How can I do a simple cross-project search in TFS 2012?

Question

We are planning to move our projects (including defect databases) to TFS. I see that I can create a work item query that spans projects, but it doesn't appear that the "quick search" field supports cross-project searches. What is the best way to accomplish this? We have "light users" that just want to come in and search for certain keywords across all projects.

Answer 1

In the new query editor, right click on the Project clause, and select Delete Clause. Then when you run the query, you see everything. The result doesn't have the "Project" column. You can click on Column Options, and then Select "All Projects". Then select "Team Project" and push it to the right. This will show you which project the item belongs to. Hope this is helpful.

Answer 2

There is no way to search across projects because Web Access always limits the search to the current project when running search query on the server.

The only solution I could suggest is to use work item queries and specify the projects explicitly.