Added SyncActionField for target field name 'System.AreaPath' with desired value of 'All'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,004 [5] DEBUG  - ... Added SyncActionField for target field name 'System.IterationPath' with desired value of 'Ver. 4.3.5'.  
2011-05-12 14:07:23,005 [5] ERROR TeamPulse.Integration.Core.Services.SynchronizationService - Error syncing stories.  System.FormatException: Input string was not in a correct format.
   at System.Number.ParseSingle(String value, NumberStyles options, NumberFormatInfo numfmt)
   at TeamPulse.Integration.Core.Synchronization.SyncSetAgent.ApplyFieldFormatConversion(Object fieldValueToConvert, String sourceFieldType, String targetFieldType)
   at TeamPulse.Integration.Core.Synchronization.SyncSetAgent.GenerateSyncSetFromTeamPulseDeltaSet(SyncConfiguration syncConfig, DeltaSet teamPulseDeltaSet, String username)
   at TeamPulse.Integration.Core.Synchronization.SyncSetAgent.GenerateSyncSet(SyncConfiguration syncConfig, DeltaSet sourceDeltaSet, DeltaSet targetDeltaSet, String username)
   at TeamPulse.Integration.Core.Services.SynchronizationService.SyncStories(Int32 projectId, String username)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

/Ola

[Ryan]

Hello Ola,

It appears that the TeamPulse sync service is having a hard time parsing a Priority on a bug. Our best guess is that you are using a non-whole number or fractional number in a priority field and that the parser is getting tripped up between using a comma instead of a period to represent that (or vice-versa). Would you happen to know what culture or language format your TeamPulse server is set to?

As a non-ideal work around, removing the comma or decimal from the priority should allow the sync to work.

Greetings,
Ryan
the Telerik team

[Ola]

Hi and thank you for your reply,

In Team Pulse, I can't set the priority to a decimal value - it's a dropdown with the values 1,2,3,4.
The culture on the TeamPulse server is Swedish/Sweden. I've had an other issue with the decimal separator, it might have something to do with that.

/Ola

[Ryan]

Hello Ola,

Yes, I still think it is something to do with the culture settings. We have a bug logged for this and it should be fixed for our next release.

In the meantime, I have another workaround for you. Again, it is not ideal, but hopefully it will allow you to sync. You can turn off syncing for just the Priority field on bugs. To do this you will need to modify your sync mappings by following the steps laid out in the documentation: Editing Synchronization Mappings. (Please save a local backup of these settings before you modify them.)

You will need to find a line in the mappings in the Bugs section that looks like the following, and remove it.

<FieldMapping TeamPulseFieldName="Priority" TeamPulseFieldType="single" DestinationFieldName="Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority" DestinationFieldDisplayName="Priority" DestinationFieldType="integer" />

Kind regards,
Ryan
the Telerik team

[Ola]

Hi,

The workaround solves my problem. But this issue seems to apply to more than just Bugs and Priority. I recently changed a lot of estimations on Stories in TeamPulse, when I tried to sync I got the same error - "(FieldName='Story Points' | Value='3.000' | Status='InvalidType')". Is there any way I can help you with this problem, I realize it depends on localization. Can I set up the database to use a different Collation or use another regional setting on the server?

The Bug issue was managable, but not being able to use the estimation on stories is a big fall back for our team.
/Ola

[Ryan]

Hi Ola,

If possible, changing your regional settings on the server to English (United States) should *fingers crossed* fix the problem. 

Greetings,
Ryan
the Telerik team

[Ola]

Hi again,

I tried changing to English (United States) in regional settings, both on the TFS server and the TeamPulse server. This did not change the behaviour though. When I create the Story in TFS (Sharepoint), the sync completes without error, but if I try to sync a new story from TeamPulse or edit a previously synced story, the error occurs.

/Ola

[Jordan]

Hi Ola,

Have you restarted the Integration Service after you changed the culture? The service have to be restarted to get the new culture.

Regards,
Jordan
the Telerik team

[Ola]

Hi,

I didn't have the Integration Services installed, after installing them I had to restart the server and after doing that the sync worked! :)
I don't know if the solution was to restart the server or installing the integration services or both, but now it works!

Thank you!

/Ola

[Jordan]

Hello Ola,

I'm glad that you finally solve your problems.

When I said integration service I was talking about the TeamPulse.IntegrationService. This is a windows service that is coming with TeamPulse and handles the synchronization.

Greetings,
Jordan
the Telerik team