Bar Text Won't Display In Gantt Chart

[Mike]

Hi,

I'm trying to have the Deadline date display next to the Deadline symbol
(downward green arrow) on the Gantt chart in my master project file, which
contains a number of projects.

I can successfully create it in the individual project file, but it doesn't
always appear in the master file. When I try to create it from the master
file, it may work or it may give me an error message when I choose _Format
Bar_ from the right-click menu: "The argument is not valid. Verify that the
value is spelled correctly, and that it is of the type that this argument
expects."

Sometimes I'll be able to open the _Format Bar_ dialog, select the Deadline
text, click OK to the dialog, and no text appears in the master file, but
it'll be in the individual file.

Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks...

 

[Jack Dahlgren]

Try this method instead:

Open the master file. Go to format menu / barstyles, scroll down until you
see the barstyle for deadlines. Click on the text tab in the bottom half of
the screen. Set the text you want to display.

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[Mike]

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show the date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

 

[John]

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show the date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP

 

[Mike]

First, thanks to Jack for your help; I had your name wrong in my last post.

Second, thanks for piping in with your tip, John. I'm trying to use it now,
but I can't get it to work.

I've followed your instructions so far using Flag12 since 1-11 are
pre-defined by our scheduling group. (BTW, I'm using MSP2007.) Here's what
I've done:

1. In the "Custom Fields" dialog, I've added your formula to the "Custom
attributes" section by clicking on the "Formula..." button and selecting its
radio button.

2. In the same dialog, the option for the "Calculation for task and group
summary rows" section is set to "None" (default). "Values to display" is set
for "Data" (default).

3. In the "Bar Styles" dialog, I've created a new style right under the
existing Deadline style (without making changes to it). The new style has
the following properties: Name- "Split"; Appearance- <red framed down
arrow>; Show For...Tasks- "Flag12"; Row- '1'; From- "Deadline"; Start-
"Deadline".

These are all the changes I've made so far, but no changes occur in the
Gantt chart to overdue Deadlines. Can you think of anything I've missed?


--

-Mike

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show the date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP

 

[John]

First, thanks to Jack for your help; I had your name wrong in my last post.

Second, thanks for piping in with your tip, John. I'm trying to use it now,
but I can't get it to work.

I've followed your instructions so far using Flag12 since 1-11 are
pre-defined by our scheduling group. (BTW, I'm using MSP2007.) Here's what
I've done:

1. In the "Custom Fields" dialog, I've added your formula to the "Custom
attributes" section by clicking on the "Formula..." button and selecting its
radio button.

2. In the same dialog, the option for the "Calculation for task and group
summary rows" section is set to "None" (default). "Values to display" is set
for "Data" (default).

3. In the "Bar Styles" dialog, I've created a new style right under the
existing Deadline style (without making changes to it). The new style has
the following properties: Name- "Split"; Appearance- <red framed down
arrow>; Show For...Tasks- "Flag12"; Row- '1'; From- "Deadline"; Start-
"Deadline".

These are all the changes I've made so far, but no changes occur in the
Gantt chart to overdue Deadlines. Can you think of anything I've missed?

Mike,
You haven't missed a thing. . . but I did. Oops! The formula must be in
the subproject Flag12 field, not in the master file. The bar style
formatting however does belong in the master.

Sorry for the miscue. See if it works now.

John
Project MVP

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show the
date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP

:

Try this method instead:

Open the master file. Go to format menu / barstyles, scroll down until
you
see the barstyle for deadlines. Click on the text tab in the bottom
half of
the screen. Set the text you want to display.

-Jack Dahlgren

:

Hi,

I'm trying to have the Deadline date display next to the Deadline
symbol
(downward green arrow) on the Gantt chart in my master project file,
which
contains a number of projects.

I can successfully create it in the individual project file, but it
doesn't
always appear in the master file. When I try to create it from the
master
file, it may work or it may give me an error message when I choose
_Format
Bar_ from the right-click menu: "The argument is not valid. Verify
that
the
value is spelled correctly, and that it is of the type that this
argument
expects."

Sometimes I'll be able to open the _Format Bar_ dialog, select the
Deadline
text, click OK to the dialog, and no text appears in the master file,
but
it'll be in the individual file.

Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks...

 

[Mike]

That worked...thank you, John.

--

-Mike

First, thanks to Jack for your help; I had your name wrong in my last post.

Second, thanks for piping in with your tip, John. I'm trying to use it now,
but I can't get it to work.

I've followed your instructions so far using Flag12 since 1-11 are
pre-defined by our scheduling group. (BTW, I'm using MSP2007.) Here's what
I've done:

1. In the "Custom Fields" dialog, I've added your formula to the "Custom
attributes" section by clicking on the "Formula..." button and selecting its
radio button.

2. In the same dialog, the option for the "Calculation for task and group
summary rows" section is set to "None" (default). "Values to display" is set
for "Data" (default).

3. In the "Bar Styles" dialog, I've created a new style right under the
existing Deadline style (without making changes to it). The new style has
the following properties: Name- "Split"; Appearance- <red framed down
arrow>; Show For...Tasks- "Flag12"; Row- '1'; From- "Deadline"; Start-
"Deadline".

These are all the changes I've made so far, but no changes occur in the
Gantt chart to overdue Deadlines. Can you think of anything I've missed?

Mike,
You haven't missed a thing. . . but I did. Oops! The formula must be in
the subproject Flag12 field, not in the master file. The bar style
formatting however does belong in the master.

Sorry for the miscue. See if it works now.

John
Project MVP

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show the
date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

--

-Mike

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP


:

Try this method instead:

Open the master file. Go to format menu / barstyles, scroll down until
you
see the barstyle for deadlines. Click on the text tab in the bottom
half of
the screen. Set the text you want to display.

-Jack Dahlgren

:

Hi,

I'm trying to have the Deadline date display next to the Deadline
symbol
(downward green arrow) on the Gantt chart in my master project file,
which
contains a number of projects.

I can successfully create it in the individual project file, but it
doesn't
always appear in the master file. When I try to create it from the
master
file, it may work or it may give me an error message when I choose
_Format
Bar_ from the right-click menu: "The argument is not valid. Verify
that
the
value is spelled correctly, and that it is of the type that this
argument
expects."

Sometimes I'll be able to open the _Format Bar_ dialog, select the
Deadline
text, click OK to the dialog, and no text appears in the master file,
but
it'll be in the individual file.

Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks...

 

[John]

That worked...thank you, John.

Mike,
You're welcome.
John

First, thanks to Jack for your help; I had your name wrong in my last
post.

Second, thanks for piping in with your tip, John. I'm trying to use it
now,
but I can't get it to work.

I've followed your instructions so far using Flag12 since 1-11 are
pre-defined by our scheduling group. (BTW, I'm using MSP2007.) Here's
what
I've done:

1. In the "Custom Fields" dialog, I've added your formula to the "Custom
attributes" section by clicking on the "Formula..." button and selecting
its
radio button.

2. In the same dialog, the option for the "Calculation for task and
group
summary rows" section is set to "None" (default). "Values to display" is
set
for "Data" (default).

3. In the "Bar Styles" dialog, I've created a new style right under the
existing Deadline style (without making changes to it). The new style
has
the following properties: Name- "Split"; Appearance- <red framed down
arrow>; Show For...Tasks- "Flag12"; Row- '1'; From- "Deadline"; Start-
"Deadline".

These are all the changes I've made so far, but no changes occur in the
Gantt chart to overdue Deadlines. Can you think of anything I've missed?

Mike,
You haven't missed a thing. . . but I did. Oops! The formula must be in
the subproject Flag12 field, not in the master file. The bar style
formatting however does belong in the master.

Sorry for the miscue. See if it works now.

John
Project MVP

:

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show
the
date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove
the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

--

-Mike

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master
file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique
to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the
normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP


:

Try this method instead:

Open the master file. Go to format menu / barstyles, scroll down
until
you
see the barstyle for deadlines. Click on the text tab in the bottom
half of
the screen. Set the text you want to display.

-Jack Dahlgren

:

Hi,

I'm trying to have the Deadline date display next to the Deadline
symbol
(downward green arrow) on the Gantt chart in my master project
file,
which
contains a number of projects.

I can successfully create it in the individual project file, but
it
doesn't
always appear in the master file. When I try to create it from
the
master
file, it may work or it may give me an error message when I
choose
_Format
Bar_ from the right-click menu: "The argument is not valid.
Verify
that
the
value is spelled correctly, and that it is of the type that this
argument
expects."

Sometimes I'll be able to open the _Format Bar_ dialog, select
the
Deadline
text, click OK to the dialog, and no text appears in the master
file,
but
it'll be in the individual file.

Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks...

 

[PWHill]

Would it not be simpler to use the precedence feature of the format bar
styles process? I insert a row just below the normal bar styling to format
the deadline style for normal tasks (not critical), and another below the
critical bar styling to format the deadline style for critical tasks. Project
will automatically apply critical styling for any task for which the finish
is later than the deadline. I also used this automatic formatting to identify
all precedent tasks linked to a given task by inserting an artificial
deadline on or earlier than the finish of the target task. This before I
installed Jack's "trace" macro.

That worked...thank you, John.

Mike,
You're welcome.
John

First, thanks to Jack for your help; I had your name wrong in my last
post.

Second, thanks for piping in with your tip, John. I'm trying to use it
now,
but I can't get it to work.

I've followed your instructions so far using Flag12 since 1-11 are
pre-defined by our scheduling group. (BTW, I'm using MSP2007.) Here's
what
I've done:

1. In the "Custom Fields" dialog, I've added your formula to the "Custom
attributes" section by clicking on the "Formula..." button and selecting
its
radio button.

2. In the same dialog, the option for the "Calculation for task and
group
summary rows" section is set to "None" (default). "Values to display" is
set
for "Data" (default).

3. In the "Bar Styles" dialog, I've created a new style right under the
existing Deadline style (without making changes to it). The new style
has
the following properties: Name- "Split"; Appearance- <red framed down
arrow>; Show For...Tasks- "Flag12"; Row- '1'; From- "Deadline"; Start-
"Deadline".

These are all the changes I've made so far, but no changes occur in the
Gantt chart to overdue Deadlines. Can you think of anything I've missed?


--

-Mike
Mike,
You haven't missed a thing. . . but I did. Oops! The formula must be in
the subproject Flag12 field, not in the master file. The bar style
formatting however does belong in the master.

Sorry for the miscue. See if it works now.

John
Project MVP


:

Thanks for the tip, John, the text seems to appear in all cases.

It's a backdoor that I may use, but by default, I only want to show
the
date
when the task has exceeded the Deadline. Therefore, I have to remove
the
text for each Deadline I create. At least, it seems to consistently
display...

--

-Mike

Mike,
I think you meant to say, thanks to Jack, I don't recall responding to
your post - I'm John.

But now that I've jumped in, let me clarify something for you.
Formatting in subproject files does NOT carry forward to the master
file
and vice versa. View formatting you see at the master level is unique
to
the master.

Your latest post puts an additional "spin" on what you want. Actually,
it is possible to set up the conditional bar formatting you desire. It
will require a formula in a spare flag field and two separate format
styles for milestones. Try the following (all this is in the master
file).
1. Customize the Flag1 field with this formula
iif([Deadline]<[Finish],yes,no)
2. Go to Format/Bar Styles and add a new bar style below the existing
deadline bar. Set up the new bar to "show for..." Flag1. You might also
want to change the color of the deadline to be red or some color other
than the default green.
3. Add the date text only for the new deadline bar

Now when you view the master file, deadlines that are earlier than the
task finish date will show in red, (or whatever color you set), along
with the date. Deadlines after the finish date will show with the
normal
green deadline arrow and no date.

Hope this helps.

John
Project MVP


:

Try this method instead:

Open the master file. Go to format menu / barstyles, scroll down
until
you
see the barstyle for deadlines. Click on the text tab in the bottom
half of
the screen. Set the text you want to display.

-Jack Dahlgren

:

Hi,

I'm trying to have the Deadline date display next to the Deadline
symbol
(downward green arrow) on the Gantt chart in my master project
file,
which
contains a number of projects.

I can successfully create it in the individual project file, but
it
doesn't
always appear in the master file. When I try to create it from
the
master
file, it may work or it may give me an error message when I
choose
_Format
Bar_ from the right-click menu: "The argument is not valid.
Verify
that
the
value is spelled correctly, and that it is of the type that this
argument
expects."

Sometimes I'll be able to open the _Format Bar_ dialog, select
the
Deadline
text, click OK to the dialog, and no text appears in the master
file,
but
it'll be in the individual file.

Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks...