duration field with question marks

[Jack]

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in MSProject2000. The
calculated duration hours remains with a question mark. Will that create a
problem if I don't physically remove the question marks?

 

[Joe]

Jack,

This "?" mark is just an indicator to let you know this is an estimate. It
serves no other "functional" purpose in terms of how MS project works. So
you can go ahead and delete them with no impact to the plan.

Joe

 

[JulieS]

Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has an
estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration initially, the
question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools -->
Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have estimated
durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks have estimated
durations." [Note: Those are options in Project 2003, I believe they were in
2000 as well, but I don't have 2000 handy to check right now.]

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

Julie

 

[Mike Glen]

Yes, 2000 has the same facility. You can also remove the odd one by
re-typing the duration.

Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has an
estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration initially,
the question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools -->
Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have estimated
durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks have estimated
durations." [Note: Those are options in Project 2003, I believe they
were in 2000 as well, but I don't have 2000 handy to check right now.]

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

Julie

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in MSProject2000.
The calculated duration hours remains with a question mark. Will
that create a problem if I don't physically remove the question
marks? --
Jack

 

[JulieS]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the test of 2000. It's been awhile since I used 2000 and didn't
have time to drag the old computer out of moth-balls.
Julie

Yes, 2000 has the same facility. You can also remove the odd one by
re-typing the duration.

Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has an
estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration initially,
the question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools -->
Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have estimated
durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks have estimated
durations." [Note: Those are options in Project 2003, I believe they
were in 2000 as well, but I don't have 2000 handy to check right now.]

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

Julie

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in MSProject2000.
The calculated duration hours remains with a question mark. Will
that create a problem if I don't physically remove the question
marks? --
Jack

 

[Mike Glen]

I have the 4 versions 98 to 2003 installed on my PC


Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the test of 2000. It's been awhile since I used 2000 and
didn't have time to drag the old computer out of moth-balls.
Julie

Yes, 2000 has the same facility. You can also remove the odd one by
re-typing the duration.

Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has an
estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration
initially, the question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools
--> Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have
estimated durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks have
estimated durations." [Note: Those are options in Project 2003, I
believe they were in 2000 as well, but I don't have 2000 handy to
check right now.]

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

Julie

:

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in MSProject2000.
The calculated duration hours remains with a question mark. Will
that create a problem if I don't physically remove the question
marks? --
Jack

 

[JulieS]

Now that's scary. I have the 4 versions from 98 to 2003, but spread across 3
different machines!

I have the 4 versions 98 to 2003 installed on my PC


Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the test of 2000. It's been awhile since I used 2000 and
didn't have time to drag the old computer out of moth-balls.
Julie

Yes, 2000 has the same facility. You can also remove the odd one by
re-typing the duration.

Mike Glen
Project MVP




JulieS wrote:
Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has an
estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration
initially, the question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools
--> Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have
estimated durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks have
estimated durations." [Note: Those are options in Project 2003, I
believe they were in 2000 as well, but I don't have 2000 handy to
check right now.]

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

Julie

:

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in MSProject2000.
The calculated duration hours remains with a question mark. Will
that create a problem if I don't physically remove the question
marks? --
Jack

 

[Mike Glen]

I have each version completely in a different folder. I hasten to add that
I would never recommend this for real projects, but for the purposes of
expimentation and answering questions about different the different versions
it works OK

Mike Glen
Project MVP

I didn't think that some of the MSP versions could coexist on a
machine...?

My solution... create a VMWare or Virtual PC image for each setup,
then run them separately. This works nicely for running an entire
Project Server on a standard desktop or laptop, provided that it has
enough horsepower to run the application. This provides a clean
separation between different installations / setups, and allows you
to experiment without fear of permanently messing things up.


Tony Zink
ProjectUser.com
--
Join the MSProject email discussion group at ProjectUser.com... get
your questions answered!

I have the 4 versions 98 to 2003 installed on my PC


Mike Glen
Project MVP

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the test of 2000. It's been awhile since I used 2000 and
didn't have time to drag the old computer out of moth-balls.
Julie

:

Yes, 2000 has the same facility. You can also remove the odd one
by re-typing the duration.

Mike Glen
Project MVP




JulieS wrote:
Hi Jack,
No it shouldn't. The question mark just shows that the task has
an estimated duration. Because you didn't enter the duration
initially, the question mark remains even after the recalculation.
You may supress the display of the question mark by going to Tools
--> Options. On the Schedule tab, uncheck "Show that tasks have
estimated durations". You may also want to uncheck "New tasks
have estimated durations." [Note: Those are options in Project
2003, I believe they were in 2000 as well, but I don't have 2000
handy to check right now.]

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

Julie

:

I create tasks and enter the number of work hours in
MSProject2000. The calculated duration hours remains with a
question mark. Will that create a problem if I don't physically
remove the question marks? --
Jack