Microsoft Office Project 2003 Inside Out

Each view gives you a different perspective on your project information. The right view with pertinent data can simplify your project management tasks or uncover potential problems. You can specify which views you see, change the tables and fields that appear in a view, and control how information is categorized and displayed so you can look at your project information the way you want.

Changing the Content of a View

Microsoft Project includes a variety of standard views that present task, resource, and assignment information. When these standard views don't meet your needs, you can customize their content or create new views that are more suitable. In single pane views, you can specify which view, table, group , and filter to apply when the view appears; and for combination views, you can change which views appear in the top and bottom pane.

To customize the content of an existing single pane view, for example, the Gantt Chart, Resource Sheet, or Task Usage view, do the following:

1. Click View, More Views.

2. In the More Views dialog box, click the view's name in the Views list (see Figure 25-1).

   Figure 25-1: You can edit an existing view, copy an existing view, or create a completely new view.

3. Click the Edit button. The View Definition dialog box appears (see Figure 25-2). If you want to create a new view that is similar to the selected view, click the Copy button and type a new name in the Name box.

   Figure 25-2: You choose a table, group, and filter when you customize a single pane view.

   Tip

   Create customized elements before you reference them       If you plan to use customized tables, groups, or filters in a view, you must create those elements before you use them in a customized view. You must also create customized single pane views before you can include them in a combination view.

4. In the Table box, click the table that you want to appear in the customized view.

5. In the Group box, click the group that you want to use.

6. In the Filter box, click the filter that you want to apply.

7. If you want to highlight filtered tasks, select the Highlight Filter check box.

Inside Out: Tired of clicking More Views?

The View menu and the View bar include the views used most frequently by the majority of Microsoft Project users. However, if you prefer other views such as the Task Details Form or one of your customized views, you might get tired of clicking More Views every time you want to use them.

You can replace the default views with your favorites on the View menu and View bar. Click View, More Views. Click the view you want to add to the View menu and then click Edit. In the View Definition dialog box, select the Show In Menu check box. To remove a view that you don't use from the list, clear its Show In Menu check box.

You can also modify the order in which views appear. By default, task views appear first and in alphabetical order, followed by resource views in alphabetical order. In the More Views dialog box, click the view you want to move and then click Edit. In the Name box, add a number in front of the name to move it to the top of its respective list. If you prefix all the displayed views with a sequential number, they'll appear in numerical order.

You can prefix a view name with text to differentiate customized views from standard ones. For example, if you add the prefix "C-" at the beginning of the name of each customized view, the list will segregate your customized and standard views.

To customize the content of an existing combination view, for example, the Task Entry view or Resource Allocation view, follow these steps:

1. Click View, More Views.

2. In the More Views dialog box, click the view's name in the Views list.

3. To change the existing view, click the Edit button. To create a new view based on the existing view, click the Copy button.

   The View Definition dialog box appears.

4. In the Name box, type a new name for the view.

5. In the Top box, click the view that you want to appear in the top pane (see Figure 25-3).

   Figure 25-3: Specify which views are displayed in the top and bottom panes of a combination view.

6. In the Bottom box, click the view that you want to appear in the bottom pane.

Inside Out: Change the table and view definition

Changing the table that appears in a view also changes the table in the definition of that view. That table appears the next time you display that view. However, applying a group or filter to a view does not change the group or filter selected in the View Definition dialog box. The view uses the group and filter you chose when you customized the view.

When you customize an existing single pane view, the View Definition dialog box displays the type of view used, but you can't modify it. However, when you create a new single pane view, you can choose which type of view to use.

Creating a New View

If none of the existing views come close to meeting your needs, you can create an entirely new single pane or combination view. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click View, More Views.

2. In the More Views dialog box, click New.

3. In the Define New View dialog box, select either the Single View or Combination View option and then click OK.

   The View Definition dialog box for the type of view you selected appears.

4. Specify the contents of the view, as described in the previous section, "Changing the Content of a View."

   Tip

   Applying a view quickly       You can use the keyboard to choose a view from the View menu by assigning a keyboard shortcut. In the View Definition dialog box for the view, type an ampersand (&) before the letter in the view name that you want to use for the shortcut and then save the customized view. When you want to use your keyboard shortcut, press Alt+V to open the View menu and then press the shortcut letter to apply the view. This works for built-in views as well as your custom views. Use a different letter for each keyboard shortcut. If you choose a letter that is already in use by another menu entry, you might have to press the letter more than once to apply the view you want.

Changing the Font for a View

By default, the font used throughout the Microsoft Project views is Arial 8 points. If you prefer a different font or size for one or all text elements in a particular view, follow these steps:

1. Click Format, Text Styles.

2. In the Item To Change box, be sure that All is selected.

   This changes the font for all text elements in the current view in this project, including column and row headings, Gantt bar text, and all field data such as task and resource names .

3. Click OK.

Inside Out: No way to set an overall default font style

Suppose you have used the Text Styles dialog box to apply certain fonts to row and column titles, another style to milestone tasks, and yet another to critical tasks. However, when you switch from the Gantt Chart to the Task Usage view, you find that the fonts revert to their default style in that view.

Text styles apply only to the current view in the current project. You need to make the same changes in every view in which you want them to appear.

After you have applied your font changes to every view, you can also make these same changes available to all your projects. Copy your modified views to the global template (global.mpt) using the Organizer.

Formatting a Gantt Chart View

The chart portion of the Gantt Chart view provides a graphical representation of your project schedule. You can emphasize information in your schedule by formatting individual Gantt bars or all Gantt bars of a certain type. Similarly, you can apply formatting to different categories of text or only to the text that is selected. Link lines and gridlines communicate information, but they can also clutter the Gantt Chart. Layout options and formatting for gridlines control how much you see of these elements.

If you would rather not format each element in a Gantt Chart view, you can use the Gantt Chart Wizard to specify what information you want to see and how to format the Gantt Chart's elements. You can choose a standard type of Gantt Chart such as Critical Path or Baseline, choose from several predefined Gantt Chart styles, or create a custom Gantt Chart.

If you opt for a customized Gantt Chart, you can control which types of Gantt bars appear and customize the color , pattern, and end shapes for each type. You can choose to display resources and dates on the taskbars and choose exactly the fields you want to display. Finally, you can show or hide the link lines between dependent tasks.

Formatting the Appearance of Gantt Bars

You can modify the shape, fill pattern, and color of individual bars or all Gantt bars representing a particular type of information; for example, milestone tasks or summary tasks. You can also customize the marks that appear at the beginning and end of those bars. For example, you might want to accentuate critical tasks that aren't complete by making them red with red stars at each end.

To change the appearance of all Gantt bars of a particular type, follow these steps:

1. Click View and then click the Gantt Chart view whose bars you want to customize.

   Your modifications will apply to the Gantt bars in this specific Gantt Chart view only.

2. Click Format, Bar Styles.

   The Bar Styles dialog box lists all the Gantt bar types for the current view with the settings for their appearance (see Figure 25-4). For example, Gantt bars appear as a blue bar for normal tasks, whereas summary Gantt bars are solid black with black end marks at both ends.

   Figure 25-4: You can customize the appearance of the Gantt bar as well as markers at its start and end.

   Tip	Open the Bar Styles dialog box quickly       You can also open the Bar Styles dialog box by double-clicking the background of the chart portion of a Gantt chart.

3. To change the look of a specific type of Gantt bar, click its name in the table.

4. Click the Bars tab, and then make the changes you want to the Start, Middle, and End of the bar.

   The settings for the start and end determine the appearance of the markers at the beginning and end of the bar, whereas the settings for the middle control the appearance of the bar itself.

To change the pattern, color, and shape of the Gantt bar for individual tasks (rather than all tasks of a particular type), do the following:

1. In the sheet portion of the view, click the task or tasks whose Gantt bars you want to change.

2. Click Format, Bar.

3. In the Format Bar dialog box, click the Bar Shape tab.

4. Make the changes you want to the Start (beginning marker), Middle (the bar itself), and End (ending marker).

Troubleshooting: Changing the bar style for one task changes the Gantt bars for all tasks

The Bar and Bar Styles commands on the Format menu sound similar, but they operate quite differently. The Bar command applies the changes you make to only the tasks that are currently selected. The Bar Styles command applies changes to all Gantt bars of a particular type; for example, critical tasks, incomplete tasks, or milestones.

This distinction is analogous to changing the formatting in a word processing document. You can select an individual paragraph and change the formatting to Arial 14, Bold. But if you want all headings to use this formatting, you can save time by creating a style and applying it to each heading paragraph.

In addition to changing the styles of Gantt bars, you can also define new types of Gantt bars. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Apply a Gantt Chart view.

2. Click Format, Bar Styles.

3. Scroll to the end of the list of Gantt bar types or click a row above where you want to insert your new Gantt bar type; then click Insert Row.

4. In the Name field, type the name of your new Gantt bar.

5. Click the cell in the Show For Tasks column.

6. Click the down arrow in the box and then click the category of task for which this bar should be displayed. For example, if you're creating a style for tasks that are not finished, click Not Finished.

   Tip

   Create a Gantt bar style for multiple conditions       If you want a Gantt bar style to appear when more than one condition exists, click the first condition, type a comma, and then click the second condition, such as "Critical, Not Finished." You can also create a Gantt bar that appears when a condition is not true. Type the word "Not" in front of a selected task condition, such as "Not Milestone," or "Critical, Not In Progress."

7. In the From and To columns , click the date fields that determine the beginning and end of the Gantt bar. For example, you might draw a progress bar from the Start date to the Complete Through date or a bar from the Actual Start date to the Deadline date for critical tasks that aren't yet finished.

8. Click the Bars tab and then specify the appearance for the Start, Middle, and End of the bar.

9. Click the Text tab and then click the box for the position, such as Left or Right, depending on where you want text to appear for the Gantt bar.

10. Click the down arrow in the box and then click the name of the task field whose content you want to appear for this Gantt bar type.

    Tip

    Create a bar style for flagged tasks       If you want to call attention to tasks that don't meet any of the task conditions listed in the Show For Tasks field, you can create a new bar style that applies only to marked or flagged tasks. When you mark or flag tasks, they appear in that bar style. You can add the Marked field to the sheet portion of your Gantt chart and then set the value to Yes for each task you want to mark. If you are already using the Marked field, you can insert a column for one of the custom flag fields, such as Flag1, and set it to Yes for those tasks. In the Bar Styles dialog box, create a new bar style to show for the Marked or the custom flag field and specify its appearance and associated text.

Troubleshooting: A Gantt bar doesn't appear in the chart

A Gantt chart displays bars in the order that they appear in the Bar Styles dialog box. If Gantt bars with a narrower shape such as progress bars appear above the normal Gantt bars in the list, the wider Gantt bars hide the narrower ones.

If you rearrange the order so the narrower Gantt bars appear below the wider ones in the Bar Styles list, you can see both bars.

Inside Out: Stack the Gantt bars

Some tasks might meet the conditions for several types of Gantt bars. If this occurs, Microsoft Project draws a Gantt bar for the task for each condition that it satisfies. These bars might overlap each other and obscure some of the information you want to see.

To avoid this overlapping, you can stack up to four Gantt bars, one above the next, so they're all visible. To do this, in the Bar Styles dialog box, specify 1, 2, 3, or4in the Row field for each overlapping Gantt bar.

For example, suppose that you have created multiple baselines and want to review them in the Multiple Baselines Gantt. Use numbers in the Row field to stack the Gantt bars representing the different baselines.

Formatting the Appearance of Gantt Bar Text

Displaying task field values next to the Gantt bars makes it easy to correlate task information with bars in the chart. By displaying text next to Gantt bars, you can often reduce the number of columns needed in the sheet portion of the Gantt chart and display more of the chart portion.

To change the text for all Gantt bars of a particular type, follow these steps:

1. Click Format, Bar Styles.

2. Click the name of the Gantt bar type whose text you want to change.

3. Click the Text tab.

4. Click the box for the position, such as Left or Right, in which you want the text to appear for the Gantt bar.

5. Click the down arrow in the box and then click the name of the task field whose content you want to appear for this Gantt bar type.

To change the text accompanying the Gantt bar for selected tasks, do the following:

1. In the sheet portion of the view, click the task or tasks whose Gantt bar text you want to change.

2. Click Format, Bar, and click the Bar Text tab in the Format Bar dialog box.

3. On the Bar Text tab, click the box for the position ”such as Left, Right, Top, or Bottom ”where you want the text to appear for the Gantt bar.

4. Click the down arrow to the right of the box and then click the name of the task field whose content you want to appear for this Gantt bar (see Figure 25-5).

   Figure 25-5: You can specify fields to display as text for selected Gantt bars.

   For example, if you want text to appear to the right of the Gantt bar, click the Right box, click the down arrow, and then click the name of the field whose content you want to appear on the right end of this task.

Although you can change the text position and content for individual Gantt bars, you can't change the font, style, or color of the text. To change the text style for all Gantt bars of a particular type, follow these steps:

1. Click Format, Text Styles.

2. In the Item To Change box, click the type of task whose text style you want to change.

   For example, if you want the text accompanying all critical tasks to be 16-point red type, click Critical Tasks in the Item To Change box.

3. Make the changes you want in the Font, Font Style, Size, and Color boxes.

   Tip	Format text Styles and individual text       The Text Styles command on the Format menu formats the text for tasks of a particular type. To change the attributes of only the selected text, use the Font command instead. Click Format, Font and then choose the font, font style, size, and color.

Formatting the Layout of Gantt Bars

Link lines between dependent tasks show how tasks are related to each other. However, too many link lines can obscure the information you are trying to communicate. You might want to modify the appearance of link lines, the height of Gantt bars, or whether splits and rolled-up bars are displayed if the schedule is too cluttered. To change the layout of links and bars in a Gantt chart, do the following:

1. Click Format, Layout.

2. In the Layout dialog box, select the option for how you want the links between dependent tasks to appear.

   For example, you can hide the link lines, draw them as S-shapes between the ends of tasks, or display them as L-shapes from the end of one task to the top of another task.

3. Choose a date format to use when a date field is associated with a Gantt bar.

4. If necessary, choose the height of the Gantt bar.

5. Choose other layout options to roll up Gantt bars, draw the bar width in increments of whole days, or show splits.

   For example, if you roll up Gantt bars, summary tasks display information about their subordinate tasks. If you are fine-tuning your project schedule, you might want to view where splits occur or see the duration of tasks down to the hour .

Formatting the Appearance of Gridlines

Gridlines separate elements such as columns and rows in the sheet portion of a Gantt chart or the dates and tasks in the chart portion. For example, you might want to add horizontal lines to the chart to help correlate Gantt bars with their associated tasks in the sheet portion. To change the gridlines in a Gantt chart, follow these steps:

1. Click Format, Gridlines.

2. In the Line To Change box, click the element whose gridlines you want to add, remove, or change.

3. Elements for both the sheet portion and chart portion of the Gantt chart appear in the Line To Change list.

   The current style appears in the Normal area.

4. In the Normal section, change the line type in the Type box and the color in the Color box.

5. If you want to display lines at certain intervals, such as after every fourth item, click the interval in the At Interval section.

   Cross-References

   For information about modifying the timescale in the Gantt chart, see "Modifying the Timescale ," later in this chapter.

Formatting changes you make within a view apply only to the active view. For example, modifications you make to the chart, bar, or text styles, individual Gantt bars, or text formatting in the Tracking Gantt appear only when you display the Tracking Gantt. You can customize the formatting for each view without worrying about modifying all the others.

Also, changes you make to views in one project file apply only to that project file. When you create a new project file, it uses the default views.

Modifying a Network Diagram

Network diagrams display tasks as boxes, or nodes, with link lines showing the task dependencies. Because a network diagram doesn't include a task sheet like the Gantt chart, it's important to specify the information that you want to appear inside the boxes. You can customize the appearance of the boxes or how they are arranged within the diagram.

Formatting the Content and Appearance of Boxes

Just as you can change the appearance of Gantt bars for different types of tasks, you can modify the boxes in a network diagram depending on the task type. You can also control what task information appears inside those boxes.

To change the appearance and content for all boxes of a particular type, do the following:

1. Click View, Network Diagram.

2. Click Format, Box Styles.

   The Box Styles dialog box lists all the box types for the current view and the settings for their appearance (see Figure 25-6).

   Figure 25-6: You can customize the appearance of a network diagram box as well as specify what task information appears inside each box.

3. To customize a specific type of box, click its name in the list.

4. To change the fields that appear within the box, click a data template in the Data Template box.

   A preview of the box using the selected data template appears.

   Tip

   Show other information in a Network Diagram       You can also modify or create new data templates for the boxes in the Network Diagram. For example, you might want to include a custom field in a data template. Click More Templates, click a template name, and then click Edit or Copy. To create a new template, click New. To insert a field into the data template, click the cell where you want to insert the field, click the down arrow, and then click the name of the field in the list. You can also add fields that display graphical indicators to the template.

5. If necessary, change the shape, color, and width of the box border.

6. If you want to display horizontal or vertical gridlines between the fields inside a box, select the Show Horizontal Gridlines and Show Vertical Gridlines check boxes.

7. If necessary, choose a background color and pattern.

   Caution

   Although you can select different colors and patterns for the box background, any combination other than solid white makes it difficult to read the task information.

To change the displayed fields and border appearance for individual boxes (rather than all boxes showing a particular type of project information), follow these steps:

1. Choose the boxes you want to format in the Network Diagram.

2. Click Format, Box.

3. In the Data Template box, click the data template you want to use.

   A preview of the box using the selected data template appears.

4. Make the changes you want to the shape, color, and width of the border.

5. Make the changes you want to the background color and pattern for the box.

   Tip	Access the Format dialog box       You can open the Format Box dialog box by double-clicking the border of a box. Double-clicking the background of a Network Diagram opens the Box Styles dialog box.

Formatting the Layout of Boxes

The Network Diagram is much like a flowchart of the tasks in a project. The layout options for the Network Diagram control how boxes are positioned and aligned, the distance between the boxes, the appearance of links, and other settings.

To change the layout of a Network Diagram, do the following:

1. Click Format, Layout.

   The Layout dialog box appears.

2. To position boxes manually by dragging, select the Allow Manual Box Positioning option.

3. In the Arrangement box, choose the order in which boxes are placed on the diagram.

   For example, you can arrange the boxes from the top left down to the bottom right of the diagram. You can choose to place critical tasks before others.

4. Choose the alignment, distance between rows and columns, and the width and height of the boxes.

5. Select link options such as whether to draw lines orthogonally or directly between boxes, whether to include arrows and link labels.

6. If necessary, choose link colors.

   Tip

   Fine-tune the display of the Network Diagram       If you select the option to position boxes automatically, it's a good idea to also select the Adjust For Page Breaks check box in the Box Layout section. Otherwise, boxes located across a page break are printed on two pages in the diagram. Summary tasks are difficult to distinguish in a Network Diagram, so you might want to clear the Show Summary Tasks check box. If you display summary tasks, it's best to select the Keep Tasks With Their Summaries check box.

Modifying the Resource Graph

The Resource Graph presents resource allocation, cost, or work over periods of time. The horizontal axis represents time; whereas the vertical axis represents units such as availability, cost, or work. You can choose the fields that you want to appear in the graph. You can also modify the appearance of bars and text of particular types and change the gridlines in the graph. However, you cannot modify the appearance of individual bars or text.

Modifying the Appearance of Resource Graph Bars

The Bar Styles dialog box for the Resource Graph contains four areas, each of which controls the appearance of bars for different sets of information. For example, if you graph overallocations, the two top areas display overallocations, whereas the bottom areas display allocations less than or equal to the maximum available units. The areas on the left side of the dialog box control the way group data appear. The areas on the right side of the dialog box control the appearance of data for one selected resource.

Follow these steps to modify the appearance of Resource Graph bars of a particular type:

1. Click View, Resource Graph.

2. Click Format, Bar Styles.

   Because the bars in the Resource Graph represent information that you don't see in the Gantt chart, the Bar Styles dialog box for the Resource Graph contains different settings than the Bar Styles dialog box for Gantt charts (see Figure 25-7).

   Figure 25-7: You can choose which field to display in the Resource Graph for individual resources and groups of resources.

3. In the Bar Styles dialog box, choose the types of data you want to show, for example, allocated resources or proposed bookings.

   For any information you do show, specify the color and pattern for its representative bars.

Inside Out: Determine what the Resource Graph shows

When the Resource Graph appears in the bottom pane below a task view, the graph shows the values for only one resource. When the Resource Graph appears below a resource view or in the top pane, it displays the values for all tasks. It can display the data for one resource or a group of resources; or compare data for one resource to a group. If you want to see only the data for the selected resource, click Don't Show in the Show As box for Filtered Resources. However, if you want to compare the values of the selected resource to other resources in a filter, click one of the other graph methods in the Filtered Resources area. To differentiate overallocations from regular assignments, choose methods , colors, or patterns in the Overallocated and Allocated areas of the dialog box.

In addition, when you view any of the fields that relate to work or resource availability, you can select the Show Availability Line check box to display resource availability on the graph.

Changing the Information that Appears in the Resource Graph

To choose which values you want to see in the Resource Graph, click Format, Details. A shortcut menu appears with the following choices:

Peak Units.      Represents the highest percentage of units assigned to a resource during each period on the graph. Units that exceed the maximum units for the resource appear as an overallocation .

Work.       Displays the amount of work assigned to a resource during the period. If the hours exceed the number of hours available for the resource, the excess hours appear as an overallocation. The hours available for a resource take into account the resource calendar and the resource's maximum units.

Cumulative Work.       Displays the total work assigned to the resource since the project began .

Overallocation .       Includes only the hours that the resource is overallocated during the period, not work hours that fit in the resource's workday .

Percent Allocation .       Represents the work assigned to a resource as a percentage of his available time.

Remaining Availability.        Shows the number of hours that the resource is available. This graph is helpful when you are trying to find someone to work on a new task.

Cost.      Displays the labor cost and per-use cost of a resource for the period. The total cost of a task appears in the period in which the task begins or ends, if resource costs accrue at the start or end.

Cumulative Cost.      Shows the running total of the cost since the start of the project. This choice can show the total cost of a project when you display the value for a group that includes all the project resources.

Work Availability.      Represents the number of hours that a resource could work based on his or her maximum units and resource calendar. It doesn't take into account any existing assignments.

Unit Availability.        Displays the same information as Work Availability, formatted as a percentage.

To modify which information appears in the Resource Graph, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the background of the Resource Graph and then click the type of information to be displayed in the Resource Graph.

   For example, if you are trying to eliminate the overallocations for a resource, click Overallocation or Percent Overallocation. On the other hand, if you are looking for an available resource, click Remaining Availability.

2. If necessary, right-click the background of the Resource Graph, and then click Bar Styles to adjust the appearance of the information.

   For example, you can view overallocations for the selected resource and others in the same resource group (see Figure 25-8).

   Figure 25-8: The Resource Graph can show information for one selected resource and a group of resources.

   Cross-References

   For information about modifying the text styles or gridlines in the Resource Graph, follow the steps described in "Format Text Styles and Individual Text" and "Formatting the Appearance of Gridlines," earlier in this chapter.

Modifying the Calendar View

You can customize the bar styles, text styles, layout, gridlines, and timescale for task bars in the Calendar view.

To modify the bar styles for a particular type of task, do the following:

1. Click View, Calendar.

2. Click Format, Bar Styles.

   Because the bars in the Calendar view represent information that you don't see in the Gantt chart, the Bar Styles dialog box for Calendars contains different settings from the Bar Styles dialog box for Gantt charts.

3. To change the appearance of a specific type of Calendar bar, click its name in the Task Type list; for example, Noncritical or Marked.

4. Under Bar Shape, specify the Bar Type, Pattern, Color, and Split Pattern for the Calendar bar.

5. In the Field(s) box under Text, click the field that you want to appear inside the Calendar bar.

   If you want to show the contents of multiple fields with the Calendar bar, separate the fields with a comma. For example, to see the task name and resource initials, select the Name field, type a comma, and then select Resource Initials (see Figure 25-9).

   Figure 25-9: Use the Bar Styles dialog box for the Calendar view to specify bar formatting and field content for various types of Calendar bars.

To modify the arrangement of tasks in the Calendar, follow these steps:

1. Click Format, Layout.

   The Layout dialog box for the Calendar view appears.

2. To display as many tasks as you can in the Calendar boxes, select the Attempt To Fit As Many Boxes As Possible option.

   This option sorts tasks by Total Slack and then by Duration. Otherwise, tasks appear in the current sort order.

3. Select the Automatic Layout check box to reapply the layout options as you add, remove, or sort tasks.

To modify the timescale in the Calendar, do the following:

1. Click Format, Timescale.

2. In the Timescale dialog box, click the Week Headings tab and then choose the titles that you want to appear for months, weeks, and days in the calendar (see Figure 25-10).

   Figure 25-10: Use the Timescale dialog box for the Calendar view to specify the Calendar timescale's appearance.

3. Select the7Days option to display all days in a week, or select the5Days option to display the work days.

4. Select the Previous/Next Month Calendars check box to show a preview of the previous and following months in the view.

5. Click the Date Boxes tab to specify the information you want to appear in the heading for each date box.

6. Click the Date Shading tab to customize how working and nonworking time for base and resource calendars appear on the calendar.

   Cross-References

   For information about modifying the text styles or gridlines in the Calendar, follow the steps described in "Format Text Styles and Individual Text" and "Formatting the Appearance of Gridlines," earlier in this chapter.

Modifying a Sheet View

The Resource Sheet and the Task Sheet display information about your project resources and tasks in a tabular layout. The Task Sheet appears as the sheet portion of a Gantt chart. You can change the table that appears in the sheet view along with the height of rows and width of columns.

To change the table in the sheet view, click View, More Views. Click a sheet view, for example, Task Sheet or Resource Sheet, and then click Apply.

Another method is to right-click the Select All box in the upper-left corner of the table (above row 1). A shortcut menu appears with tables for the sheet view. Click the name of the table that you want to appear.

For example, to see costs in the Task Sheet, click Cost on the shortcut menu. If the table you want doesn't appear on the shortcut menu, click More Tables and then double-click the table you want in the Tables list.

To resize a column in the sheet, use one of the following methods:

• Position the mouse pointer between two column headings until it changes to a two-headed arrow and then double-click the column edge to resize the column to fit all the values in the column.

• Position the mouse pointer between two column headings until it changes to a two-headed arrow and then drag the column on the left to the desired width.

• Double-click the column heading to display the Column Definition dialog box. Click the column width in the Width box or click Best Fit.

  Tip

  Display column headings the way you want       As of Project 2002, text wrapping is provided for header cells in a table as well as manual header row height adjustment. To adjust the row height automatically to display the entire column title, click View, Table and then click More Tables. Click the table you want to modify and then click Edit. In the Table Definition dialog box, select the Auto-Adjust Header Row Heights check box.

You can change the height of one or more rows in a sheet.

Do the following to resize individual rows in a sheet:

1. To make a row taller, position the mouse pointer between the two row headings ( beneath the row's ID number) until the mouse pointer changes to a two-headed arrow and then drag downward.

2. To make a row shorter, position the mouse pointer between the two row headings (beneath the row's ID number) until the mouse pointer changes to a two-headed arrow and then drag upward.

   Cross-References

   For information about inserting, deleting, moving, and copying rows and columns in a table, see "Customizing Tables," later in this chapter.

Modifying a Usage View

Usage views, such as the Resource Usage and Task Usage view, display information divided across time periods. Usage views include a sheet view in the left pane and a timephased grid (the timesheet) with the field details in the right pane. You can customize the sheet and the timescale for the timesheet as you can in the Gantt Chart and other views. You can also choose which fields you want to see in the timesheet.

To select and format the timephased fields shown in the timesheet in a usage view, follow these steps:

1. Click View, Resource Usage or choose another usage view.

2. Right-click the timesheet, click Detail Styles, and then click the Usage Details tab.

   The Usage Details tab lists the different timephased fields you can display in the timesheet, such as Work, Actual Work, Overtime Work, and Cost (see Figure 25-11).

   Figure 25-11: Choose the fields to display and their formatting in the Detail Styles dialog box.

3. In the Available Fields list, click the fields you want to add to the timesheet portion of the Usage View and then click Show.

4. To remove a field from showing in the timesheet, click its name in the Show These Fields list and then click Hide.

5. To change the order in which fields appear, click a field in the Show These Fields list and then click the Move up or down arrow buttons .

6. Choose the font, color, and pattern for the selected field if you want to change its appearance in the timesheet.

   Tip

   Adding fields in the timesheet       To quickly add a field, right-click the timesheet and then click the field you want to add on the shortcut menu. A check box appears in front of the field name on the shortcut menu, and another row of timephased information appears in the timesheet for each task. To remove a field from the timesheet, right-click the timesheet, and click the field you want to remove on the shortcut menu.

The Usage Properties tab in the Detail Styles dialog box includes the following options for formatting the detail headers and the data within the timesheet:

• If you want to align the data in the timesheet cells, click Right, Left, or Center in the Align Details Data box.

• If you can't see the field names on the left side of the timesheet, click Yes in the Display Details Header Column box.

• If the field names are missing in some of the rows, select the Repeat Details Header On All Assignment Rows check box.

• If the field names take up too much space, select the Display Short Detail Header Names check box.

  Cross-References

  For information about modifying the text styles or gridlines in a Usage view, follow the steps described in "Format Text Styles and Individual Text" and "Formatting the Appearance of Gridlines," earlier in this chapter. For information about formatting the sheet portion of the Usage view, see "Modifying a Sheet View," later in this chapter, and "Customizing Tables," later in this chapter. For information about formatting the timescale, see "Modifying the Timescale" below.

The values in the timesheet often exceed the width of the columns. Instead of adjusting the width of columns in the Timescale dialog box, you can resize them in the Usage view timesheet with the mouse. To resize columns in the timesheet, follow these steps:

1. Position the mouse pointer between two column headings in the timesheet until it changes to a two-headed arrow.

2. Drag the pointer to the left or right until the columns are the desired width.

   If the usage view is part of a combination view that's displaying a timesheet in both panes, changing the column width in one pane changes the width in the other pane so the timesheet columns always line up.

Modifying the Timescale

The timescale is a prominent feature in many Microsoft Project views, such as Gantt chart and usage views. You can display up to three timescales in a view. For each timescale, you can customize the units, the labels for time periods, and the label alignment. You can also display a calendar or fiscal year. In addition, you can choose how many timescales you want to use as well as the width of each period in the timescale.

Changes you make to the timescale apply only to the active view, but those changes become a permanent part of that view definition. Your timescale customizations appear each time you display that view.

To set the options for one or more tiers in the timescale, do the following:

1. Display a view that contains a timescale, such as Gantt Chart, Task Usage, or Resource Graph.

2. Right-click the timescale heading and then click Timescale on the shortcut menu.

   The Timescale dialog box appears.

3. The Timescale dialog box has four tabs (see Figure 25-12): Top Tier, Middle Tier, Bottom Tier, and Non-Working Time. The Middle Tier tab is displayed by default. In the Show list under Timescale Options, click the number of tiers you want to display (one, two, or three).

   Figure 25-12: Customize the time periods that appear in a Gantt Chart, Task Usage, or Resource Graph view.

4. To change the width of the timescale columns, click a percentage in the Size box.

5. Select the Scale Separator check box to draw lines between each timescale tier.

To set the options for each timescale tier, follow these steps:

1. In the Timescale dialog box, click the tab for the timescale tier you want to customize.

2. In the Units box, specify the time unit you want to display for the current tier. For example, you might choose Quarters for the top tier if your organization's financial performance depends on this project.

   Caution

   The time unit in a lower tier must be shorter than the unit for the tier above it. For example, if the top tier time unit is months, the middle tier can't be years .

3. To display the fiscal year in the timescale, select the Use Fiscal Year check box.

4. To display an interval of more than one unit, choose the number of units in the Count box.

   For example, to display two-week intervals, click Weeks in the Units box and2in the Count box.

5. To change the label format, choose a format in the Label box; for example, 1st Quarter, Qtr 1, 2004, or 1Q04.

6. Click Left, Right, or Center in the Align box to position the label in the timescale.

7. If you chose to display more than one tier, click the tabs for the other tiers and repeat Steps2through 6.

   Caution

   When you click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons on the Standard toolbar or click Zoom on the View menu, changes you make to the labels in the timescales disappear.

You can also control how nonworking time appears in the timescale. To set the nonworking time options in the timescale, do the following:

1. In the Timescale dialog box, click the Non-Working Time tab.

2. To display nonworking time using the same format as that for working time, select the Do Not Draw check box.

3. If you display the nonworking time, choose the color and pattern for the nonworking time shading.

4. Choose the calendar whose nonworking time you want to display in the Calendar box.

   Tip	Changing nonworking time       The Non-Working Time tab in the Timescale dialog box changes the appearance of nonworking time. To modify the schedule for nonworking time, click Tools, Change Working Time; or right-click the timescale heading and then click Change Working Time.

   Cross-References

   For more information about changing working and nonworking time, see "Setting Your Project Calendar".