Add extensions in work item form via work item type definition xml

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

You can export a work item type as xml using the witadmin tool, which includes the layout of the work item form. As part of this example, we add the page, group, and control contributions to the layout. We also add the control to the Agile "User Story" work item type. For more information, see WebLayout xml reference.

Add extension in work item form

1. Install work item form extensions in Azure DevOps Server.

2. Open the Developer Command Prompt. Export the xml file to your desktop with the following command.

   witadmin exportwitd /collection:CollectionURL /p:Project /n:TypeName /f:FileName
   

   A file gets created in the directory that you specified.

3. Inside this file, go to the WebLayout section. Inside the WebLayout section, a comment blob specifies which installed extensions target work item forms for your collection. For each extension, all its form contributions are listed with their IDs and inputs (if it's a Control contribution). In the following example, the comment shows the color-control-dev extension installed on the collection. The extension has one control contribution that takes two inputs.

        <!--**********************************Work Item Extensions***************************
   
    Extension:
        Name: color-control-dev
        Id: example.color-control-dev
   
        Control contribution:
            Id: example.color-control-dev.color-control-contribution
            Description:
            Inputs:
                Id: FieldName
                Description: The field associated with the control.
                Type: Field
                IsRequired: true
   
                Id: Colors
                Descriptions: The colors that match the values in the control.
                Type: String
                IsRequired: false
   

4. Find your extension ID in the Work Item Extensions section:

        <!--**********************************Work Item Extensions*************************** 
   
    Extension:
        Name: color-control-dev
        Id: example.color-control-dev
        ...
   

5. Add an extension tag below the Work Item Extensions section, shown as follows, to make your extension available to the work item form. To place a contribution inside the form, its extension must be specified in the Extensions section.

        <!--**********************************Work Item Extensions***************************
        ...
   
        Note: For more information on work item extensions use the following topic:
        https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=816513
        -->
   
        <Extensions>
            <Extension Id="example.color-control-dev" />
        </Extensions>
   

6. Specifying the extensions in the xml automatically places both the page and group contributions defined in the extensions inside the form. You can move the contributions in the following examples.

Add page contribution

    <Page Id="Details">
    <PageContribution Id="<page contribution id>" />
    ...       

Add group contribution

    <Page Id="Details">
    ...
        <Section>
        ...
            <GroupContribution Id="<group contribution id>" />
            ...

A page contribution and a group contribution can't take any other layout elements.

Add control contribution

Unlike page and group contributions, specifying the extensions in the xml doesn't automatically place control contributions. To add these contributions in the form, add them with a contribution tag inside the form. The following example adds the ControlContribution to the Planning group.

If a control contribution has any required input defined, users must give a value for that input. For any non-required input, users can decide whether to set a value to the input. In the following example, the FieldName and Colors inputs get set.

    <Page Id="Details">
    ...
        <Section>
        ...
            <Group Id="Planning">
            ...
                <ControlContribution Label="Priority" Id="example.color-control-dev.color-control-contribution">
                    <Inputs>
                        <Input Id="FieldName" Value="Microsoft.Azure DevOps Services.Common.Priority" />
                        <Input Id="Colors" Value="red;green" />
                    </Inputs>
                </ControlContribution>

                <Control Label="Risk" Type="FieldControl" FieldName="Microsoft.Azure DevOps Services.Common.Risk" />

7. Import this xml file, using witadmin.

   witadmin importwitd /collection:CollectionURL /p:Project /f:FileName

Your extension is configured via the work item form!