Managing Hidden Tasks and Milestones Using "Where's My Stuff?!" for Version 7.2

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About Where's My Stuff?!

Illustrations used in this article are from OnePager Pro using data from Microsoft Project but the feature's function, controls, and manual edits apply equally to other OnePager editions that import from data sources like Microsoft Excel, Smartsheet, and Oracle Primavera P6.

Where’s My Stuff?! is a OnePager feature that helps you locate task bars/milestone symbols that cannot be easily seen in the graph for various reasons. Additionally, the feature helps you understand why task bars/milestone symbols are not appearing and provides you a means to repair the chart so that task bars/milestone symbols become visible again. When you are trying to locate a task bar/milestone symbol and do not wish to cause all hidden task bars/milestone symbols, and rows, to be made visible, go the OnePager Home ribbon tool bar tab and click on the Show/Hide dropdown as shown below:

P70-9 4 1-70-(1-1)-09102020.png

Clicking the Where’s My Stuff?! command accesses the Where’s My Stuff?! form shown below. This form provides you with the name of each task bar/milestone symbol that is not showing and a check (X) in the column(s) appropriate for why the task bar/milestone symbol is not visible:

P70-9 4 1-70-(2-1)-09102020.png

Why a Task Bar/Milestone Symbol is not Visible

The grid above shows a red X in the column representing the reason that the task bar/milestone symbol, designated in the grid row of the Task name column, is not visible. There are nine (9) reasons that a task bar/milestone symbol, row, or swimlane level can not immediately be visible in the chart:

  • Hidden Tasks/Milestones. The task bar/milestone symbol is hidden (e.g., manually hidden, incorporated into a Virtual Summary Task (VST), or absorbed into another task bar).
  • De-Flagged Tasks/Milestones. The task bar/milestone symbol is not flagged (e.g., Flag20 for Microsoft Project) for import from Microsoft Project or Microsoft Excel for the specific snapshot being viewed, but it was flagged and imported in other snapshots.
  • Date out of Range. The dates on the task bar/milestone symbol (Start and/or Finish) are out of range relative to the date range established for the chart.
  • Hidden Row. The row containing the task bar/milestone symbol is hidden, either directly, or because the parent swimlane level is hidden.
  • Buried Item. The task bar/milestone symbol is buried (i.e., z-ordering level on the screen) beneath one or more other task bars/milestone symbols.
  • Absorbed Item. The task bar/milestone symbol is not visible because it is absorbed into another task bar.
  • Virtual Summary Task. The task bars/milestone symbols are hidden because they are now part of a VST.
  • Item needs repair. The graphical properties of the task bar or milestone symbol are missing at the current snapshot.
  • Hidden timespan. The task bar/milestone symbols are hidden because there are hidden Time Axis Level Cells or curtains called timespans that are hidden.

If you need additional explanation on what the different reasons mean, you can click the Help Me button. This accesses the form below which gives a detailed explanation for each reason:

P70-9 4 1-70-(3-1)-09102020.png

Using the Fix Selected Button

Using the information (X’s in rows) in the Where’s My Stuff?! form, you first know why the various items (rows, task bars, or milestone symbols) are not showing. You have two (2) options:

  • You can go back to the chart and make the changes you desire manually.
  • Or, you have the option to let OnePager make the fixes for you using the Fix Selected button.

The process for having OnePager perform the fix is as follows:

1) In the Where's My Stuff?! form, check the checkbox ON (on the left of each grid row) for each hidden item that you want OnePager to fix.
2) You have the option also to select all grid rows in the Where’s My Stuff?! form by clicking the Select all button or you can click the Clear selections button to unselect all previously selected actions.
3) When your selections are complete, click the Fix Selected button and OnePager makes the selected items visible. Additionally, OnePager provides a list of the actions taken in the INFORMATION AREA of the Where’s My Stuff?! form as shown above.

As an example, suppose we select the top four rows in the Where's My Stuff?! form to be fixed as shown below:

P70-9 4 1-70-(4-1)-09102020.png

When the Fix Selected button is clicked, the Where’s My Stuff?! form responds as shown below:

P70-9 4 1-70-(5-1)-09102020.png

Upon performing the fix action described above, the chart is updated to reflect the changes made. The changes made by clicking the Fix Selected button as described above are subject to the Undo/Redo functions using the available active buttons on the OnePager ribbon tool bar.

Managing the “Where’s My Stuff?!” form’s columns

For your convenience the Where’s My Stuff?! form has three (3) features to help you manage the columns within the Where’s My Stuff?! form.

Rearranging Columns

The columns in the form can be rearranged left to right by left clicking the column header and dragging it to the left or right. This feature is quite convenient for grouping form columns together for the purpose of identifying and fixing issues. The column positions after dragging and dropping are not permanent. Below is a sequence of illustrations showing first the original arrangement of columns and second the column positions after the Hidden row column is moved all the way to the left:

Before Dragging Hidden Row Column to the Left Most Position
P70-9 4 1-70-(6-1)-09102020.png
After Dragging Hidden Row Column to the Left Most Position
P70-9 4 1-70-(7-1)-09102020.png

Where’s My Stuff?! Column Sorting

To sort the task bars on the values in any column, left click the column's header. For example, if the ID column is selected, all the grid rows are sorted in numerical order from lowest to highest. In a similar way, sorting the Task name column causes the grid rows to be sorted such that they are arranged in alphabetical order (A-Z) based on the content of the Task name column. The following example is a sort the Task name column showing the before and after illustrations:

Before Sorting the Task Name Column
P70-9 4 1-70-(8-1)-09102020.png
After Sorting the Task Name Column
P70-9 4 1-70-(9-2)-09102020.png

Selecting any of the column headers with X's using the cursor and left-clicking in the column's header groups the X's at either the top or the bottom of the grid and rearranges the data in the associated grid row accordingly.

Where’s My Stuff?! Column Width

If need be, you can widen any column in the form by placing the cursor on the edge of the column header cell and using the double arrow cursor to drag the column header's edge to the left or right as shown here:

P70-9 4 1-70-(10-1)-09102020.png

Where’s My Stuff?! Frozen Columns

The Select, ID and Task name columns are frozen so that they do not scroll out of view when you are scrolling left or right via the horizontal scroll bar in the grid as shown below:

P70-9 4 1-70-(11-1)-09102020.png

Related Links

Hiding and Unhiding Rows and Swimlanes 12.13.1-72

Absorbing one task into another 17.0.1-72

Creating and Managing Virtual Summary Tasks 18.0.1-72

Using the Where Are My Links? Form 19.5.1-72

Modifying the Time Axis (Portal) 22.0.1-72

Changing the Chart’s Start/Finish Dates 22.3.1-72

Showing and Hiding Time Axis Levels and Cells 22.3.3-72

(9.4.1-72)