Custom Enterprise date field changes from NA to 1/3/1984

[dcarlton]

After creating a custom enterprise date field, NA values will randomly change
to 1/3/1984, similar to a bug reported long ago in Project 2002. Deleting
the 1/3/1984 date will cause the date to correctly change back to NA. When
opening the project file again, eventually these NA dates will once again
begin appearing as 1/3/1984. Deja vu all over again. Not specific to any
one project file, they all will do it. A show stopper for us, as I can't
have 20 managers repeatedly correcting this bug.

I reported this bug previously in the MS Connections web site, then MS
mysteriously took down the link for MS Project 2007 Server and all of the
existing bug reports (several hundred). Why??

 

[Ben Howard]

Hi, not sure why MS have taken all the bug links down, but I can think of a
couple of potential solutions.
1. If the CEF is a formula, check if the value is 3/1/84 and set to NA

or

2. If the CEF is manually entered, run some VBA on Project Save/Close that
checks if the value is 3/1/84 and set to NA.

Sorry that i don't have a direct soln, but both of these would get around
your showstopper.

 

[dcarlton]

Thanks for the super quick response Ben. This a simple enterprise date field
that is part of an enterprise template used for all projects. Actually two
fields, a start and a finish date; but made separate from the built-in
project date start/finish fields so that MS Project will not try to re-plan
the schedule based on early or late start/finish dates. Planned dates need
to stay fixed for our Earned Value Measurements. No calculation involved,
just a date entry when XYZ was started or finished.

So solution 2 should work for us. I can do a macro for a global
find/replace 1/3/1984 to NA.

Thanks,

Doug

 

[Ben Howard]

Sounds like 2 will work for you then. I've never come across the bug despite
implementing EPM solutions for the last 7 years! I'll know to keep an eye
out for it now.
--
Thanks, Ben.

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