Getting the latest version

The Teamprise Get Latest operation is the most frequently used of the TFS source control commands. It is employed in a number of scenarios which enable the synchronization of local and server repositories. When used in concert with other Teamprise operations, it ensures your workspace is always coordinated with those of your teammates.

You use the Get Latest command in the following circumstances:

After you create a new working folder mapping in a TFS workspace and want to populate your local directory with the server files.
Anytime you edit, cloak, or remove a working folder mapping, TFS prompts you to issue a Get Latest to synchronize the the workspace with the new mapping.
Before you begin work on your files and want to be sure you work off the latest version in source control.
Anytime your workspace seems out of synch or misbehaving, Get Latest restores your TFS workspace to match the files in the source control repository.

Many users mistakenly think that by checking out a file, they have checked out the TFS repository version. In fact, the check out action only makes a file in a local working folder writeable. The Get Latest action makes your local workspace current by overwriting the version in your local working folder with the current server version*.

For a more conceptual understanding of the TFS check out, check in, and get latest actions, see Understanding the Check-out and Check-in Concepts in Source Control Systems.

Updating your workspace

You can perform a Get Latest on an entire Team project (in which all containing subdirectories and files are retrieved), or you can perform a Get Latest on a single file or selection of files.

You can determine the currency of any file or folder in TFS source control from the Source Control view of the Teamprise Explorer window. If you do not have the latest version of a file, the Latest column in the Source Files view displays No.

In the example below, the file book.css is no longer synchronized with the latest version in the Team repository. After you perform a Get Latest the No is updated to Yes. If you wish to compare the repository version with your workspace version before you issue a Get Latest, use the Teamprise compare command. See the User Guide Comparing versions for steps on comparing files.

To retrieve the latest version of a file, a folder, or group of files:

In your Source Control view, (in the files partition if you are getting the latest on a single file) right-click on the file you wish to retrieve and select Get Latest Version from the context menu.

Note: If you do a Get Latest on a directory, Teamprise will retrieve the latest version of all contents in that directory. If there are dependencies between files, it's recommended you retrieve the entire directory to ensure any new dependencies you introduce are based on the latest files in the source control repository.
To verify you have retrieved the latest version, you can also open the Console view. You will see the following Console message for each file updated.
```
Replacing C:\working_folder\filename
```
Or, if no files required updating (because the repository version matches your workspace version) you see:
```
All files are up to date
```
Once you have the latest version of source control files in your workspace, you will still need to perform a check out if you wish to edit the files. For check out instructions, see Checking out files for editing.

Note: When working collaboratively, it is a good practice to perform a Get Latest before beginning work on your files. This will minimize conflicts and ensure your workspace is always synchronized with the latest changes in the the shared repository.

Setting Check out Preferences

You can set Check out Preferences to force a Get Latest each time you check out a file. In the Teamprise Explorer menu, select Tools > Preferences. Click Source Control and check the checkbox Automatically get the latest version before check out.

*Conflicts during Get Latest

If a file is checked out for editing in your workspace when you issue a get latest, TFS will not it. Instead, you will be prompted to resolve conflicts by discarding your local changes, or by overwriting the changes on the server version, or by merging the changes into a new file. Resolving conflicts is handled with the Teamprise Merge operation which is discussed in greater detail in the Resolving Conflicts section of the User Guide.