Confused by global and local files

[NevilleT]

I am developing a customised project for a client. This includes custom
toobars, menus, calendars, forms, VBA, field customisation (e.g. renaming
text and number fields) and views.
As I understand it, views, calendars and forms are created in the local file
(i.e. the project file I am creating) whilst toolbars, VBA and menus are
stored in the global file. I understand I can use Organiser to move them
between the two.
We are getting into a tangle as I email new development versions to the
client for testing. We are loosing toolbars, getting VBA modules mixed up
and having old versions of calendars and field definitions interfere with
testing.
Is there any way to have everything run from the one project file without
using the Global file? If I can ship one self contained file to the client,
we do not have to worry about using Organiser at their end to move some
components to their global file. This assumes of course, the mpp file will
only use those components in the mpp file and not reference the global file.
I would also appreciate it if someone could point me to an article on the
web, or in the Project help that explains how Project references either the
local or global file for toolbars, VBA etc.

 

[Rod Gill]

If this is a completely custom install, then try sending a Global.Mpt file
and a project file with a batch file to copy them to the correct folders on
the client's PC. If the client has a custom view or anything else in their
own Global file, start with a copy of their global file.

As a test bed, save the global file into a folder, then create a desktop
icon that starts Project. Edit the shortcut's start in folder to be the
Global.Mpt's folder. That way Project starts up using that Global file.

Start Project any other way and it reverts to using the original Global.

Continue to update the global in this folder until the development is
completed, then over-write the original.

 

[NevilleT]

If this is a completely custom install, then try sending a Global.Mpt file
and a project file with a batch file to copy them to the correct folders on
the client's PC. If the client has a custom view or anything else in their
own Global file, start with a copy of their global file.

As a test bed, save the global file into a folder, then create a desktop
icon that starts Project. Edit the shortcut's start in folder to be the
Global.Mpt's folder. That way Project starts up using that Global file.

Start Project any other way and it reverts to using the original Global.

Continue to update the global in this folder until the development is
completed, then over-write the original.

Thanks for your help Rod. I am still struggling to understand what parts of
project reside in a global file and which in a project file, and why the
difference. Can I create a template with everything in that so I don't need
the global file? The other complication is the data which the client is
using which he has been cutting and pasting into each development version.
We had a problem today when I added a new column so everything was out of
sync. Is there somewhere I can understand the logic behind the operation of
MSP?
The application is stretching MSP in that they are using it for a production
scheduling system where they have about 50 standard products (concrete poles
and pipes) which are produced out of around 30 or 40 moulds. They process
around 200 to 300 orders a day and we are just slotting them into the
sequential sequence for each mould. Every time I send a new version of the
app, they need to transfer a few hundred tasks(orders). When a problem
occurs, it takes a fair amount of work to unravel it.

 

[Rod Gill]

I think you're on your own with production scheduling, Project simply isn't
suited to it. In the past I have created a production database to record all
jobs and tasks then used a macro to create a temporary schedule with all
tasks in so the manager could look at the schedule and resource workload, do
some basic leveling then update the database. All data stored in Project is
very risky: don't ever let an unskilled user even touch the PC, let alone
the project file!!

Yes you can use templates, but things like Toolbars still need to be in the
Global file, but you can copy them there using the Organizer.

Macros can also sit in one file and work on the data in another.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

Yes you can have all objects in a .mpp file and by a VBA macro copy all to
the Global.mpt file of the user.
I did this for a big customer, even putting this copy macro in a
Project_Open module: the user opens the file sent and it copies whatever is
needed into the Global.mpt

I can gove a few more hints and tips if you want to go this route.

Hope this helps

 

[NevilleT]

Hi Rod and Jan

Thank you both for your comments. I did try to talk the client out of using
Project for production scheduling but they insisted. I was sceptical but it
is now working really well for them. I created an Access database which
imports selected data from (but doesn't export data to) project. Certainly
would not let them update project other than in a controlled environment. I
use Access to import data and run specialised reports.

Thanks Rod for your suggestions. My problem is that I still don't
understand the logic of why Project uses both the global and local files for
different objects. In my simplistic way of thinking, I would think that
everything should reside in the local file but with Organiser you could make
the objects global. Don't see why some are global and some local.

Regards
Neville

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Neville,

I gave up understanding WHY software labs do the things they do quite a
while ago