Forum Discussion
Bar Styles with Rolled Up Tasks
Thanks for the file. I didn't know you could attach a zipped file. Previously if needed to see someone's file I'd ask them to send me their file via e-mail. So, I learned something new.
This issue is that none of the subtasks under the summary lines have any Flag fields set. Just setting the Rollup field to "yes" at summary level does NOT create the display you want. There has to be something to "roll up". I showed that in my first response but I guess I didn't highlight it.
I tweaked your file so it's something easier to see. I eliminated the summary level "blue house" bar style so it doesn't get in the way and then set the Flag fields. I had to toggle the "Rollup" field at each summary level from "yes" to "no" and then back to "yes" to get things "re-ordered" (I suspect your poor file is so confused that it needed a little reset). Anyway, this is what you'll have. I think it is what you want.
If that is not what you want you'll have to give me a better explanation. I know it's all real clear in you head as to what you want but I'm not in your head.
John
The desired appearance, shown in the first 3 rows, has been achieved manually. The fourth line of the image entitled "Bar Styles - Actual Appearance" shows you how the software is actually behaving. Notice that there is a style called "M Comments2", for which the "Show for... Tasks" field is populated with "Rolled Up,Flag4." In that row, the task is rolled up, and Flag 4 is active. Therefore, the orange triangle should be showing. Instead, the blue pentagon is showing.
I will try to be more specific in these images: the first image, "Bar Styles - Desired vs Actual" shows, in the first three rows, the behavior I would like to see. I have formatted each and every one of these symbols individually in order to achieve this appearance. The next three rows show the actual behavior of the software when the bar styles are formatted in the fashion that I believe should achieve the appearance you see in the first 3 lines. But of course, the first style, "Rolled Up", seems to supersede all other styles.
The next image, "Bar Styles - All Symbols Disappear" shows what happens when I remove the "Rolled Up" style. You will notice that all rolled up symbols disappear.
Perhaps this is the problem. Do any non-summary tasks under each of the "Desired" summary lines have the Rollup and Flag fields shown with a "yes" like this?
If not, then that's why you are not seeing the rolled up symbols.
John
Apologies, John; I realize you were asking about the non-summary tasks underneath the rolled-up "summary" heading. I can confirm that those tasks, also, have a "Rollup" status of "Yes" and a "Summary" status of "Yes".
I am attaching now the MS Project file. It took some time to strip it of all sensitive information and isolate this issue, specifically.
In this file, I just deleted the "Summary" bar style entirely, since it seemed like that might be part of the problem. A .mpp file cannot be attached so I have zipped the file.
Thanks.
Thanks for the file. I didn't know you could attach a zipped file. Previously if needed to see someone's file I'd ask them to send me their file via e-mail. So, I learned something new.
This issue is that none of the subtasks under the summary lines have any Flag fields set. Just setting the Rollup field to "yes" at summary level does NOT create the display you want. There has to be something to "roll up". I showed that in my first response but I guess I didn't highlight it.
I tweaked your file so it's something easier to see. I eliminated the summary level "blue house" bar style so it doesn't get in the way and then set the Flag fields. I had to toggle the "Rollup" field at each summary level from "yes" to "no" and then back to "yes" to get things "re-ordered" (I suspect your poor file is so confused that it needed a little reset). Anyway, this is what you'll have. I think it is what you want.
If that is not what you want you'll have to give me a better explanation. I know it's all real clear in you head as to what you want but I'm not in your head.
John
- YES!! That's it, thank you so much.
Wow, I would not have guessed that the sub-tasks needed to have the same status as the rolled-up summary in order for the rolled-up summary to display that way. I also didn't know what the order of precedence was on those symbols, and I couldn't find that information anywhere in the help files or by searching online. Do you have any resources you can recommend for someone who's looking to get the most out of Project?
Thanks again!
Thank you both again for your quick reply.
In the attached screenshot "Bar Styles - Showing Rollup Status and Summary Bar Style" you can see that the Rollup Field is set to "Yes" for all tasks, (and always has been), but the issue persists.
In the second screenshot "Bar Styles - Summary Excluding Flags", I have followed PlannersPlace's advice and explicitly excluded flags from the summary bar style, but the issue persists.
It is notable that the summary status of all the recurring tasks is "Yes". Perhaps I can get some traction by changing this field.
Thanks.
- Nevermind; the summary field is not a field that can be changed, in this instance.
