Add tags to work items to categorize and filter work
Tagging work items helps you quickly filter the product backlog or a work item query by categories that you define.
Note
To use tagging, install Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 on the application-tier servers for Team Foundation Server (TFS).
Add tags and assign tags to work items
From Team Web Access (TWA), open a work item and add a tag. Or, select from the list of previously assigned tags.
.png "Add one or more tags to a work item")
To add several tags at one time, type a comma between tags. Tags are case sensitive.
Tags that are listed in the tag bar are already assigned to the work item.
To unassign a tag, simply choose the x on the tag,
.png "Delete a tag assigned to a work item")
.
Show tags in your backlog or query results
Open Column Options to add the Tags field to the product backlog or a work item query.
.png "Add Tags to the selected columns to display")
All tags that are assigned to the listed work items appear.
.png "View with Tags column added")
Filter a list of work items
Turn on filtering and choose a tag.
.png "Choose a tag to filter the list by that tag")
The list refreshes. Only those work items with the selected tag are displayed. Filtering the list disables add-a-backlog-item panel, stack ranking, and forecasting.
.png "Filtered list disables other features")
To apply a sub-filter, choose another tag.
To show all items, choose All or choose the
.png "Turn tag filtering on or off")
filter icon to turn filtering off.
Q and A
Q: How do I remove a tag from TFS?
A: Remove the assignments that are associated with the tag. You can’t delete the tag itself. TFS automatically deletes unassigned tags after 3 days of disuse.
Q: What if I misspell a tag?
A: Don't assign the misspelled tag to any work item and it will be automatically deleted within 3 days.
Q: Are tags associated with teams?
A: No. Tags are associated with work items. If your team project contains multiple teams, all teams will add to and work from the same set of tags.
Q: Can I filter on more than one tag?
A: You filter successively be choosing from the set of tags that appear in the filter tag bar. To start your filter process over, choose All to show all tags.
Q: Can I add Tags to my default column view on the product backlog page?
A: Yes. Modify the AgileConfiguration file to include System.Tags in the set of fields to display. See Customize the Backlog Pages.
Q: Can I add a tag to my query?
A: No. You can filter a work item query, but you cannot add a tag through the query editor.
Q: Can I add or modify tags using Team Explorer, Excel, or Project?
A: No. You can view tags using any TFS client. However, you can only add tags and filter work item lists using TWA.