Conditional Import for OnePager Pro Desktop for Version 7.0

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Overview

The article is recommended reading before you advance to any other of the product specific articles in this series. The Conditional Import Filters feature supports imports from all locations and configurations of Microsoft Project source plans including those from your computer, from the cloud; as a single source plan, Integrated Master Schedules (IMS), or multiple separate Microsoft Project source plans. In most cases Conditional Import Filter rules are established before a chart is created. OnePager supports this by providing controls for managing Conditional Import Filter rules in the Template Properties form's Main tab if sufficient conditional import planning was performed before preparation of the first chart. In most cases, you can delay the creation of your Conditional Import Filter rules until just before creating the first chart after your source plan data are available. In this circumstance, OnePager provides Conditional Import Filter rule management controls on the OnePager choices (OPC) form in the Task Selection control group of the form. Finally, after a chart is created you retain the capability to manage your Conditional Import Filter rules though the use of the Chart Properties form's Main tab where the same controls are available as mentioned for the Template Properties form.

This article provides details on the use of the Conditional Import Filters feature for OnePager Pro (OPP) Desktop edition. Most of the examples in this and other related articles discuss the management of Conditional Import Filter rules in the context of the OPC form. First, information is provided on how to create Conditional Import Filters rules using the Conditional Import Rules form. Then, there are examples on how you might use the Condition Import Filters feature in your every day use of OnePager to prepare for schedule presentations and discussions.

Adding a Filter Rule to the Conditional Import Rules Form

About the Conditional Import Rules Form

Conditional Import Filters are managed through the use of the Conditional Import Rules form shown below. Each entry in the form is made up of a Field column, an Operator column, and a Value column. The Field column is a dropdown menu which lists all fields imported from your Microsoft Project source plan any of which can be used as the controlling field for the rule. The Operator column is also a dropdown menu whose contents are dependent on the field type of the corresponding Field cell for the grid entry. For example, a Boolean field selected for the Field column has a dropdown list in the Operator column of Yes and No. The Value column is also, in most cases, a dropdown menu again dependent on the field type of the corresponding Field cell of the grid entry. For Boolean fields the Value cell is not used. For Date Fields the Value column provides access to the OnePager calendar form. Other examples follow in this article.

As discussed below, you have the capability to logically OR and AND rules together. The Conditional Import Rules form resembles to the Conditional Formatting form in look and function. In this form you can add, copy, change, and delete Conditional Import Filters rules.

Accessing the Form

The form is accessed from the OnePager choices (OPC) form as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 2-70-(1)-08192019.png

The Conditional Import Rules form is shown in its initial blank state above. The rules entered become part of any chart subsequently created or updated and are saved with the chart. If you later create or update a snapshot using a Flag field, OPP saves the Flag field and clears the Conditional Import Filters rules. Conditional Import Filter rules are typically entered when a chart is first created in the NEW workflow. After a chart is created, rules can be added later for the UPDATE workflow via the OnePager Choices form invoked either from the OnePager Start form or the Chart Editor (Custom Update… button. These workflows are described later in the examples accompanying this article.

Add a Rule

With the Custom Import Rules form visible and blank, click the Add Rule button to create a new rule grid row as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(2)-08182019.png

There are five cells shown for the new rule grid row above. The first two cells are used as follows:

1) The first two cells are used as selection cells.
2) The first left-most cell, when clicked, allows you to use the Copy Rule(s) or the Delete Rule(s) buttons.

The second cell from the left is a checkbox used to activate or deactivate the rule itself. If the checkbox is unchecked or OFF, OPP does not apply the rule when performing the import function. The Field cell of a rule grid row (third from the left) has a dropdown menu that allows you to select a Microsoft Project source plan field to use in creating the selected criterion for import. When the dropdown menu is selected, the Field cell looks something like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(3)-08182019.png

When a source plan field is selected, the name is displayed in the Field cell of the new Custom Import Filters rule row. The look of the rest of the new Conditional Import Filters rule grid row depends on the type of source plan field selected. These types are discussed next.

Date and Numeric Fields

When source plan date or numeric field types are selected in the Field cell of the rule grid row, the Operator field dropdown provides the options shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(4)-08182019.png

These are the conventional six (6) logical operators used consistently in OnePager for date and numeric types. They are the same Operators used in OnePager for Conditional Formatting.

For more information on the use of logical operators, please see the article at: Conditional Formatting Overview for OnePager Pro

The Value cell in the rule grid row in the example above resolves to a date. Clicking on the Value cell in the rule grid row access the OnePager calendar form as shown here:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(5)-08182019.png

Clicking a specific date in the Calendar form placed that date in the Value cell and closes the date form. This completes the process of defining the first Conditional Import Filter rule at which time you can add another rule or modify the existing rule. If you are finished defining your Conditional Import Filter rules, click the OK button to close the form. When any or all of the logical rules in the Conditional Import Rules form evaluate to TRUE on the selected Field in a Microsoft Project task or milestone, the task or milestone is imported. Otherwise the task or milestone is skipped.

Text Fields

When source plan text fields are entered in the Field cell of the Conditional Import Rules form's rule grid row, the Operator field dropdown provides the options shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(6)-08182019.png

These are the conventional four (4) logical operators used consistently in OnePager for the text type. They are the same Operators used in OnePager for Conditional Formatting.

For more information on the use of logical operators, please see the article at: Conditional Formatting Overview for OnePager Pro

For the Value cell in the rule grid row, OnePager expects a text string. Enter your text string by clicking on the Value cell and typing the desired text string. After typing your desired text string, click anywhere in the form and the Conditional Import Filter rule is complete. This completes the process of defining this Conditional Import Filter rule at which time you can add another rule or modify the existing rule.

If you are finished defining your Conditional Import Filter rules, click the OK button to close the form. When any or all of the logical statements evaluate to TRUE on the selected Field for a Microsoft Project task or milestone, the task or milestone is imported. Otherwise the task or milestone is skipped.

Boolean Fields

When Microsoft Project Boolean field types are entered in the Field cell of the Conditional Import Filters rule grid row, the Operator field dropdown provides the options shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(7)-08182019.png

These are the two (2) conventional Boolean logical operators used consistently in OnePager for the Boolean type. They are the same Operators used in OnePager for Conditional Formatting.

For more information on the use of logical operators, please see the article at: Conditional Formatting with Boolean Fields for OnePager Pro

Boolean types are a special case as the Operator and the Value in OnePager are combined into one cell of the Conditional Import Filters rule grid row - the Operator cell. Accordingly, the Value cell in the rule grid row is disabled. When any or all of the logical statements evaluate to TRUE (or Yes) for the selected Field in a Microsoft Project task or milestone, the task or milestone is imported. Otherwise the task or milestone is skipped.

Flag1 Through Flag20 Fields

OnePager treats Microsoft Project Fields from Flag1 through Flag20 as Boolean types in the same way as described in the previous sub-section. We want to emphasize the flexibility that Conditional Import Filters adds to the way you can import tasks and milestones from Microsoft Project. You can formulate sets of Conditional Import Filters rules to control task and milestone imports using all available types of Microsoft Project Fields and use operators that let you select ranges of values and more complicated combinations of criteria.

The ANY and ALL Radio Buttons

Just below the top of the Conditional Import Filter Rules form there are two radio buttons which control how the Conditional Import Filter rules are used as a group. The ANY of the following rules are true radio button, if selected, acts as a logical OR function for all enabled rules in the form. If this radio button is selected, OnePager examines the rules in the form and imports only the tasks and milestones that satisfy those rules individually. The tasks and milestones that are imported under this scenario meet one or more of the enabled rules in the form. Tasks and milestones from the source plan that do not meet any of the enabled rules in the form are not imported. The ALL of the following rules are true radio button, if selected, as as a logical AND function for all enabled rules in the form. If this radio button is selected, OnePager examines the rules in the form and imports all the tasks and milestones that satisfy all the rules. The tasks and milestones that are imported under this scenario do meet all of the enabled rules in the form. Tasks and milestones from the source plan that do not meet all of the enabled rules in the form are not imported.

Editing an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form

Suppose you’ve composed two Conditional Import Filters rules in the open Conditional Import Rules form and you want either of them to apply. That is, the radio button for ANY of the rules are true is clicked ON as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(8)-08192019.png

Now further suppose, after reviewing these two rules, that you realize that you can not import any tasks or milestones that happen to Start on 3/1/2020 because the current rule is based on the less than logical Operator. To make the change in the Operator cell, click on the cell’s contents which highlights the cell in blue and accesses the dropdown menu button which you should click. When you do this the Conditional Import Rules form looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(9)-08192019.png

To change the rule, access the Operator dropdown menu and then select the less than or equal Operator. As a result the edited Operator is displayed in the Operator cell of the second rule as shown here:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(10)-08192019.png

Any Field, Operator, or Value cell can be edited in this way. Additionally, the On cell can be toggled to control the Conditional Import Filters rule's participation in the import process. Finally, you can switch between the two radio buttons at the top of the form in order to change the relationship among the rules from OR to AND or vice versa. The edits described above can be made to the Conditional Import Rules form regardless of the OPC mode in which you are working (i.e., NEW and UPDATE). Also, you can access the Conditional Import Rules form from the OPC form as many times as needed to accomplish your presentation goals. OnePager saves the content of the last edit you make to the Conditional Import Rules form. When satisfied with the structure of your import rules, click the OK button at the bottom of the form to return to the OPC form. Now you are ready to create a NEW chart.

Copying an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form

The Copy Rule(s) button is provided in the Conditional Import Rules form to facilitate the creation of additional rules. To copy an existing rule to create a new rule, first select the rule grid row from which you wish to copy as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(11)-08192019.png

Once the desired rule grid row is selected, clicking the Copy Rule(s) button copies the contents of the rule selected into a new rule grid row as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(12)-08192019.png

At this point you can edit the copied rule grid row in the manner described previously. When you are finished, the new set of three rule grid rows can look like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(13)-08192019.png

When satisfied with the structure of your import rules, click the OK button at the bottom of the form to return to the OPC form. Now you are ready to create a NEW chart.

Deleting an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form

There are times when a particular Conditional Import Filters rule no longer serves a purpose. You can select the rule grid row you want to delete and then click the Delete Rule(s) button to remove the rule grid row from the form. The process for deleting a rule parallels the process for copying a rule grid row in that the you must first select the desired rule grid row to delete by clicking the left-most cell in that rule’s grid row. Once the selection is made, click the Delete Rule(s) button and OnePager first shows a warning message asking if you really want to delete the rule grid row as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(14)-08192019.png

If you select the No option, OnePager abandons the rule deletion operation and the warning message closes leaving the selected rule grid row selected. If you select the Yes option, OnePager closes the warning message, deletes the selected rule grid row, and leave the Conditional Import Rules form showing the remaining rule grid rows, if any. When satisfied with the structure of your import rules, click the OK button at the bottom of the form to return to the OPC form.

Switching from Flag Fields to New Conditional Import Filters Rules

When you click the NEW button, the OPC form is accessed. The process for building a new chart with Conditional Import Filters is the same with the exception that instead of using Flag fields from your source plans you are going to use the Conditional Import Rules form from the OPC form as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 2-70-(2)-08192019.png

In the illustration above, in the Task Selection section of the OPC form, the Select task by custom filter radio button is clicked ON. This action immediately accesses the Conditional Import Rules form also shown above. At this point you can Add Rules to the form, Copy Rules, Delete Rules, or edit existing rules.

Switching from Conditional Import Filters Rules to Flag Fields or Selecting all Tasks

If you subsequently decide after composing one or more Conditional Import Filters rules and clicking OK on the Conditional Import Rules form that you want to use Flag fields instead, you can revert back to either of the two other Task Selection options provided in the OPC form shown above. (OnePager only supports one Task Selection option at a time.) To do this, click either of the other two radio buttons to Select all tasks, or Select task with ‘Yes’ in field: When you click the Select all tasks button there is no further action you need to take on the OPC form. However, if you click the Select tasks with ‘Yes’ in field: you now need to select a Flag field from your source plan's list of available Flag or Numeric fields in the dropdown provided as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(16)-08192019.png

In these circumstances where you’ve switched from using Conditional Import Filters rules to either selecting all tasks, or selecting tasks using a flag field, OPP discards any Conditional Import Filters rules associated with the chart.

Adding, Editing, Copying, and Deleting Conditional Import Filters Rules

Managing Conditional Import Filters rules was discussed in previous sub-sections in this article. Please follow the reference links provided below for details on adding, editing, copying, and deleting of Conditional Import Filters rules:

Adding a Filter Rule to the Conditional Import Rules Form
Editing an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form
Copying an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form
Deleting an Existing Filter Rule in the Conditional Import Rules Form

An Example Using Conditional Import

In this section and the one to follow, we’ll provide a couple of examples of a workflow that you might find most useful. First we’ll provide a simple example and then extend it to a more advance use of the workflow.

Setup

Suppose you have a situation where you want to focus the attention of your audience on a particular set of tasks that have the following attributes:

  • Where tasks/milestones Start on or after December 1, 2018 but no later than March 1, 2020.
  • Where swimlanes in the chart represent the Phases of the project
  • Where the text column represent the Team associated with each displayed task, respectively.
  • And where the Legend is organized by Resource Name.

Let’s further suppose that we are going to use the BlueGrass Project Plan Microsoft Project source plan file as input to OnePager. Finally, we will use a variant of the the Single Chart Gantt View – Detailed Template, distributed with OnePager, adapted to this Wiki example. To begin with, the source plan looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(17)-08192019.png

The Main tab of the Template Properties form used for this example looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-(18)-05082020.png

If we launched OnePager with the above Template Properties form, the tasks and milestones included in the chart become those associated with Yes in the Flag20 field in the source plan above. This is not what we want so we first have to change the task and milestone selection criteria using the Conditional Import Filters feature as we’ll show next.

Changing the Task and Milestone Selection Criteria

With the conditions established in the sub-section above, let’s go ahead and launch OnePager from the Microsoft Project ribbon tool bar and access the OnePager Start form as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 2-70-(3)-08192019.png

Next, we’ll click the NEW button which accesses the abbreviated OnePager choices (OPC) form shown here:

P70-7 18 1 2-70-(4)-08192019.png

Click the Select… button which accesses the Windows Open form. Use the Open form to select the Microsoft Project source plan you need and click Open in the Windows Open form. OPP Desktop retrieves the selected source plan where you can fill in the required fields of the OPC form so that it looks like the form shown here. Next, click the NEW button which accesses the OnePager choices (OPC) form shown where the chart name is already filled in:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(20)-08192019.png

We’ve gone ahead and confirmed that we have the correct source plan and we’ve filled in the Title of New Chart. We see that the Task Selection criteria are based on the contents of the Flag20 field, and we don’t want this field to be used. We have two ways to invoke the Conditional Import Filters feature and we’ll explain each below:

Using the OnePager Choices Form to Create Conditional Import Filters

For this first technique, click on the Select tasks by custom filter radio button, that accesses the Conditional Import Rules form as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 2-70-(5)-08192019.png

Next, we’ll enter the two Conditional Import Filters we specified in the previous subsection and make sure the ALL of the following are true radio button is selected so the Conditional Import Rules form looks like this when we are done:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(22-1)-08192019.png

From here we go ahead and click the OK button on the Conditional Import Rules form and, once back at the OPC form, go ahead and create the chart. However, before we do that we want to show the alternative way to enter Conditional Import Filters rules.

Using the Template Properties Form to Create Conditional Import Filters

To illustrate this second technique let’s roll back to the OPC form we saw above and notice that the checkbox labeled Show field mappings is checked ON and the button below the checkbox is called Next>. Now click the Next> button which takes you to the second page of the OPC form which looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(23)-08192019.png

Next, click the Edit current template… button which accesses the current Template Properties form as shown below. Then, navigate to the Main tab as we have done here and note the radio button titled Select tasks by custom filter:

P70-7 18 1 1-(24)-05082020.png

When the Select tasks by custom filter radio button is clicked, the Conditional Import Rules form is accessed and you can enter the two rules we specified in for this example as we’ve shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-(25)-05082020.png

Creating the Chart

After entering the two Conditional Import Filters rules, as shown above, click the OK button on the Conditional Import Rules form and then the Save and Use button at the bottom of the Template Properties form. These actions access the second page of the OPC form, shown earlier; where you can click the Create new chart button and OnePager creates the chart as shown here:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(26)-08192019.png

Editing the Chart

If we like, we can edit the chart by adding the two text columns specified to show Start and Finish dates. This edit is implemented by using the Text Column feature as shown in the article at: Editing with the Chart Properties form (Portal)

When these actions are taken the chart looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(27)-08192019.png

An Advanced Example Using Conditional Import

The advanced workflow example presented in this section on Conditional Import Filters rules is a continuation of the example in the previous section. If you haven’t read or reviewed the example above, we suggest that you do so before reading on in this section.

Continuation of Previous Example

What we intend to show in this section is how to proceed from the creation of the chart in the previous section through successive edits and replacements to get to a chart that is perfect for a specific schedule conversation. To set the stage, let’s establish some further guidance for the final visual presentation:

  • It needs to be very focused on the apparent trouble spot; say with the Prime contractor, for example.
  • There needs be as few tasks as possible so as to keep the audience’s focus on the real project management issue.
  • The presentation of the schedule issues needs be on one page.

Given the above guidance, we need to restructure the chart from the previous section.

Using Conditional Import Filters to Update a Chart through Replacement

Looking back at the chart from the previous sub-section, we see that it contains imported tasks from all the Resources available during the time interval we specified in the original set of Conditional Import Filter rules. Our guidance says that we want to focus more on the Prime contractor. To do this, we’ll use the Conditional Import Filters feature to refine our import criteria and replace the chart with tasks/milestones that meet the Start criteria and the Resource-Names criteria we need. To modify the Conditional Import Filters rules do the following steps:

1) First we go to the chart and access the Chart Properties form at the Main tab.
2) Next, we click the Select tasks by custom filter radio button to access the Conditional Import Rules form.
3) Then, we use the Add Rule button to make a new grid row for the third rule and compose the third rule to specify Resource Names in the Field column, an equal sign in the Operator column, and the word Prime in the Value column. When the new grid row rule is added, the new (third) rule, the forms looks like this:
P70-7 18 1 1-70-(28-1)-12042020.png

Now do the following steps:

4) Click the OK button on the Conditional Import Rules form.
5) This closes the form and take you back to the Chart Properties form’s Main tab.
6) Here, click the Apply button only. This applies the change to the chart but keep the Chart Properties form's Main tab open.

Before doing anything else, go to the OnePager Data ribbon tool bar tab. When you are finished with these steps, the Chart Editor and the Chart Properties form's Main tab looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(29-1)-12042020.png

When you click the Apply button on the Chart Properties form the chart does not change appearance. This is because the actions taken only update the Conditional Import Filter rules and no import action has yet to take place. The last step in this workflow is to click the Replace Snapshot button which is the left-most button on the OnePager Data ribbon tool bar tab. This is the action that tells OnePager to update the chart by re-importing the source plan data with task selection controlled by the three rules now active in the Conditional Import Rules form. When the OnePager Pro replace process completes, the chart is updated to not only restrict the start dates but also to restrict the Resource Names in the chart, like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-(30-2)-12042020.png

Summary of First Chart Replacement Iteration

To summarize what we’ve done, we’ve accomplished the following:

  • Used the original chart in conjunction with the Conditional Import Rules form to specify an additional rule that further focus the tasks in the chart to our specific schedule discussion.
  • Used the Replace Snapshot button to tell OnePager display the updated chart using all three Conditional Import Filter rules defined.

Second Chart Replacement Iteration

The chart we created above still isn’t quite ready for our schedule conversation. Because, say, our schedule conversation is going to focus on reviews that are in the schedule, it might be a good idea to only show tasks which are review tasks by nature and name. To do this, we need to add a fourth Conditional Import Filter rule that will only import tasks in the current set of task displayed above that involve reviews. To do this, we'll add the fourth rule to the Conditional Import Rules form as shown below:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(31)-08192019.png

We’ll use the same sequence of steps that were used in the first replacement iteration we described above. In the open Chart Properties form, click the button to access the Conditional Import Rules form and add a fourth rule restricting import to tasks/milestones that have the word review in their Task Name field. With the above rule added, click the OK button in the Conditional Import Rules form and after it closes, click the Apply button on the bottom of the Chart Properties form’s Main tab. The appearance of the Chart Editor is like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-(32)-05082020.png

The last step is to click the Replace Snapshot button on the OnePager Data ribbon tool bar tab. OnePager performs the snapshot replacement and the chart looks like this:

P70-7 18 1 1-70-(33-1)-08192019.png

Summary of Second Chart Replacement Iteration

The chart in the illustration above now meets all the two Start Date, Resource Name, and Task Name criteria using four Conditional Import Filter rules to support the schedule conversation. This is all done by an iterative workflow that couples updates to the Conditional Import Rules with the Replace Snapshot button on the OnePager tool bar’s Data tab. All that needs to be done now is to copy the chart into the schedule presentation media.

Some Additional Comments on this Workflow

It’s important to remember for this workflow that you always use REPLACE the single snapshot in the chart. We advise against ADDING a snapshot as you refine your conditional import filter rules because this can result in empty rows for source plan tasks that were present under a previous set of rules but are now absent. If you want to begin the workflow by OPENING a previously created chart, it is essential, as mentioned above, that there is a clear and viable path from the chart to its source plan(s). You can confirm this and fix any problems by clicking the Selected Files button on the OnePager Data ribbon tool bar tab.

Related Links

Basic Workflows (Portal)

Conditional Formatting (Portal)

Using the OnePager "Data" Tab's "Selected file(s)" Button

OnePager Express Import of Data from Microsoft Excel

Understanding Charts and Snapshots for OnePager Pro

Understanding Charts and Snapshots for OnePager Express

Editing with the Chart Properties form (Portal)

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