Newbie

[Karen]

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[JulieS]

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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

 

[Karen]

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[JulieS]

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[Karen]

Thank you for your help Julie - I would rather use Excel, but my boss wants
to use Project because her boss wants to use Project. Oh well. Actually, I
saw someone's list he/she created in Project and I saw a row with just the
title and all the rest of the fields in that row were blank. I'll have to
find out who created that.
Another question: How can I print the Project list with my fields only and
not the Gannt chart to the right?

Thank you again, Karen

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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



:

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[Karen]

I forgot to ask you something else - How does the "duration" field work?
Let's say I have a project that should be completed on January 31 - (that's
38 days from now) should I set the duration to 38 days? I'm not sure how
that field works. If not, how is that field used?

Thank you Julie

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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



:

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[JulieS]

Hi Karen,
I understand completely about the pressure to use Project, however if at all
possible, I suggest lobbying your boss (and perhaps the boss's boss) about
investing in some training for you and other users. MS Project is a very
powerful and useful tool but is quite difficult to learn "on the fly."

That being said, to your question: You may print out just the list portion
of your project file by dragging the split bar separating the task sheet
(left side) from the Gantt chart (right side) to the far right side until the
Gantt chart disappears from view. You may also view just the Task sheet
(View -> More Views, select the Task Sheet and click the Apply button.)

About the project file you saw with no other data in the project line row,
my guess would be the creator of that file formatted the text (Format ->
Font) to white.

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

Julie

Thank you for your help Julie - I would rather use Excel, but my boss wants
to use Project because her boss wants to use Project. Oh well. Actually, I
saw someone's list he/she created in Project and I saw a row with just the
title and all the rest of the fields in that row were blank. I'll have to
find out who created that.
Another question: How can I print the Project list with my fields only and
not the Gannt chart to the right?

Thank you again, Karen

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen
:

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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



:

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[JulieS]

Hi Karen,

The duration field is the amount of time (days, weeks, hours etc) in
*working* time (set in the project calendar) from the start date and time of
the task to the finish date and time of the task. For example: based upon
project start date of today (set in Project -> Project Information) if I
create a task with a duration of 28 days, the end date of the task is
calculated for 1/31/05 - 28 working days from today - ignoring weekends
(non-working time).

You should allow Project to calculate start and finish dates for you. As I
mentioned below, Mike Glen's series of articles are an excellent primer for
using MS Project and may save you a great deal of grief and hair-pulling.

Hope this helps. Let us know how else we can help.

Julie

I forgot to ask you something else - How does the "duration" field work?
Let's say I have a project that should be completed on January 31 - (that's
38 days from now) should I set the duration to 38 days? I'm not sure how
that field works. If not, how is that field used?

Thank you Julie

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen
:

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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



:

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
below each project?

Thank you

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Karen,

That question, in itself, is worth about half a day of a typical 2 day
course.
To give you the very strict minimum:

Duration is counted based on a calendar, mostly the project calendar.
That one is visible under Tools, Change Working time.
Duration thus is in working days.

Project may change it once you start working with resources (for instance,
piut more people on a task it should go faster)

HTH

--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/index.htm
32-495-300 620

I forgot to ask you something else - How does the "duration" field work?
Let's say I have a project that should be completed on January 31 - (that's
38 days from now) should I set the duration to 38 days? I'm not sure how
that field works. If not, how is that field used?

Thank you Julie

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen
:

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:

http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AU
TH=23

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Adding a bit to the other answers you have - you really can't "set" the
duration for the project. A "project" usually consists of a number of
component tasks. As such, the project itself is a summary task with the
individual tasks indented as subtasks underneath it. You can input a
duration for a specific activity - one of the subtasks - but at the summary
level the durations are ALWAYS a calculated value and it is impossible to
input them directly. The duration of a summary and the project as a whole
is the working time between when the earliest task starts until the latest
task finishes. If I have a project consisting of 5 discrete 5-day-long
activities that follow each other end to start like elephants in a parade,
the project's duration is 25 days. On the other hand, if I have a project
with 5 tasks of 5, 10, 10, 15, 20, and 25 day durations respectively and
those tasks are such that 5 different people can do them in parallel, one
person per task and all starting the same day, the duration of the project
is 25 days, NOT 85 days.

Also nopte, as others have already said, the only time that counts for
duration is time the calendat says is working time. Assume we work a 40
hour week, 8am-5pm with an hour for lunch, Mon through Fri. We have a task
that starts Wed at 8am and finishes the following Tue at 5pm. That task's
duration is 5 days, not 7 days, because the weekend doesn't count. Likewise
it is 40 hours in duration, not 152 hours, because evenings and lunches
don't count either.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

I forgot to ask you something else - How does the "duration" field work?
Let's say I have a project that should be completed on January 31 -
(that's
38 days from now) should I set the duration to 38 days? I'm not sure how
that field works. If not, how is that field used?

Thank you Julie

Hi Karen,

Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see
in
the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information.
You
can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut
menu)
and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.

For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your
stated
needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project
right
now.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
how else we can help.

Julie

Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks
as you
suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I
don't
want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to
that
project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only
the
project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field
titles
is:
Task Name
Completion Date
% Complete
Responsible Party
Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?

Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen
:

Hi Karen,

I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into
one file
instead of each project being its own file.
In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project
name
enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use
the indent
button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure
you
outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the
summary
task.

If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
Introduction to Project articles at:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23

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



:

I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project
has 15-25
steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each
step is
below each project?

Thank you