Default Working Time in Microsoft Project 2002?

[gmeadows]

From the Tools menu, I select Change Working Time. I click the Options
button and set the time and then I click the Save As Default button and
finally I click on the OK button bringing me back to the Change Working Time
dialog box. I click on the day or days of the week and then I select the Use
Default radio button. The time does not change to my default settings that I
setup in the Options dialog.

What am I missing her.

 

[JulieS]

Hi gmeadows,
You aren't missing anything. The default start time and end time you set on
the Calendar tab in the Options dialog box doesn't change your calendar. The
'Set as default' button only makes the changes you made the default settings
for future projects but still doesn't affect the calendar.
From help:
The default start and end times:
"Specify the default start and end time for task constraint dates in which
you enter a date but do not include a time."
And from help:
"Changing options in this dialog box does not affect the project calendar or
resource working times calendars. It only affects how Microsoft Project
converts the durations into related time amounts used throughout your
project...To control the way the work is actually scheduled, change the
appropriate working times calendars."

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.
Julie

 

[gmeadows]

JulieS,

Seems that if the default time is given in the Options dialog box that that
time will be issued to the Change Working Time dialog box when I select the
"Set As Default" radio button.

Is this a bug in Project 2002?
Thanks,
gmeadows

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

There is a common misunderstanding what those default start and end times
actually are. First, they are NOT the 0800-1200 and 1300-1700 default work
hours you find in the working time calendar, the work schedule you get if
you click the "use default" radio button in the upper right corner of the
Change Working Time calendar window and changing them does not change that
behavior. Those work hour defaults are hard coded and cannot be changed,
not even by a registry hack or some other back door.

The default times you've changed are something else entirely. All of the
dates in Project are actually date/time fields. When you enter a start date
using the little pull down calendars, like when you set the Project Start
Date or set a constraint or deadline or click in the Start field in the task
list to set a start date, Project uses the working time calendar to supply
the time portion of the entry. But when you actually type in the date
string manually, Project will use the default start you've designated to
fill the time portion of the entry. Same for entering finish dates.

Here's a little experiment to demonstrate it. Set up a little project with
three tasks, Project Start date (Project, Project Information menu) on
Monday. Leave the calendar as the normal 0800-1200 and 1300-1700 and use
the options screen to set default start to 10:00. Do NOT click "set as
default" unless you want these settings to apply to all projects. In the
Tools Options View page select a date format that shows you the time as well
as the date. For the first task in your project just enter the name and hit
enter - don't change anything else. For the second, click in the start
field and from the little calendar pulldown set a start date (ie,
constraint) of next Wednesday, 27 Oct. In the start field of the third task
TYPE "10/27/2004" without the quotes of course (assuming you use US format
mm/dd/yyyy dates) and hit enter. You'll see task 1 shows starting at Monday
8am, task 2 will show Wednesday at 8am and task 3 will show Wednesday 10am.
That task 3 time is what those default start and end times control.

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

See my other message - it does seem like that's what those entries control
but in fact that's not what they do. It's not a bug but rather an
unfortunate choice of naming and wording on the dialog boxes. It seems to
say one thing when actually the fields do something quite different.

 

[JulieS]

Great explanation Steve and the example really drives home the point.
Thanks,
Julie

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Thanks <g>

Great explanation Steve and the example really drives home the point.
Thanks,
Julie