Visual Studio isn't tracking changes, or check

Question

I am new to TFS. At my job I mapped the TFS projects to local directories, performed a get, and everything works as I expected. When I edit files on my local copy, source control automatically checks them out for editing and tracks the files with pending changes via the pending changes window. Then I just check them in throughout the day using that window.

However, at home this doesn't appear to be happening. I have access to source control and using source control explorer, have mapped the projects to local directories. This appeared to work fine. However, when I open the projects and open files, changes I make are not automatically checking out files. In fact, visual studio isn't even changing their read-only status until I try to save my changes; at that point it warns me that the file is read-only and asks if I would like it to try to overwrite the permissions and save. I do and it works fine. But again, no changes register in the pending changes window. I'm kind of lost. The only source control experience I really have is subversion and the visual studio AnkhSVN plugin.

Any ideas? I've even opened my solution by double-clicking the solution file that is in source control explorer. You would think it would be fully-aware that the solution I'm opening should be tracked by source control.

Any help is much appreciated.

EDIT Since people seem to be hung up on the fact that I said "at home", let me clarify. There are no problems with the network. I am on a VPN. I can browse source control just fine. I have since reinstalled everything for various reasons. All went well. I'm just having an issue with Visual Studio not tracking changes to files and allowing them to be committed back to source control. So to sum it up:

How could Visual Studio stop tracking changes after being mapped correctly, and allowing me to get latest? I can update from source control, I just can't commit. Pending changes window is empty even after making changes.

Please, only people who have worked with TFS and would have some insight into this behavior. If you don't know what I'm talking about then don't worry about it. I have been very clear and anyone that has used TFS for source control will understand the question.

Answer 1

Install 2 things:

1. Team Explorer for VS2013 (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40776)
2. Install VS TFS Power tools (https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f017b10c-02b4-4d6d-9845-58a06545627f)

That's it

Answer 2

For me the solution was to go to Team Explorer Pending Changes window, and from there initiate the check-in. Did not see the go online option, i am on VS2013. Thanks to all for the pointers!

Answer 3

I've just found how to fix this when you are already online (there is no "Go online" option visible). Actually, there ARE pending changes listed but they are hidden below the huge "Comment" section. To view them increase hight of the "Pending Changes" tab and decrease hight of the "Comment" section: you'll see the list of pending changes that was hidden by poorly scaled VS :)

Answer 4

I was getting the "Read Only" error like everybody else. I got the little red check next to the files I was editing, but when I went to save, it asked me to save the file b/c it was read-only. I moved the files from a different version control system and they were still read-only. But I don't think Git cares about keeping files read-only like my old source control did. So I just removed the read-only flags in Windows Explorer and was good to go.