Making Multi-Project Graphs from Separate Microsoft Project Plans for Version 5.3

Making Multi-Project Graphs from Separate Microsoft Project Plans for Version 5.3 (P53-8_2_1-12212015)

Suppose you desire to build a multi-project project view without first creating a Microsoft Project Integrated Master Schedule (IMS). To illustrate an approach to do this, we’ll use the OnePager Pro desktop application. Just follow the steps listed below:

Setting up the Template for a Multi-Project Graph

1) Launch OnePager Pro from the desktop icon and navigate to the “File” tab on the OnePager ribbon.

2) Then, click on the “Options” button. On the “Options” form, go to the “Template” button on the right side and click it. This action will bring up the OnePager “Template” form. Finally, navigate to the “Advanced” tab on the “Template” form as shown below:

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3) At the “Advanced” tab check the “Safely combine tasks from different files” check-box. This setting allows you to import multiple standalone Microsoft Project plans. If you do not check this box, OnePager may confuse tasks from one Microsoft Project plan with tasks from another plan when the tasks have the same UniqueID in Microsoft Project Professional.

File:P53-8 2 1-53-(2)-12112015.png P53-8_2_1-53-(2)-12112015.png

Adjustments to Rows and Swimlanes

4) Go to the “Template” form’s “Rows/Swimlanes” tab shown below. Ensure that you are grouping and labeling swimlanes by the “Project Name”. Though this step is optional, it is strongly recommended.

File:P53-8 2 1-53-(3)-12112015.png P53-8_2_1-53-(3)-12112015.png

5) Now click the “Save and use” or “Use” button to make this template the current template for the creation of this multi-project project view.

6) Once you’ve saved the “Template” form, in the previous step click the “New…” button on the “File” tab. You should still be on the “File” tab at this point.

Use the First Microsoft Project Source File

7) When you click the “New…” button, OnePager will take you back to the “Home” tab and display the “OnePager choices” form. Click the “Select” button in in the upper right corner and select the “BROWSE FILES…” option from the drop down menu. A Windows “Open” form will appear as shown below:

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8) As shown example above, select the first Microsoft Project source file in the set three and then click the “Open” button. When you do this, the “OnePager choices” form expands as shown here:

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Use the Remaining Microsoft Project Source Files

9) At this point we are going to confirm the name of the Microsoft Project source file, type in a New Project View title, and confirm the snapshot date. Once that is done, we are going to click on the “Add/Remove” button. When you do this the “Data source selection” form will appear and you can use the “Add” button to add the two remaining Microsoft Project source files to the source packet for this project view as show below:

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10) When you click the “OK” button OnePager will update the “Selected File(s) section of the “OnePager choices” form indicating that all three Microsoft Project source files have been found as shown below:

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Create the Multi-Project Project View

11) Now, go ahead and click the “Create the new project view” button on the “OnePager choices” form and the resulting project view will look like this:

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Setting for Microsoft Project

12) OnePager Pro always uses the label (name) of the project-summary task to identify each project in a multi-project situation. OnePager does not use the Microsoft Project plan name to identify projects. If you want to display the project summary task (Task 0) at the top of a project file, go to the “File” tab of Microsoft Project’s tool bar. Then navigate to “Options” tab and once there to the “Advanced” and check the checkbox that is shown below:

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13) Since we are using the pull operation workflow to create this multi-project project view, the setting above on the Microsoft Project’s “Project Options” page must be set before the first designated Microsoft Project source file is pulled in and must stay set for all subsequent source file pull operations. This is because, although Microsoft Project as an application will not appear on your screen anytime during the pull operation, nevertheless, it will be launched by OnePager Pro and will operate on the designated files before OnePager Pro processes them.

Updating Project Views Created from Separate Microsoft Project Plans

14) Eventually you will want to update your multi-project project view by either adding a snapshot or replacing a snapshot with better data. To perform either the ADD or the REPLACE snapshot, the processes described in the related links below can be used.

15) The key to making updated to multi-project project views is the proper management of the source packet. Recall that the source packet contains the file or files that are to be used to either create or update a project view, they are stored as file names and path names in the project view’s .TAM file, and can be accessed from the “Data” tab’s “Selected file(s)” button on the OnePager ribbon as shown below:

File:P53-8 2 1-53-(10)-12152015.png P53-8_2_1-53-(10)-12152015.png

16) Validating the contents of the source packet and assuring that these are the Microsoft Project source files that were updated is an essential step before proceeding to perform a project update.

Related Links

Creating a NEW Project View via Pull Operation - OnePager Pro for Version 5.3 7.13.1-53

REPLACING a Snapshot via Pull Operation - OnePager Pro for Version 5.3 7.14.1-53

ADDING a Snapshot via Pull Operations – OnePager Pro for Version 5.3 7.15.1-53

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