More Help Setting up School Homework Project

[Joeboo]

Hi all,

I'm working on a school project. and I know in a later course they wil
be teaching us MS Projects 2007, but I want to figure out this program
little first.

I'm setting up a fairly simple project so that I can learn and do som
of the homework assignments ahead of time.

Thus far I've figured out how to enter the project information, lik
start times, durations early and late start times, early and lat
finishes, different types of lag, critical path calculations. and I ca
do most of that with MS Prjects, I just can't get the exact outputs I'
looking for,

in particular I can't get my task tags to show me the desired info,

With some help I've gotten it really close. I would like it just t
show the dates in a numerical format of sequential days, not interupte
by weekends, holidays, or months.

The project tasks take 64 days to complete and right now the dat
values it's showing me are interrupted by the months . so instead of i
showing 64 as the final early finish date, it's showing 3 ( 2 month
plus a couple days)

Can anyone tell me , or help steer me to a way of finguring out how t
acheive this

Thanks in advance

 

[Joeboo]

I think I understand the critical path fairly well. We've worked these
problems all out manually and have only been given the duration. We
figured out the sequence by figuring out first the network diagrams .
With that we then assesed where we would have any lags. the foward pass
was calculated. and then the backwards pass.

next we did some planning with labour, resource and budget balancing.

are there any particular areas of critical path theory other than first
hand experience that I'm missing right now? I'm not sure why trying to
have a hypothetical calendar based simply on sequential numbers, instead
of a gregorian based calendar means I'm headed down the wrong path ?

the two network diagrams ( the manual one, and the msp one) came out
the same with which tasks are on the critical path, and the float times,
and the final time. I just want to edit the format for the dates. The
Msp version is showing the date as a truncated date, rather than a plain
sequential number.

I feel like I should be pulling out my programing logic books to figure
out the formulas needed/.

 

[vanita]

Hi

I would advise that you refer a help book on MSP and then follow it step by
step. Subsequently if you face a problem, you may post it in this forum.

I hope it helps.
Vanita

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

You know, what gave us the impresssion you hadn't studied CPM was that you
wrote that you had entered early and late values... Project is designed to
calculate that for you, you shouldn't touch these fields (I don't even know
how Project will react if I do, I never ever entered any values in there!)
Where do you want Project to show the relative date? If it's in the
graphical part of the Gantt Chart,
Format
Timescale
select "Bottom Tier" pad
Set days, count 1 as the unit
For Label select 1,2,...

HTH
--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Joeboo]

Hi

I would advise that you refer a help book on MSP and then follow i
step by
step. Subsequently if you face a problem, you may post it in thi
forum.

I hope it helps.
Vanita

Hey Vanita, Thanks for coming out. I had never though of reading th
instructions. thanks for your brilliant insight.

the help section or "...refer a help book..." as you eloquently put it
doesn't address how to change the time scale output in a network diagra
, to the format I'm looking for. I've even read thru a couple o
introductory and intermediate tutorials.

and that's why I've come here to ask the Gurus

Thank

 

[Mike Glen]

And Tools/Options/View tab, select a date format that has 1,2,3...

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


Hi,

You know, what gave us the impresssion you hadn't studied CPM was that you
wrote that you had entered early and late values... Project is designed to
calculate that for you, you shouldn't touch these fields (I don't even know
how Project will react if I do, I never ever entered any values in there!)
Where do you want Project to show the relative date? If it's in the
graphical part of the Gantt Chart,
Format
Timescale
select "Bottom Tier" pad
Set days, count 1 as the unit
For Label select 1,2,...

HTH
--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Joeboo]

And Tools/Options/View tab, select a date format that has 1,2,3...

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials

[/QUOTE]

I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't have th
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have change
something else in this project to remove that option from the list?
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks :

 

[Mike Glen]

The Network Diagram doesn't have this option for some unknown reason. If you double-click on a task, you can see the 1,2,3... notation.

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials

And Tools/Options/View tab, select a date format that has 1,2,3...

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials

[/QUOTE]

I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks

 

[vanita]

Hi

It seems you felt bad about my response of going through help books. I
mentioned this because from your post it seemed that you are just starting
with MSP and in that scenario it is best to go through help books, as
systematically going ahead leverages best benefit of the software.

Cheers
Vanita

 

[Joeboo]

Hi

It seems you felt bad about my response of going through help books. I
mentioned this because from your post it seemed that you are jus
starting
with MSP and in that scenario it is best to go through help books, as
systematically going ahead leverages best benefit of the software.

Cheers
Vanita

[/QUOTE]


hehe . no If anything I felt bad for you, If that was your advice o
how to solve the situation, something so simple as reading th
instructions, I can only imagine the quality level of people you dea
with everyday.

I am just starting with msp, and won't have posted questions unless I'
exhausted most of the resources . this is still an ongoing , unsolve
problem, leading me to think that I'm asking for more than the defaul
program offers. ...

 

[JulieS]

Hello Joeboo,

The only date formats for the network diagram data are those found
in the Tools > Options, View tab -- Date format dropdown. The
closest is Wnumber/Day number

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project


I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't
have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have
changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the
list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks


--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[Joeboo]

Hey here is one of the formulas I'm trying, but it's not working..

Does anyone understand writing formulas like this ?


ProjDateDiff([Start],[Early Start])

start should be the project start date.. and early start refers to th
early start of the task.

but somereas it's giving me an output of NA
boo.

but getting closer i think

 

[Mike Glen]

Julie, That doesn't work for me in the Network Diagram. Could you check that out? (Project 2007 Standard SP2)

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


Hello Joeboo,

The only date formats for the network diagram data are those found
in the Tools > Options, View tab -- Date format dropdown. The
closest is Wnumber/Day number

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project


I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't
have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have
changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the
list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks


--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[JulieS]

Hello Joeboo,

No, in the formula [Start] refers to the task start, not the project
start date. The formula is calculated for each task in the project.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project

 

[JulieS]

It's a bit circuitous getting there, but I can change the date
format for date fields in Project 2007 SP-2. Format > Box styles.
I created a new template based upon Standard through More Templates,
Standard, Copy, Rename to something else. In the data template
definition dialog, click the Start date under "choose cells" and in
the date format drop-down I appear to have all of the choices from
the Date formats available in Tools > Options, View.

Julie

"Mike Glen" <mcglenAThotmail.com> wrote in message
Julie, That doesn't work for me in the Network Diagram. Could you
check that out? (Project 2007 Standard SP2)

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


Hello Joeboo,

The only date formats for the network diagram data are those found
in the Tools > Options, View tab -- Date format dropdown. The
closest is Wnumber/Day number

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project


I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't
have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have
changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the
list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks


--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[Mike Glen]

Good catch, Julie But what a circuitous route and you'd have to repeat that for each of the styles. You'd think a straight-forward style change would have done the trick. Ah well, that's Project for you

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


It's a bit circuitous getting there, but I can change the date
format for date fields in Project 2007 SP-2. Format > Box styles.
I created a new template based upon Standard through More Templates,
Standard, Copy, Rename to something else. In the data template
definition dialog, click the Start date under "choose cells" and in
the date format drop-down I appear to have all of the choices from
the Date formats available in Tools > Options, View.

Julie

"Mike Glen" <mcglenAThotmail.com> wrote in message
Julie, That doesn't work for me in the Network Diagram. Could you
check that out? (Project 2007 Standard SP2)

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


Hello Joeboo,

The only date formats for the network diagram data are those found
in the Tools > Options, View tab -- Date format dropdown. The
closest is Wnumber/Day number

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project


I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't
have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have
changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the
list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks


--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[Joeboo]

Hi, I've figured out how to get to this point too, but then my mai
issue shows up again. it resets the counter to 1 after a month ha
passed.

Julie, Here is the forumla I've gotten to . I've changed the field yo
mentioned.

ProjDateDiff([Actual Start],[Finish],"7days")


7 days is the name of the calendar I created in MSP .

it's giving me an "#ERROR" . maybe i've got the wrong fields ?

Good catch, Julie But what a circuitous route and you'd have to repea
that for each of the styles. You'd think a straight-forward styl
change would have done the trick. Ah well, that's Project for you

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


It's a bit circuitous getting there, but I can change the date
format for date fields in Project 2007 SP-2. Format > Box styles.
I created a new template based upon Standard through More Templates,
Standard, Copy, Rename to something else. In the data template
definition dialog, click the Start date under "choose cells" and in
the date format drop-down I appear to have all of the choices from
the Date formats available in Tools > Options, View.

Julie
[/color

 

[JulieS]

Hi Joeboo,

You will run into an error if the [Actual Start] date is not
populated with data. I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish
but the formula snippet below entered into a text field would test
if Actual Start is NA, if so, it will show the text "No Actual
Start". If the Actual Start has data, it will subtract Finish from
Actual Start, divide it by the number of minutes per day (to convert
to days from minutes), and append "d".

IIf([Actual Start]=ProjDateValue("NA"),"No Actual
Start",ProjDateDiff([Actual Start],[Finish])/[Minutes Per Day] &
"d")

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project

Hi, I've figured out how to get to this point too, but then my
main
issue shows up again. it resets the counter to 1 after a month has
passed.

Julie, Here is the forumla I've gotten to . I've changed the field
you
mentioned.

ProjDateDiff([Actual Start],[Finish],"7days")


7 days is the name of the calendar I created in MSP .

it's giving me an "#ERROR" . maybe i've got the wrong fields ?

Good catch, Julie But what a circuitous route and you'd have to
repeat
that for each of the styles. You'd think a straight-forward
style
change would have done the trick. Ah well, that's Project for you

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


It's a bit circuitous getting there, but I can change the date
format for date fields in Project 2007 SP-2. Format > Box
styles.
I created a new template based upon Standard through More
Templates,
Standard, Copy, Rename to something else. In the data template
definition dialog, click the Start date under "choose cells" and
in
the date format drop-down I appear to have all of the choices
from
the Date formats available in Tools > Options, View.

Julie

--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[JulieS]

Yup -- straight-forward <> Project

"Mike Glen" <mcglenAThotmail.com> wrote in message
Good catch, Julie But what a circuitous route and you'd have to
repeat that for each of the styles. You'd think a straight-forward
style change would have done the trick. Ah well, that's Project for
you

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


It's a bit circuitous getting there, but I can change the date
format for date fields in Project 2007 SP-2. Format > Box styles.
I created a new template based upon Standard through More
Templates,
Standard, Copy, Rename to something else. In the data template
definition dialog, click the Start date under "choose cells" and
in
the date format drop-down I appear to have all of the choices from
the Date formats available in Tools > Options, View.

Julie

"Mike Glen" <mcglenAThotmail.com> wrote in message
Julie, That doesn't work for me in the Network Diagram. Could
you
check that out? (Project 2007 Standard SP2)

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials


Hello Joeboo,

The only date formats for the network diagram data are those
found
in the Tools > Options, View tab -- Date format dropdown. The
closest is Wnumber/Day number

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information about Microsoft Project


I've tried that, but when on the network diagram page. I don't
have the
"1,2,3,4..." option as one of the date formats. Could I have
changed
something else in this project to remove that option from the
list? I
know it's on other pull down option sheets.


Thanks


--
Joeboo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joeboo's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/153707.htm
View this thread:
http://forums.techarena.in/microsoft-project/1269995.htm

http://forums.techarena.in
[/QUOTE]

 

[Prasad]

I just can't get the exact outputs I'm looking for,

in particular I can't get my task tags to show me the desired info,

With some help I've gotten it really close. I would like it just to
show the dates in a numerical format of sequential days, not interupted
by weekends, holidays, or months.

The project tasks take 64 days to complete and right now the date
values it's showing me are interrupted by the months . so instead of it
showing 64 as the final early finish date, it's showing 3 ( 2 months
plus a couple days)

Joeboo,

Isn't it possible to get the required output by writing a small
program in VBA?

Prasad