Open one of the following project files as the background for this lesson:

LESSON_B3_END.MPP

   your own project file

LESSON_C1_START.MPP

   sample project file

Walkthrough

4m 10s
 

Reference

C1.1
Using tables to show specific information
 
  Like views, tables display specific information.  There are tables that relate to task-based views and tables that relate to resource-based views.  The Schedule table can be used to display when tasks can take place.  To display this table:
 
 
  1. From the View menu, select Table, and then select Schedule:

  1. Displaying schedule information about the project:

  • The 'Design booth' task is critical: Its start and late start dates are the same, and it has a slack value of 0 days.
  • The 'Create signage' task is non-critical: There is a difference between its start and late start dates and it has 10 days of slack.
  • The 'Prepare mailing list' task possesses 1 day of free slack and 16 days total slack.  It could be delayed by up to 1 day without delaying any successor task and by up to 16 days overall without affecting the end date for the project.
  • The 'Post invitations' task possesses equal amounts of free slack and total slack.  This task can be delayed by up to 15 days without affecting the schedule of any other task.
Slack is also referred to as float.  
  The complete table listing is within the table library (selected with the menu command: View..Table..More Tables).
  Tables can also be selected with a Right-Click on the select all button to bring up a shortcut menu.  
  Under certain circumstances, Microsoft Project will incorrectly display free slack values.  If this is the case with your project, delete the task that is incorrectly identified and recreate it.  Ensure that ALL links to and from it are correct.  Use cut and paste to help you.

 
 

Reference

C1.1
Column insertion and formatting
 
  Columns can be added or removed from table definitions.  With the Schedule table as described above, it would be useful to add the Leveling Delay field.  When the project has undergone resource leveling, this field will indicate if any tasks have been delayed in order to remove resource conflicts.  To add this field to the table:
 
 
  1. Click on a column heading (to select the column) to the right of where the new column is to be inserted:

  2. From the Insert menu, choose Column (or press the INSERT key), creating a new blank column.
  3. Choose a field from the drop down list:

  1. Confirm the insertion with OK.
Within Microsoft Project version 2002 and later, columns can be dragged and dropped within the table to display a different column order.  
  Adding or removing columns within tables changes the table definition, which is saved to disk as a component within the project document.  
  Columns can have a displayed title which is different from the name of the field that the column is displaying.
  Column widths can be increased or decreased by dragging the cursor between two column headings.

Walkthrough

3m 07s
 

Reference

C1.2
Changing the way text appears
 
  The appearance of text within a view can be changed using buttons on the formatting toolbar: fonts; font sizes; emboldening and so on.  Whilst this is okay for simple one-off changes, its results are often difficult to interpret.  As this could lead to confusion within the Trade Show project, it has been decided to not allow any direct text formatting and insist on the use of text styles instead.  The first text style to change is to emphasize how milestone tasks are displayed.  To achieve this:
 
 
  1. From the Format menu, choose Text Styles.
  2. Select the item to change from the drop down, then choose appropriate formatting:

  1. Confirmed with OK, to display as:
Aim for consistency in the way text styles are applied, especially as each view has its own text style definitions.  
  In Microsoft Project version 2007 and later, change highlighting and background cell highlighting are available to provide additional levels of emphasis.  
  If a text style formats text to be wider than a column's width, the text can be show as a screen tip:
   

 
 

Reference

C1.2
Formatting the table's rows
 
  An alternative to increasing a column's width is to display cell information on more than one row.  If you have a project with a few tasks, but you want to display lots of table columns, row heights can be changed:
  • For individual rows (as below).
  • For all rows by clicking on the select all button, then dragging the divider as below.
 
 
  1. Select a row where text is too wide to fit within the current column width:

  1. Drag the row divider below the row to heighten:

  1. Displayed as:
Differing row heights can make the chart part of a view more difficult to read.  
     

Lesson quiz
 

Save your project with the following filename:

LESSON_C1_END.MPP

© Project Learning International Limited 2007
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