Andrew said:
John I get what you are saying and I apologise for any misunderstanding. To
the question - I will start from the begining
At the moment I use Access to store my database of output rates, it produces
a report telling me the duration, no. men etc.. This software works well and
I have used it for over 5 years. The company I now work for require that we
put all this information in notes so the information stays with the project.
This would mean working the calculations out in access then retyping the
result in MSP notes - a little bit clumsy!, or typing the whole thing in
notes and using a calculator (which is what I am doing at the present - very
time consuming). The formula was just an example, but would be similar to
100m2 x 0.9 (rate equals 0.9M2@hour@man) = man hours/8 = man days/men =
gang/duration the formula is not the issue as it works for me. I have noticed
that in customising Fields there is the facility for a Value list allowing a
dropdown box if you add some information ie rates and a description and you
add the column to your view. I also get that you can add false columns to
work out the duration by adding simple formulas. The end goal if you like is
I would like to use the Value list facility (I run a planning team and would
like to have all my planners using the same set of rates in an easy method)
but would like to see the description of the rate , as only the value is put
in the column and I do not know how to access the description, and be able to
import into the Value list either from Access or Excell as I have over 700
rate items, otherwise lots of typing!!. Failing this is there a way of
accessing either Access or Excell from within MSP and importing information
into notes. With the aim of streamlining the process. I am however open to
any other suggestions as to how this can be achieved.
Many regards
Andrew
Andrew,
I still don't understand your formula - the "m2" and "M2" are a mystery.
Unfortunately unless I, (or someone else who responds), can understand
it, our help will be limited. Nonetheless, here are some things that
will help.
First a little explanation of how Project works is in order. Man hours
is NOT duration, it is work effort. Duration is the time span during
which a task is planned to be worked on. Work is the effort put forth by
one or more resources to accomplish the task. If a single resource is
working full time on a task then the Duration and Work fields will be
equal. Normally however, a single resource will not work full time on a
given task or multiple resources will work on a task. For example, let's
say a single resource works half time on a task for a week. The task
duration is 5 days but the work effort is 20 hours. Similarly, if two
resources work full time on a task for 5 days, the duration is still 5
days but the work effort is 80 hours. You need to take that into account
when you apply your formula.
Second, the description IS displayed when the value list is activated in
the view. That means that the user does see the rate description when
selecting a particular rate for that task. Project does not display the
description once a value is selected because that's not what a value
list is for.
Third, because the dimension of your "rate" is still unclear I don't
know whether it should be something related to a task or to a resource.
If using a value list is indeed the best approach, (and I don't know
that it is), a task value list is different from a resource value list.
For a better understanding of this concept, go to our MVP website at,
http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm, and take a look at FAQ 51 - Data
Types: Task, Resource and Assignment.
Fourth, is is possible to import Access or Excel data into Project? Yes.
However, again without understanding your variables the exact import
process is undefined. The most foolproof method of import is via a VBA
macro or possibly an import map but for a one-shot import, VBA is
probably overkill. I assume that once you get your data into Project,
you won't need to do further imports. If the data is straightforward,
even a simple copy and paste may be appropriate although putting that
data into the Notes field is most likely not what you need to do. The
Notes field in Project is strictly for reference information for tasks
or resources and is not intended in any way, shape or form to be an
"active" part of the schedule plan.
So you see, I still have a lot of questions. I see that Vanita also
responded and she to is unsure of your "formula". However, maybe her
suggested straightforward approach to using spare fields is of benefit.
(By the way, spare fields are not "false" columns, they are real adjunct
fields for tasks, resources and assignments).
Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP
