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John-project
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Joined Jan 04, 2021
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Re: Read this BEFORE you post!
Allen, What's up with the techcommunity/category/project/discussions/project? I posted a problem (see thread below) and never received an answer. Whenever I access the techcommunity page, it displays but hasn't updated since Jan 23. I've tried two different browsers (Firefox and Safari), same result.Re: Read this BEFORE you post!
Allen, I regularly contribute on the Project | Microsoft Community Hub forum. I replied to a post on Friday (Jan 23). That was the 3rd entry in the thread. Later in the day and through today I see there is a 4th entry (supposedly). But when I click on the "show more" nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?Re: Project Changing % Complete when entered
Brett_Phifer_SCI, When it comes to statusing tasks in Project, one size doesn't fit all. For a work resource, unless waiting for a wound to heal, actual duration accomplishes nothing. For a work resource, progress is work and actual work. Remaining work is adjusted as necessary. For a material resource actual duration does have meaning. For example if the resource is fuel and the material label is gal/day then the number of days (duration) is the metric for consumption. A cost per use may also factor into a material resource. A fixed duration type task for a material resource might be applicable but generally not. A material resource is consumed over whatever span of time it is needed/used, generally in conjunction with a work type resource (i.e. backhoe using fuel). JohnRe: Is there a way to graphically highlight all of the tasks under a summary?
mbart151, Sorry but there is no built-in feature for background colors for the Gantt display. What you could do though is create custom bar styles for the various subtask groups under summary lines using the 20 available Flag fields. The background would still be white but the Gantt bars would be separately identifiable. JohnRe: Project Changing % Complete when entered
Brett_Phifer_SCI, Somethings not quite jelling with the scenario you provide. When I set up a task with the parameters stated, the finish date is 12/8/26, not 1/20/27. Are there some non-working days thrown in (e.g. holidays)? You mention the status date is 1/5/26 but that is irrelevant when entering percent complete directly into the % Complete field. A few questions: What is the task type? Is the task auto-scheduled? Are any resources assigned and if so, what is the resource's Base Calendar? Are you by chance entering a value into the Actual Duration field, Remaining Duration or Actual Work fields in addition to entering a value in the % Complete field? JohnRe: Filter Creation
vincentcbv, I don't understand how a task can be "in progress" if it never actually started. You must have an unusual way of interpreting progress. Nonetheless, now that I understand what you want (i.e. tasks that "should be in progress"), yes, you can use an extension of the solution I presented previously, namely. Create a custom Flag field with the following formula: Flag1= IIf([Start] <= [Current Date] and [Current Date]<= [Finish],"yes","no") Filter on the Flag1 field. JohnRe: Filter Creation
vincentcbv, Let's back up just a bit and get some clarification. What exactly do you define as "in progress" tasks"? And if you are not updating via % complete or actual start and actual finish, how are you updating? Just for reference let me clarify something. When progress starts on a task, there are a couple ways to indicate it has started. An entry either directly into the % Complete field or via the Update Project (or similar) will automatically copy the start date into the Actual Start field (i.e. the task started as planned). Alternately, if the task did not start as planned, an entry is made directly into the Actual Start field and that will automatically update the Start field to adjust the plan to reality. The original plan would have been captured by setting a baseline. So, I'm wondering what you are tracking? But to answer your question about substituting Start and Finish for Actual Start and Actual Finish in the In Progress Tasks filter, the Start and Finish fields will ALWAYS have a date so the modified filter won't filter anything because all tasks will show. JohnRe: Filter Creation
Charlie, I see the tasks you are highlighting, but they are NOT "in progress" tasks. They are tasks that should have started but did not start as planned. So again, what exactly are you trying to show? Note there are several other built-in filters for unstarted tasks (e.g. "Late tasks", "Should start by", "Slipping tasks", "Date Range", etc.). So okay, whatever your goal, here is one way to do an "end around run" with Project's "fussy" filtering. Try these steps. Create a custom Flag field with the following formula: Flag1 = IIf([Start]<={Current Date], "yes","no") Filter on the Flag1 field Here's an example And this is what results when the filter is applied Another option is to use an interactive filter like this Hope this helps, JohnRe: Filter Creation
vincentcbv, I'm a little confused. The built-in filter "In Progress Tasks" shows all tasks that have started but are not finished (i.e. "in progress"). That is what you are asking for. So what additional tasks are you expecting your dynamic filter to show? Perhaps a screen shot example would help. JohnRe: save forecasted data
roberto_rematchemie, I think you are missing the purpose of Project's baseline. When you set a baseline, several Project fields are saved in baseline fields. This provides a "baseline" (i.e. the original plan) for comparison to the current plan via earned value metrics and/or variance fields. The current plan is updated (i.e. "real" start/finish, etc.) either in bulk via the Update Project feature or on a task by task basis using the Actual Start, Actual Finish, Actual Work, and Remaining Work fields. You should NOT be saving a new baseline as part of the update process. A new baseline should be set only when a change in scope is needed (e.g. tasks added/deleted). So, you do NOT need to create a separate copy of the file as part of the update process but I do highly recommend periodically saving your file as a backup in case your file gets corrupted or other things that may cause a loss of data.
