Difference between revisions of "Field Mappings Tab for OnePager Express for Version 7.0"

Revision as of 18:00, 26 February 2019

About the Chart Properties form Field Mappings Tab

1) To compliment the Unlimited Field Mapping feature, we've changed the Other Columns tab on the Template Properties and added the a tab to the Chart Properties forms.

a) Previously, the Other Columns tab was only present on the Template Properties form. However, with the new Unlimited Field Mapping feature, it is appropriate for this tab to be present on the Chart Properties form.

b) For more information on the Unlimited Field Mapping feature, please consult the following link: Unlimited Field Mapping. 7.19.1-70

2) The name of the new tab is the Field Mappings tab.

a) Since the Unlimited Field Mapping feature allows you to import all fields from Microsoft Excel source plans at any time in the life cycle of a chart, the Field Mappings tab tab no longer needs to map fields to ‘extra purposes’ that are just carried along in case you need them.

b) It now focuses on common OnePager purposes that users can map to Microsoft Excel fields after a chart is created. Note, however, that other important OnePager purposes are on Rows/Swimlanes, Task Bars and Milestones tabs. And some purposes (e.g. Task Name, Percent-Complete, and Critical Path) appear both here and on the Task Bars and Milestones tabs.

c) For OnePager Express there are seven (7) pruposes named in the Field Mappings tab list below:

(1) Percent-complete

(2) Task-name

(3) Start date

(4) Finish date

(5) Baseline start date

(6) Baseline finish date

(7) Deadline date

3) The Field Mappings tab for the Chart Properties is shown below:

4) As in the Other Columns tab in previous versions, version supports Field Splitting with the control on the Field Mappings tab in the Template form and Chart Properties forms. Field Splitting can be performed on any source plan string type field with comma-separated components imported defined before the chart is created. It cannot be changed once a chart exists, though its value is shown in the Chart Properties form to remind you of the splitting that is active in the chart.

5) Finally, we’ve added a group to the Field Mappings tab that shows the Microsoft Excel field currently being used for the Task/Milestone Identity Mapping feature.

a) In the Chart Properties form, the Task/Milestone Identity Mapping is disabled but tells you which Microsoft Excel field is being used.

b) The Task/Milestone Identity field being used is specified in the Template Properties form to act as the Task ID field for OnePager Express UPDATE operations. You can change it to whatever field you want, but it is your responsibility to make sure that the chosen field has a unique value for each task you plan to import and display in OnePager. Having duplicate values in the Unique ID field causes tasks to be omitted and/or misidentified later on when you are doing updates of the chart.

Field Mappings

Basic Mappings

1) There are three (3) Basic Mappings in this group that are available to be remapped. You can use any Microsoft Excel field of the appropriate type, and these are revealed in the individual dropdown menus as shown in the example below:

2) Selecting a different Microsoft Excel field from the dropdown list tells OnePager to go back to the Microsoft Excel source plan, retrieve the data for that field, and use that data for the purpose in the chart . This re-acquisition of Microsoft Excel source plan data is done when you click Apply on the Chart Properties form which keeps the Chart Properties form visible or when you click OK which closes the Chart Properties form. The chart is updated accordingly.

Date Mappings

3) There are five (5) Date Mappings pruposes in this group that are available to be remapped. You can use any Microsoft Excel date field that can be revealed in the individual dropdown menus as shown in the example below:

4) As with the selections in the Basic Mappings group, selecting a different Microsoft Excel field from the dropdown list tells OnePager to go back to the Microsoft Excel source plan, retrieve the data for that field, and use that data for the designated OnePager Express purpose in the chart. This re-acquisition of Microsoft Excel source plan data is done when you click Apply on the Chart Properties form which keeps the Chart Properties form visible or when you click OK which closes the Chart Properties form. The chart is updated accordingly.

Task/Milestone Identity Mapping

5) In the Chart Properties form, this group is for your information. The group is disabled but the Unique Id window shows the setting previously or currently set in the Template Properties form’s Field Mappings tab. As such, the window is for information purposes only and cannot be changed. The Task/Milestone Identity Mapping group is shown below:

6) The Unique Id field shows the Microsoft Excel field that OnePager Express used when it first created the chart.

7) This feature is added to assist advanced OnePager Express users update charts that were created from sources where portions of one Microsoft Excel source plan were copied into another.

a) When OnePager updates a chart, it needs to identify each task and milestone that is being imported and find out if it already exists in chart. This is how OnePager preserves the formatting of the task/milestone and places it in the same row/swimlane where it resided before the update. When the data in the source plan is a Microsoft Excel source file, OnePager uses the Microsoft Excel Task ID field as a default for this purpose.

b) You do have control over what values are placed in the Unique ID field that appear in your Microsoft Excel source file when you copy data into that file. As a result, Microsoft Excel source files that have had data copied into them can have problems preserving OPX's formatting and row/swimlane positioning.

c) To solve this problem, version 6.1 lets you define and use a substitute Microsoft Excel source field as an alternative Unique ID for uniquely identifying tasks. You are then responsible for guaranteeing that these field values are preserved when data is copied from one Microsoft Excel source file to another. You are also responsible for making sure that there are no duplicate values in the field he designates for his alternative Unique ID usage.

d) The alternate Unique ID can be set in one of two places:

i) In the Template form's Field Mappings tab and

ii) In the OnePager Choices form's second page by clicking the Edit current template... button.

iii) We strongly recommend that you set the alternate Unique ID in the Template form rather than with the OPC form because this ensures that all charts use a consistent alternative Unique ID field

e) See the section in the article at this link: Advanced Tab for OnePager Express - Warn Of Merging Tasks. 21.14.1-70 This section of the linked article provides guidance on the care that needs to be taken when merging tasks so that OnePager Express can properly perform chart update in the future.

Field Splitting

1) As with the group discussed previously, the Field Splitting group is disabled but shows the Microsoft Excel field currently set in the Template Properties form as the field participating in field splitting. As such, the window is for information purposes only and cannot be changed. The Field Splitting group is shown below:

2) The Field Splitting group in the Field Mappings tab of the OnePager Express Chart Properties form works in the same way as it did in the Other Columns tab of previous versions.

3) See the article at: Splitting and Parsing Columns-OnePager Express 24.5.1-70 for more information.

Related Links

Unlimited Field Mapping 7.19.1-70

Advanced Tab for OnePager Pro 21.1.14-70

Splitting and Parsing Columns-OnePager Pro 24.5.1-70

(21.16.1-70)