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I'm currently working on a large project, and am about to make some large changes, and was looking for a way to 'backup' my prior work. Is there built in functionality in Visual Studio to work with version control?

This project is developed only by me, and doesn't use Team Foundation Server (which is what most of my googling seems to give me answers on). Ideally, I would like to identify and restore all the different versions of my program as it evolves, without having to worry about totally messing something up...

Cheers and thanks in advance!

---EDIT--- With a version control system though, would that be stored on a seperate server? Or is it possible to store it locally? I'm more just concerned that I will just seriously mess up my code and not be able to undo it at some point...

keynesiancross
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    I suggest you ignore the VS-integration aspect first and focus on which VCS you want (SVN/GIT/Mercurial/etc.). – Kirk Woll Jan 05 '11 at 21:40
  • I second Kirk's idea. Most Version Control Systems (VCS) will have a Visual Studio Add-In that allows you to integrate. – Wonko the Sane Jan 05 '11 at 21:42

9 Answers9

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There are several third-party source control integration tools, such as AnkhSVN or VisualSVN for SVN repositories (I use the former and can gladly recommend it). As far as "built-in", Visual Studio supports Team Foundation Server and Visual Source Safe out of the box, but those are both paid products and VSS should be avoided (in my opinion) for any new work.

Personally, I use TortiseSVN (for Windows integration) and AnkhSVN (for VS integration) with our SVN repository. There are free SVN servers as well, so you can get by with a very good solution while paying $0.

Adam Robinson
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Well, there are a number of free source control alternatives out there and there are plug-ins (free ones) into Visual Studio that will allow you to hook right in. Take a look at those links and pick one that works for you!

bahrep
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JasCav
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Visual Studio has the ability to work with many source control providers. You simply have to hook them up.

Use "Tools->Options->Source Control->Plug-in Selection".

John Saunders
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TFS is really expensive, especially for just you. You can use VisualSVN.

bahrep
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P.Brian.Mackey
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  • It's worth noting that TFS Server is included with some Visual Studio versions. Of course, those _are_ the more expensive versions: [Professional](http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/professional). The "with MSDN" version is currently US$1199 – John Saunders Jan 05 '11 at 21:47
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You may be able to use git with VS which means you don't need another dir/server etc for the repo. Consider Using Git with Visual Studio

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Danny Staple
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it is a free download to us ANkhsvn. It is a plugin for visual studio that connects to various source control severs. You would first have to have a subversion server setup somewhere. Which is easy enough to do.

Doug Chamberlain
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There is no built-in Version Control System in VS.NET, however, VS.NET supports multiple version control systems, like TFS, Visual Sourcesafe, SourceGear vault , etc...

Frederik Gheysels
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As you state, you need a version control system. Look at this answer on selecting a Version Control System.

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Marcel
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There are many version management systems. A lot of them are expensives, but... the are many others that are free! Take a look here: http://producingoss.com/en/vc-systems.html

You can use SVN (Subversion) - one of the most used widely.

Adilson de Almeida Jr
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