26th Apr 2005 - Most Common VSS Data Export Support Issue

Recently we made a little check on our support mailbox. We looked for the most common support issues in order to see where we could improve the product. The result was very interesting and thought this is good information for all the VSS Data Export users out there.

90% of all support issues are related to problems with accessing the VSS database. The specific reason for this problem varies. Still a large proportion of this problem can be attributed to:

1. MS Visual SourcSafe 6 client not installed on the same machine where VSS Data Export is installed. We get this support question typically from first time users. It is also written black on white at the user guide but some still prefer to ask.

2. Broken MS Visual SourcSafe 6 client installations. This is by far the most common source of problems. A typical scenario is one where the client is installed and VSS access works fine. Still, VSS Data Export fails!! So it is not that obvious to pin-point this one. The problem is typically in the SourcSafe automation interface. Apparently SourceSafe itself does not use this interface and hence the SourceSafe client does not fail.

These problems have a simple common solution. Re-install VSS client and make sure it is able to connect to the SourceSafe database. Re-installing fixes broken installations and satisfies the minimum requirement. Connecting to the database ensures correct network connectivity.

If everyone were to keep in mind this posting we could probably discontinue product support!! Hey no fear I am just joking.

For more information on VSS Data Export please check the product homepage.