Making Multi-Project Charts from Separate Microsoft Excel Plans for Version 7.0
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Preparation for Making a Multi-Project Chart from Separate Microsoft Excel Source Plans
- 3 Setting up the One Pager Express Template for a Multi-Project Chart
- 4 Create a Multi-Project Chart from Separate Multiple Microsoft Excel Separate Plans
- 5 Updating a Chart Created from Multiple Microsoft Excel Source Plans
- 6 Related Links
Overview
1) Suppose you have multiple Microsoft Excel source plans that are related and you want to create a single chart that shows the important schedule items.
2) You can do this as long as the related Microsoft Excel source plans are constructed with unique Task ID field contents.
3) This meas that you must adjust the Task ID column in the multiple Microsoft Excel source plans such that each row has a unique number or identifier in the Task ID field.
4) This is necessary because unlike Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel does not automatically provide a unique identifier for rows.
5) Additionally, unique Task ID numbers are needed so that OnePager Express (OPX) does not get rows confused when performing snapshot updates.
6) For more information on Task ID's, please see the section in the article at: Adding a Task ID Field to Your Microsoft Excel Source Plan. 7.12.1-70
Preparation for Making a Multi-Project Chart from Separate Microsoft Excel Source Plans
1) To illustrate what is needed, let’s construct a multi-project chart from the BlueGrass Project Plan Microsoft Excel source plan by splitting this source plan into two distinct files as shown below:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(1)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/4/4f/X70-8_4_1-70-%281%29-08302019.png)
![X70-8 4 1-70-(2)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/c/ca/X70-8_4_1-70-%282%29-08302019.png)
Important Note
2) Each of the Microsoft Excel source plans above have unique Task ID fields with unique numbers.
3) It is important throughout the use of these Microsoft Excel source plans that these assigned unique Task ID numbers remain with their respective tasks.
4) Dates can change in the Microsoft Excel source plan's rows along with other updated information as the projects progress, but the Task ID number must remain associated with the task activity.
5) Tasks can be deleted, but the deleted Task ID should not be reused for a later snapshot.
6) OPX can process out of sequence Task ID numbers.
Setting up the One Pager Express Template for a Multi-Project Chart
1) The next step is to select and update an appropriate OPX Template.
2) For this illustration we’ve selected the Multi-Project Gantt Chart – Detailed Template.
3) Once the OPX current Template is established as a multiple-project Template, go to the Rows/Swimlanes tab and make sure that the Group rows into swimlanes and Label swimlanes by windows are set to Project.
4) Also, for this illustration, make sure that text columns are displayed and that the Custom Text Columns are set to Phase.
5) The Rows/Swimlanes tab in the Template form looks like this:
![X60-8 4 1-60-(6)-02082017.png](/wiki/images/3/35/X60-8_4_1-60-%286%29-02082017.png)
6) When the steps above are completed and the Template for is updated, click the Save and use button to make the modified Template the current Template.
Create a Multi-Project Chart from Separate Multiple Microsoft Excel Separate Plans
Launch Microsoft Excel and Load the First Microsoft Excel Source Plan
1) For this example the OPX Add-in application is used.
2) Launch Microsoft Excel and open the first of the multi-project Microsoft Excel source plans.
3) In this case it’s the Merlin-Project Phase 1 and 2 file.
4) Next, launch OPX from the Microsoft Excel Add-in tab.
5) The OnePager Express Start form appears.
6) Click the NEW button which accesses the OnePager choices (OPC) form as shown below:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(4)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/6/67/X70-8_4_1-70-%284%29-08302019.png)
7) Note that the Merlin-Project Phase 1 and 2.xlsx Microsoft Excel source plan appears in the Selected File(s) group and that the Add/Remove button is active.
Adding the Second Microsoft Excel Source Plan
8) Click the Add/Remove button which accesses the Data source selection form as shown below:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(5)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/7/7d/X70-8_4_1-70-%285%29-08302019.png)
9) We want to now add the other Microsoft Excel source plan to the source packet.
10) To do this, click the ADD button in the Data source selection form and a Windows Open form appears.
11) Navigate to the desired source plan, select it, and then click the Open button as shown below:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(6)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/f/f3/X70-8_4_1-70-%286%29-08302019.png)
12) After you’ve completed placing the third Microsoft Excel source plan into the source packet, the window in the Data source selection form looks like this:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(7)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/1/12/X70-8_4_1-70-%287%29-08302019.png)
13) When you click the OK button above, the OPC form is updated to reflect that two (2) source plans are in the source packet and the title for the new chart that we typed in as shown here:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(8)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/f/f1/X70-8_4_1-70-%288%29-08302019.png)
Create the NEW OnePager Express Multi-Project Chart
14) When you click the Next> button, OPX goes to the second page of the OPC form where you can confirm other settings or make any Template setting changes.
15) When these confirmations are complete, click the Create new chart button. The chart looks like this:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(9)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/6/61/X70-8_4_1-70-%289%29-08302019.png)
16) Once you merge all your projects into a single snapshot, you can now add a new snapshot to the chart to show how tasks changed.
Updating a Chart Created from Multiple Microsoft Excel Source Plans
1) Eventually you want to update your multi-project chart by either adding a snapshot or replacing a snapshot with updated data.
2) To perform either the add or the replace snapshot, the processes described in these two referenced article references that follow can be used.
REPLACING a Snapshot via Push Update - OnePager Express Desktop 7.14.2-70 |
ADDING a Snapshot via Pull Operation - OnePager Express 7.15.2-70 |
3) The key to making updated multi-project charts from multiple Microsoft source plan is the proper management of the Microsoft Excel data in the source packet.
4) Recall that the source packet contains the source plan(s) that are to be used to either create or update a chart.
5) They are stored as file names and path names in the chart’s .TAM file and can be accessed from the Data tab’s Selected file(s) button on the ribbon as shown below:
![X70-8 4 1-70-(10)-08302019.png](/wiki/images/c/c4/X70-8_4_1-70-%2810%29-08302019.png)
6) Validating the contents of the source packet and assuring that these are the Microsoft Excel source plans that were updated is an essential step before proceeding to perform a project update.
Related Links
Merging the Wrong Tasks into a Chart - OnePager Express 7.12.1-70
Creating a NEW Chart via Pull Operation - OnePager Express 7.13.2-70
REPLACING a Snapshot via Pull Operation - OnePager Express 7.14.2-70
ADDING a Snapshot via Pull Operation - OnePager Express 7.15.2-70
(8.4.1-70)