Forum Discussion
Grouping a WBS in Excel Automatically - Can it be done?
First let me just make the observation that you seem to be assuming everybody here not only knows Excel, but also knows what WBS represents. I'd never heard of it. Fortunately for you, a quick Google search let me know the answer [for the rest who might be as uninformed as I was, "WBS" refers to the notion of "Work Breakdown Structure" and is employed in connection with Project Management].
That said, when I copied your sample to Excel and used simple sort on the WBS ID column, Excel sorted them all in order (tested by reversing it).... which leads me to think that if you had others that were, say TXT.YYY.01. etc etc they would still all be sorted (and therefore grouped) in their correct "families."
So, I'm sure I'm missing something here, and it may have to do with not understanding how WBS works, but even though I know what the words "breaks" and "can't group" mean, I don't know what you mean when you say "I find that if you try to group within a parent multiple times (ie; you have a level 3 through to 8 in one parent), it breaks and can't group properly." And I don't think your sample data set is complex enough to illustrate what you mean.
Is it possible to create a more fully representative set? And, ideally, if it is possible, could you post such a sample set as an Excel file? If your work permits such, post that sample on OneDrive or GoogleDrive with a link pasted here that grants access. Feel free to use the attached as a starter.
