Description of Visual Studio 2012 Update 1

How to obtain Visual Studio 2012 Update 1

Restart requirement

About this update

Supported languages

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional)
• Czech
• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Russian
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Spanish
• Turkish

Supported operating systems

Supported architectures

• 32-bit (x86)
• 64-bit (x64) (WOW64)

Hardware requirements

• 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
• 1 gigabyte GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running in a virtual machine)
• 1 GB of available hard-disk space
• 5,400 RPM hard disk drive
• DirectX 9-capable video card that is running at 1024 × 768 or a higher resolution

Software requirements

Support for Visual Studio 2012 Update 1

New features and fixed issues in Visual Studio 2012 Update 1

New features

Microsoft SharePoint development

• IntelliTrace collection for SharePoint applications
  This feature can change and access data, and provides a rich analysis experience for SharePoint applications.
• The ability to create coded UI testing for SharePoint 2010 applications
  These tests simulate user interaction and validate the functionality and behavior of an application’s UI.
• Web performance testing
  Web performance testing on SharePoint solutions can verify performance. The tests can be recorded, and then run and analyzed against the SharePoint solutions.
• Load testing support for SharePoint applications
  This feature enables stress testing of a SharePoint application. It can simulate high user loads, different network topologies, and some other conditions.
• SharePoint emulators provide the basic behavior of the SharePoint 2010 server object model
  SharePoint emulators provide a Microsoft Fakes framework. The framework enables developers to write unit tests that stub-out the required SharePoint dependencies.

Windows development

• Enable Windows XP targeting for building Visual C++ applications
  You can target Windows XP by using Visual Studio’s C++ multi-targeting feature. This feature enables you to use the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 compiler in Visual Studio 2012.
• JavaScript memory analysis tool
  The JavaScript memory analysis tool helps you understand memory usage and find memory leaks in your Windows Store app that is built for Windows by using JavaScript.
• Memory profiling for JavaScript applications
  The profiler can help you find the performance bottlenecks in your JavaScript functions and algorithms.
• Windows Store C++ unit testing improvements
  You can add references to C++ Windows Store executables and custom Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) controls in your C++ Windows Store unit test libraries.
• Support for debugging the ARM-based native dump file
  You can debug dump files of native C++ apps from ARM-based computers and devices with the same dump-debugging functionality that you are accustomed to on x86-based or x64-based computers.
• Support for debugging mixed managed and native Windows Store apps

Agile teams

• Kanban board for tracking project progress
  Kanban support improves teams’ existing processes. It sits alongside the existing task boards, and offers a new range of project-tracking options: a Kanban board with fully-customizable work in process (WIP) limits, and a cumulative flow diagram to clearly show the team’s delivery of value over time.
• Assign tasks to user stories through drag-and-drop in the taskboard
• Assign ownership through dragging in the people view of the taskboard

New test features in Microsoft Test Manager (MTM)

• Code coverage for web applications in MTM
  Testers can now know how much of the application code is being covered by test cases executed within MTM, and developers can now know whether their code is being accessed by the application and is a valid test case.
• Cross browser testing support for coded UI test
  You can use coded UI tests help automate browser based applications that are built on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
• Create an image action log from exploratory tests
• Populate test suites using hierarchical queries in MTM
• Directly edit test case properties from the Test Runner of MTM
• Data collectors populate Trait information for Visual Studio unit test grouping
  You can now organize and filter the test runs based on several conditions in Test Explorer. Traits is a new concept, a common denominator for several underlying terms: Test Category, Test Property, Priority, and Owner.
• The ability to pause and resume manual test sessions in MTM
• Automatic updates for MTM and Microsoft Feedback Client
• Usability improvements for coded UI testing
  
• No need to manually install SQL Server Express for load testing (By default, use LocalDB)
  
• Use command-line functionality to deep copy test plans to better support release management
• Publish test results to Team Foundation Server (TFS) from the command line

New features in Team Foundation Server

• Navigation and usability improvements for Web Access
  Work item forms now support "Next" and "Previous" buttons in TFS Web Access.
• Usability improvements for Version Control
• Updated TFS Web Access navigation styling
• Counts shown for links and attachments in TFS Web Access
• Drag-and-drop queries and query folders in TFS Web Access
• Ability to expand and collapse the left navigation pane in TFS Web Access
• VVersion control TFS server-side path limit changed from 260 characters to 400 characters

Other improvements

• Enable building code maps to easily understand relationships, and locate between different locations
• New start page videos for Visual Studio Premium and Ultimate editions
  You can watch three new videos that show how to use Code Map, new SharePoint development features, and many of the new improvements for testing applications.
• Code analysis for Windows Phone apps
  Code analysis rules are tuned to reduce the quantity of false warnings.
• Test Explorer can group and filter tests
• Visual Studio IntelliTrace integration with Microsoft System Center for IntelliTrace analysis ofApplication Performance Monitoring (APM) exception alerts
• Improvements for loading symbols and source
  
• End MSBuild processes when Visual Studio exits

List of issues that are fixed

Entity Framework Tools

• Entity Framework designer may overwrite facets of C-Space properties based on facets of S-Space properties.
• Build the solution fails after you add an empty ADO.NET Entity Data Model.
• The .tt files stop generating after you nest an .edmx file under the project folder.

ASP.NET Editor

• HTML tag is not closed when you type a starting <script> tag in Visual Studio 2012.
• IntelliSense gives a warning when you mix user controls and controls in a same tagPrefix node.
• CSS code examples cannot work in .less files.
• Visual Studio 2012 cannot insert a closing tag in HTML files automatically.

Web Tools

• Web Platform and Tools (WPT) packages are affected by a time stamp signing issue.
• Dirty flag is displayed after you save a file in Visual Studio designer.
• Too much memory is used after you add a new entity model that is generated from a database.
• A local Internet Information Services (IIS) Express instance is displayed when you browse from a web page that is in a cloud service project.
• "Application/JavaScript" content of JavaScript files is not registered to Visual Studio 2012.
• Right-to-Left is not supported in JavaScript Windows Store app templates.
• Visual Studio 2012 does not support the WinJS Software Development Kit (SDK).
• Visual Studio 2012 crashes when you save a read-only manifest and then select Cancel to dismiss the dialog box.

Web Publish

• You cannot install the Web Deploy component when you set up Visual Studio 2012.
• Web Tools Extensions (WTE) website publish operation does an unnecessary precompilation.

Build Automation in TFS

• A Build Scheduling job fails two times in TFS.
• "TF50620: The Team Foundation identity scope A5BD927E-17AE-41F9-B8F3-34BE44653408 does not exist" error, and you cannot upgrade to Visual Studio 2012.1.
• Message queue settings are lost.
• You cannot scroll in web browsers for the summary and log views of build files in Team System Web Access (TSWA).

Cloud Intelligence and Admin in TFS

• Visual SourceSafe (VSS) installer compliance issues.
• Visual Studio 2012.1 milestone information in ReleaseManifest.xml.
• "Object doesn't support this property or method" error when you access the Team Profile page.

Collaboration in TFS

• PowerPoint Storyboarding stops working when you uninstall Visual Studio 2012.1.

Services Framework in TFS

• "An error occurred while executing the following script: upd_IdentitySnapshotToDev11M36.sql. Failed batch starts on the line 242. Statement line: 2." error when you attach a collection to a Visual Studio 2012.1 server.
• You cannot upgrade to Visual Studio 2012 if the database collation name contains "90" and this instance is hosted on Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
• Rebranded URLs (for example tfs.visualstudio.com) are not supported in the Visual Studio 2012 client.
• "Exception of type 'Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Framework.Server.HostShutdownException' was thrown" error when you try to delete a project of an offline collection.
• LocalScopeId value is not changed in tbl_GroupScope when you change the Server ID.
• You cannot detach and reattach a cloned collection database instance, and it fails with an index violation.
• Decreased performance when you use the complex identity or group membership topography.

Version Control in TFS

• Query plan in the prc_CheckIn process causes large memory estimates.
• "Cannot insert NULL value (QU1)" exception in the TFS 2012 service, and the VC++ UpdateLocalVersion command fails.

.NET Runtime

• "Code Analysis errors of the same type - CA2149 Transparent code must not reference security critical items" error when you create a new application by using the default "Windows Phone XAML and Direct3D" project template.

F#

• The sort algorithm of the FSharp.Core.dll assembly may produce incorrect results, and you cannot deploy the applications that contains F# code to Windows Store.

ClickOnce

• "Not a valid Win32 application" error when you try to use ClickOnce to deploy a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application to Windows XP.

C++ Compiler

• Incorrect code is generated for bit field swap on the ARM compiler.
• Debug Interface Access (DIA) ARM stack unwinder displays empty stack when the CPU contains an invalid address.
• WinCE default entry point is _stdcall instead of _cdecl.
• The image base symbol name of WinCE is ImageBase instead of CeImageBase.
• Single VC++ file takes a long time to compile.
• No sign targets are called for the vcredist_x86, vcredist_x64, or vcredist_arm files.

Installation

• "Microsoft XP support for Visual Studio" error when you install the XP targeting package.

C++ Editor

• You may lose the property sheet changes in Property Manager.
• "Exception 0xC0000005; SQLCEOLEDB40.DLL!unloaded" error when you run VC++ applications in Visual Studio 2012.
• "Exception 0xC0000005;MICROSOFT.VISUALSTUDIO.CPPSVC.INTERNAL.DLL!" error when you run VC++ applications in Visual Studio 2012.
• You encounter a deadlock between the Devenv.exe and VCPkgSrv.exe files.
• VC++ project system does not support transitive closure of SDKs.

Standard C++ Library

• Potential branding issue during installation.
• Application intermittently crashes when you create an async operation with Parallel Patterns Library (PPL).

C Runtime (CRT)

• Replace mempcy function for ARM CPU with a faster version from Windows.

Visual Studio Fundamentals

• NetFx payloads are not the re-signed version in TFS and in team agents.
• Test professional and feedback client Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) are not included in the list of the Visual Studio 2012.1 bundle.
• The message on the Visual Studio 2012.1 "uninstall finished" page uses the information icon instead of the warning icon.
• ProjectReference and SKURef are not updated for the Visual Studio 2012.1 MSP with WDExpress core MSI file.
• Visual Studio 2012 does not contain the TFS_ServerCore.msi package.
• Threaded wait dialog title bar colors do not work well with a custom Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 color theme.

Visual Studio IDE

• Crash occurs when you try to close Visual Studio 2012.
• "Exception 0xC0000005; DEVENV.EXE!CDevEnvAppId::Run" error when you change the default installation path in Visual Studio 2012.
• Chrome does not automatically appear in the list of the Browse With dialog in Visual Studio 2012.
• You cannot start .VSIX setups after you install the July 2012 update in Visual Studio 2012 RC.

Localization

• Some IntelliSense texts are not translated.

ASP.NET Data

• Data Sources window is disabled after you build a project. Additionally, a "data sources are not supported by the current project" warning is displayed.

Code Analysis

• "MSBuild could not locate the Code Analysis tool" error when you run code analysis in Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop.

Agile

• No feedback when you cannot create stubs or shims for an assembly by using the Fakes function.

My Work

• You encounter crash and data loss issues in the code review workflow.
• The work items that are under the selected area path do not show in the "Available Work Items" section of MyWork.
• The feature enablement infobar does not go away when you upgrade TFS 2010 to TFS 2012.

Debugger

• 764861: Visual Studio 2012 crashes when you try to debug a native x32-based application.
• 760468: The remote endpoint is not reachable, and you cannot start or attach the debugger in Visual Studio 2012.
• "Exception 0xC0000005;VSDEBUGENG.MANIMPL.DLL!" error when you debug an application in Visual Studio 2012.
• The application may crash or data corruption occurs when you debug optimized native ARM-based binaries.
• The brand name is incorrect in the remote debugger installer dialog window.
• "Exception rxoejih3rskjez4xxwpxudkcppwjodng; VSDEBUGPRESENTATIONPACKAGE.NI.DLL!" error when you debug an application in Visual Studio 2012.
• You cannot debug ARM-based VC++ applications for late-breaking Windows hardware changes.
• You cannot step in a dynamic SQL script file by using the debugger in Visual Studio 2012.
• You cannot uninstall the app package after you debug an installed app package.
• The Wait dialog box is not helpful when third-party networking software blocks local 64-bit debugging.

IntelliTrace

• "'Microsoft.VisualStudio.TraceLogPackage.TraceLogPackage, Microsoft.IntelliTrace.Package.11.0.0, Version=11.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' package did not load correctly" error when you debug a new project in Visual Studio 2012.

Code Map

• Flag icons on Code Map are not updated.

T4

• You cannot debug the T4 template by using the Entity Framework templates.

Lab Manager

• You cannot create network isolation environments on Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) hosts.
• You cannot create the TestEnvironment.xml file by using Build Verification Testing (BVT) scripts.
• LoadTestScenario case fails in the BVT rolling build.
• "Specified cast is not valid" exception when you try to stop recording for an editing task scenario.
• You cannot obtain VC++ runtime from Visual Studio 2012 remote store.
• Test-signing time is too long in Visual Studio 2012.