Difference between revisions of "OnePager Import of Data from Asana for Version 7.2"

Revision as of 17:32, 19 January 2024

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to provide you one place with as much information as possible about how OnePager is used to create OnePager charts with data imported from Asana.

In most cases OnePager handles data fields from Asana very much like data coming from Microsoft Excel. This article focuses on two major topics:

1) Connecting to and importing Asana data into OnePager.

2) OnePager’s handling of specific Asana column data once those data are imported.

As a convention, whenever we refer to the OnePager in the context of Asana, we'll just say OnePager when it’s absolutely clear that we are discussing OnePager with Asana. Since only the Standalone edition of OnePager connects to Asana files online, we'll just leave the suffix "Standalone" off.

About Connecting and Importing Asana Data to OnePager

OnePager imports data from Asana by first making the connection from OnePager to your Asana account online. Therefore, you must first have a Asana account and login credentials so OnePager can access your account, your Asana files, and be able to download selected file or files to your computer.

Detailed information on setting up you Asana data for import to OnePager and other topics related to getting started using OnePager Bundle can be found at this article:

Data Imports to OnePager

OnePager expects that you created a Asana Project formatted file from one of the many available Asana templates. In most cases, the column headings for the Project formatted file look like this:

Minimum Column Names and Flag Column Definition

The minimum Column names needed by OnePager are the Task Name, Start, and Finish. Additionally, it is strongly advised to add a flag column that can be used to tell OnePager which Asana rows to import and use to create your chart. An example is shown here:

In the example above, the Show It column’s purpose is to instruct OnePager on which rows to process when importing the Asana Project formatted file. OnePager expects to see either “Yes” or “No” appropriately entered in the cells of the Show It column indicating which rows to import (Yes) and which rows not to import (No).

As an alternative you can use a Asana checkbox where the row to import is represented by the box checked ON as shown here:

OnePager recognizes Checkbox columns in Asana as possible flag columns and makes the column available in the flag column selection process discussed later in this article.

Adding Your Own Columns

Asana features the capability for you to add your own User Defined Columns to the Project formatted file which OnePager imports as well. These additional column names can be used to organize your OnePager chart such as for defining Rows and Swimlanes in the chart or for presenting text information to be displayed in the chart as text columns. As a further example, the illustration below shows several User Defined Columns that can provide data for the OnePager chart and enhance your schedule presentation:

OnePager Recognized Data Types

What follows is a short discussion of how OnePager applies it’s built in intelligence functions with respect to Asana’s User Defined Columns. The goal here is to provide an understanding of the process so you know what to expect from OnePager when various column heading names and data (column) types are encountered by OnePager in your Asana source plan. There are four (4) column types that OnePager looks for when importing data from Asana:

• Dates
• Numbers
• Boolean (TRUE or FALSE)
• Text Strings (A through Z, 0-9, special characters)

All data, regardless of data type, are imported from Asana Project formatted files. OnePager begins this analysis from top-left to bottom-right. Once the column headers are located and the data types are analyzed, OnePager associates these columns with specific usages in the OnePager choices (OPC) form as illustrated below. Using the second page of the OPC form shown below, you can change the column usage by selecting another column to serve the function from the dropdown list provided. The dropdown list is built from all the column headers that OnePager found during its analysis pass. An example of a dropdown list of column header names taken from a Asana source plan is shown here:

Highlighted above is the second page of the OnePager choices form showing a dropdown list of Asana available column names along with virtual column names created by OnePager.

Selecting Tasks for Import into OnePager

Since OnePager is connected to your Asana account, it has access to your Project formatted files. Anyone of these files can be imported into OnePager and a chart created. The benefit derived from OnePager is that you can select the tasks you which to display in your OnePager chart along with other decorations and features that are best for presentation in a schedule discussion.

A way to set up a Asana Project formatted file for import to OnePager is to define a flag column in your source plan and set a text value of “Yes” in the cells for each row in your source plan that you want OnePager to import. For illustration here we’ve define a Asana column called Show It as a text column and have inserted “Yeses” and “Nos” to indicate to OnePager which tasks we wish to import. This is illustrated in the source plan portion below:

When making your first chart, we strongly recommend that you import 50 or fewer Tasks. Please note that OnePager is shipped with a number of fully populated templates that are based on the Asana source plan used in the Tutorial shipped with the product – BlueGrass Project Plan. Three column headings must always be present as a minimum: Task Name, Start Date, and Finish Date.

Once you’ve made the determination which source plan tasks to import you can launch OnePager and create your OnePager chart.

This discussion continues at this link:

There are three (3) selection options available for controlling OnePager’s import of task data. These are discussed in the subsections that follow:

Task Selection Option (1): Select All Tasks

Asana source plans like the one shown above with many tasks results in a very large OnePager chart usually not suitable for detailed schedule conversations. Accordingly, we do not recommend importing more than 50 tasks so that the resulting chart is a useful one page rendering of the source plan. However, for small projects where the number of tasks falls below the recommended maximum, using the Select all tasks shown in the Task Selection sub-control group of the OnePager choice form below is an easy way to specify this option:

Task Selection Option (2): Select Tasks with ‘Yes’ in field:

As mentioned above, one method for telling OnePager which tasks to import is to use a Flag column. As shown in the previous section, the Asana source plan has a User Defined Column named Show It and the word “Yes” is typed into the contents of the Show It cell for each task imported into OnePager. Here is an illustration of the OnePager choices form where a Flag column is used to select tasks from the source plan:

When this is done for the source plan shown above, and other appropriate settings are made for OnePager, the resulting chart looks like this:

As mentioned earlier, you can also use a Asana checkbox with a unique column header name. OnePager recognizes the checkbox column as a possible flag column and makes it available in the OnePager choices form in the dropdown list for the Select task with ‘Yes’ in field: option as shown below:

When the column heading call OnePager is selected in the form above, OnePager imports rows where the OnePager checkbox is checked ON.

Task Selection Option (3): Select Tasks by custom filter: (Conditional Import Rules)

You can use the Conditional Import feature to fine tune the tasks you want to import. Assuming that you’re familiar with the Conditional Import feature, the Conditional Import Rules form can be accessed by selecting the Select tasks by custom filter: radio button as shown in the illustration below. Using the Conditional Import Rules form as shown here, it is possible to select tasks between specified Start At and Due At dates:

When the above Conditional Import rules are used in the selection process, the resulting chart looks like this:

The illustration created above includes tasks within the Start At and Due At included in the Conditional Import Rules form. Additionally, the desire for the chart is to show those tasks within the time frame boundaries set by the first two rules that are currently assessed as Medium Risk. The Conditional Import Rules form with the three rules is shown below:

Any Asana column found in your source plan can be used as a Field in a Conditional Import rule.

For more detailed information on the Conditional Import feature, we recommend that you read the articles on this subject under:

Using Other Columns as Flag Columns in Asana

OnePager offers a wide range of Asana column and data types to be used as a flag for controlling the import of rows for making OnePager charts as shown below:

Although the above dropdown list is extensive, OnePager is set to recognize only “Boolean” situations that resolve to either TRUE import to OnePager or FALSE do not import to OnePager. Asana does not have Boolean type columns that can be used for this purpose so you must use text columns, number type columns, or checkboxes for this purpose as explained in the following sub-sections.

Integers Used as Flag Columns in Asana

You can use a Asana number column with an integer as a flag if its contents are 1’s in those cells that are intended to be imported as tasks. Similarly you can use 0’s as flags for those tasks that you do not wish to import.

Decimal Numbers Used as Flag Columns in Asana

Number columns that contain an integer and decimal fraction are eligible to become flag when their contents are either 1.0 or 0.0. However, such fields are not picked up by OnePager as a flag as discussed above for Asana text fields. Therefore, we do not recommend that Number columns be used for the purpose of general task selection. Accordingly, it is still useful to consider number columns for task selection if the values contained in these number column cells need to be used for decision making on which tasks should be imported.

Checkboxes Used as Flag Columns in Asana

As an alternative you can use a Asana checkbox where the row to import is represented by the box checked ON as shown here:

OnePager recognizes Checkbox columns in Asana as possible flag columns and makes the column available in the flag column selection process discussed later in this article.

Intelligent Changes Made to OnePager Current Template Properties Forms

OnePager is shipped to you with a predefined set of Template Properties forms. This means that all column usage settings within these shipped Template Properties forms are based upon a typical Asana source plan. Since the flexibility of Asana is considered in the design of OnePager, it is necessary to update the current Template Properties form based upon your Asana source plan. Accordingly, OnePager uses the analysis techniques discussed above to modify the current Template Properties form. This is necessary because, unlike Microsoft Project, where the columns have predefined meanings, the Asana source plan column assignments and meaning are totally determined by you. OnePager, therefore, makes intelligent choices and recommendations on Asana source plan column usage based on the findings of the intelligent engine.

You can change or override these findings as follows:

1) You can click the Edit current Template… button on the second page of the OnePager choices (OPC) form shown here:

2) Clicking this button accesses the Template Properties form so you can navigate to the Rows and Swimlanes tab.

3) The settings found in the Row & Swimlanes tab are determined by the current Template Properties form and by the intelligent analysis described above.

4) If your Asana source plan contains a column heading that exists in the Template Properties form, OnePager uses that column.

5) Otherwise, it makes an intelligent recommendation from the column headings it discovers.

The illustration below shows that several of the settings in the Template Properties form’s Rows & Swimlanes tab reflect the decisions that OnePager made concerning column usage. These settings are consistent with the selections displayed in the OPC form.

The illustration above shows that the Lempth column from the Asana source plan is selected as the text column to appear in the chart. The Lempth column is indicated in the Template Properties form's Rows/Swimlanes tab for text column Left#1. We purposely misspelled Length to illustrate that OnePager has the intelligence to pick columns even though their headings are can be misspelled. You can change the Row & Swimlanes tab settings as well as settings in any of the other tabs. When you are ready, click Save and use button to make these changes part of the current Template Properties form.

In other tabs of the Template Properties form, OnePager has adjusted settings in a similar way to be consistent with its intelligent engine’s analysis of the Asana source plan column headers and data types. If OnePager cannot find a column header name in the Asana source plan that can be correlated with a specific OnePager purpose, it makes as intelligent a choice as possible and you are then able to make any change necessary. You are cautioned that all current Template Properties forms are altered when used in this way. We recommend that unique Template Properties form names be subsequently given to such modified Template Properties form for future reference and for sharing these modified Template Properties form with others.

For more information on the management of Template Properties forms, please see the article at:

Missing Columns, Column Headers, or Misspelled Column Headings

OnePager also checks column headings when importing data in UPDATE mode. If the column was used in previous snapshots for any purpose, OnePager checks to assure that the new import for the snapshot has those same columns. When OnePager cannot find the expected columns, one or more column heading names are missing or blank, the column heading is recognizably misspelled, or the data type is different from the previous snapshot, OnePager provides a warning message as shown in the example below:

This can occur when you inadvertently attempt to update a chart from the incorrect Asana source plan or the desired Asana source plan was altered to the extent that OnePager cannot find the columns needed to accomplish the UPDATE functions. You are given two choices when the message above is displayed:

Continue with missing field(s)

By selecting the Continue… button, the import proceeds. OnePager blanks some values that it cannot find. Note: The results can be unexpected.

Go back and fix field(s)

Selecting the Go back… button tells OnePager to stop the import process and return control to Asana. You can now correct the Asana source plan or select another one and start the UPDATE process again.

Missing Task Start/Finish Dates

OnePager requires that, at a minimum, a row from Asana needs to have a task name, a start date, and a finish date. The row is ignored if the task name is not provided even if start and finish dates are present. When a row is missing either a start date and/or finish date is missing, even if the task name is provided, OnePager provides the warning message shown below:

OnePager Chart Representation of User Defined Columns and Virtual Columns

OnePager imports all Asana columns at the beginning of the chart building process and analyzes them for data type and how they may be used in charts. Asana has a minimum number of defined columns and Asana users add User Defined Columns as needed to suit their scheduling goals. The OnePager intelligent preprocessor imports all available columns and analyzes them to set up dropdown lists of imported columns that are available within OnePager’s control scheme.

OnePager also builds additional “virtual” columns for use in your charts that are constructed based upon data imported from your Asana Project formatted file. These virtual columns are provided in OnePager so that you can use all the features of OnePager when designing your charts.

Asana User Define Columns

For example, the chart shown below has three User Defined Columns (Project, Phase, and Category):

These User Defined Columns are imported by OnePager and can be used to control rows and swimlanes as shown below:

In Asana you can create as many User Defined Columns as needed, specify their data type, and populate data for each task. OnePager imports all columns defined and makes them available for use in your chart.

OnePager Virtual Columns for Asana, an Example

OnePager Pro and OnePager Express users have found it beneficial to use many of the OnePager virtual columns in their charts as shortcuts. For example, take the Asana source plan below that has three levels that establishes a Work Breakdown Structure:

Creating the OnePager chart from the Asana source plan above, we get this:

This is just one example of the use of OnePager virtual columns.

The OnePager virtual columns used in the example above represent only three of the Level x - virtual columns available for use in charts. OnePager can represent up to ten (10) levels for Summary name and Summary ID. The list of Level “x” Summary name and Level “x” Summary ID is shown in this illustration of a Swimlane Group by dropdown list:

For more information on the use of Rows and Swimlanes, please see the articles at:

More OnePager Virtual Columns for Asana

As mentioned above, OnePager adds virtual columns, and in most cases populates these virtual column cells with data imported from your Asana source plan as illustrated above.

The following virtual columns available in OnePager charts built with Asana source plans are discussed in the sub-sections below:

• Section
• Level “x” summary ID/name
• Outline level
• Summary
• Is Task and Is Subtask

Section Virtual Column for Asana

The Section virtual column is populated from your Asana source plan when that plan is specifically configured to show and be configured with Sections. The illustration below shows a source plan with defined Sections:

The Section virtual column can be used to organize the chart as shown below:

Level 1, 2, and 3 Summary ID/Name Virtual Columns for Asana

In addition to the Section virtual column available to OnePager from Asana, OnePager also imports two (2) Levels for ID and Name from Asana for tasks and sub-tasks. Asana has the capability for you to define a sub-task of a sub-task and to define start/finish dates for these sub-tasks of sub-tasks. Accordingly, the Level 1 summary name field in OnePager represents the task level and Level 1 summary ID represents the Asana assigned ID for that task. For Level 2 summary name, OnePager picks up the sub-task name if a sub-task is present below the task at Level 1 summary name. If a sub-task is not present, OnePager duplicates the task name/ID for the Level 2 summary name/ID. And for Level 3 summary name, OnePager picks up the sub-task name of the above sub-task if a sub-sub-task is present below the sub-task at Level 2 summary name. If a sub-sub-task is not present, OnePager duplicates the sub-task name/ID for the Level 3 summary name/ID.

The illustration below is a OnePager chart created from an Asana source plan which has tasks, sub-tasks, and sub-tasks of sub-tasks. Tasks are in red, sub-tasks are in blue, and sub-tasks of sub-tasks are in green. Level 1 summary name is the task level where you can see, for example, that Level 1 summary name for Select ADONIS Contractor contains the three sub-tasks defined under the Select ADONIS Contractor task. Level 2 summary name equates to the task or sub-task name whichever is present. Level 3 summary name equates to the task, sub-task, or sub-task of a sub-task name whichever is present. The Outline Level value is shown for each row. An Outline Level of one (1) is a task. An Outline Level of two (2) is a sub-task. Finally, an Outline Level of three (3) is a sub-task of a sub-task.

Outline level Column

The Outline level column provides an integer value counting the level of indentation of task bars starting at level one (level 1).

The Outline level is shown in the source plan below:

In the Asana source plan above, Planning Phase is at the highest level with Assemble Resources and Create Working Plans at the next level down. Additionally, Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, and System Engineers are at one more subordinate level below Assemble Resources. There are three levels represented in the source plan shown above and when it is imported to OnePager, the chart portion looks like this with the Outline level column containing the level values in each cell:

The Outline level values shown above represent the WBS levels for the displayed portion of the source plan.

Summary Column

The Summary column is a Boolean column taking on the value of TRUE if the associated task is a summary task, that is, with subordinate-subtasks organized below it and FALSE if the associated task does not have subordinate-tasks organized below it. In the Asana source plan shown below, Summary and Non-Summary tasks are highlighted:

Using the above Asana source plan to create the OnePager chart, we can show the values from the Summary column in a text column along with the ID as shown below:

The above chart shows which displayed task bars are Summary tasks (TRUE) and which are Non-Summary tasks (FALSE). These can be correlated back to the original Asana source plan using the corresponding Task Name.

When the OnePager chart is created using the Show It=Yes to control the import of data and the Left#1 swimlane is set to Level 1 summary name and the Left#2 swimlane is set to Level 2 summary name, the chart looks like this for the portion of the source plan above:

Is Task and Is Subtask Columns

These two (2) virtual columns are provided by OnePager to assist in differentiating between tasks and sub-tasks at various levels in the WBS imported from an Asana source plan. These virtual columns can be used with conditional formatting rules to differentiate between tasks, sub-tasks and sub-tasks of sub-tasks in conjunction with the use of the Outline level column.

In the OnePager chart illustrated below text columns were added to show the values in the Is Task, Is Subtask, and Outline Level columns which, when associated with the Color by feature in the OnePager choices form and the Conditional Formatting Rules form produced this chart:

For more information on the use of the Conditional Formatting Rules form, please see the articles starting at:

Representing Unique ID in Asana Project Formatted Files

The Asana ID column accessed from the Asana source plan’s data and maintained by OnePager, is the Asana task’s internal identification number. Displaying ID in one of the OnePager chart text columns is a convenient way to relate task bars back to source plan task numbers. The ID value for each task and subtask is the unique id that OnePager uses to coordinate tasks and subtasks between snapshots and when merging multiple Asana source plan files to create one OnePager chart.

To illustrate ID consider the OnePager chart shown below:

Representing Percent Complete (% Complete) from Asana Project Formatted Files

Asana has an available column called PctCompl which can be populated with data that indicates the extent to which a task is progressing. The PctCompl column’s cells are automatically populated with your numeric value followed by a percent sign (%). A sample portion of a Asana source plan looks like this with the PctCompl column highlighted:

The OnePager chart created from the above Asana source plan looks like this:

Since Asana has a defined column called PctCompl, it is our recommendation that you use this Asana defined column in your charts to represent percent complete for tasks and milestones.

For more information on using the percent complete feature, please see the article at:

Representing Multiple Resources from Asana Project Formatted Files

Asana supports multiple resources being assigned to tasks by duplicating the task in the source plan with the name of the newly assigned resource. Shown below is Electrical Engineers task with one assigned resource:

When the OnePager created, the Electrical Engineers' task bar and Assignee are represented as shown below:

Going back to the Asana source plan and adding a second Assignee to the Electrical Engineers task changes the source plan to look like this:

When the above process is complete the source plan look like this:

When the OnePager chart is updated with the new assigned resource, the chart looks as follows:

Representing Baseline Data from Asana Import Source Plans

When the Asana source plan is configured with baseline start/finish dates, OnePager can represent them in the chart when the Chart Properties form’s Task Bars and/or Milestones tabs are configured to do so as shown below:

When the Baselines function is enabled and the Baseline start/finish dates are displaced to the right of the baseline shape, the chart looks like this:

OnePager's distributed Template Properties forms for Asana are preset in the Field Mappings tab to have the Baseline start window set to Baseline Start and the Baseline finish window set to Baseline Finish as shown below:

For more information on Baseline representation, please see the article:

OnePager Bundle Cannot Represent Critical Path Segments with Asana

Asana's exterior interface does not provide their critical-path segment data to OnePager. As a result, OnePager cannot import critical-path segment data and does not provide the capability to represent critical-path segments in the chart.

Using the OnePager Deadline Representation Feature with Asana

OnePager has a feature that lets you display a deadline symbol in the chart that represents the latest finish date for the task or when the milestone must be met. A portion of a chart with deadline symbols looks like this:

When deadlines are turned ON, they appear (by default) as down-arrow symbols in each task bar's row at the deadline date position with respect to the time axis. Above, deadline symbols that are not contained within their respective task bar are shown with black dash-dot connecting lines to illustrate the capability.

It is highly recommended that if you want to use the deadlines feature that you define a Deadlines column in your Asana source plan and populate it with appropriate dates. When OnePager imports your source plan the intelligent engine recognizes “Deadline” as containing the dates for this purpose and populates the appropriate dropdown lists.

Controls for displaying deadline symbols are provided in the Template Properties and Chart Properties form’s Task Bars and Milestones tabs where you can specify the Asana source plan column to represent deadline dates and specify their graphical representation in the chart.

For convenience, OnePager assumes that the Asana Project formatted file’s Deadline date column is the default column that OnePager uses to represent deadline symbols in the chart. This setting is established in all Asana distributed Template Properties forms.

The deadline setting is established in all Asana distributed Template Properties form’s Field Mappings tab as shown below:

As shown above, the Deadline date column name can be changed before the chart is created by using the Template Properties form’s Field Mappings tab to select another preferred Project formatted date column. Changing the Deadline date column name after the chart is created requires using the Field Mappings tab in the Chart Properties form.

For more information on using Deadline symbols, please see the article at:

Using the OnePager Endpoints Representation Feature with Asana

OnePager also has a feature that lets you display a multiple endpoint symbols in the chart that represent potentially important dates for a task. A portion of a chart with four (4) endpoint symbols associated with each task bar looks like this:

When one or more endpoints are turned ON, they appear (by default) as down-arrow symbols in each task bar's row at the endpoint’s date position. Above, endpoint symbols that are not contained within their respective task bar are shown with black dash-dot connecting lines to illustrate the capability.

Controls for displaying endpoint symbols are provided in the Template Properties and Chart Properties form’s Task Bars and Milestones tabs where you can specify the Asana source plan column to represent endpoint dates and specify their graphical representation in the chart.

For convenience, OnePager assumes that the following Asana Project formatted date columns are the default columns that OnePager uses to represent endpoint symbols in the chart:

• Endpoint 1: Start Date
• Endpoint 2: Finish Date
• Endpoint 3: Baseline Start
• Endpoint 4: Baseline Finish

These setting are established in all Asana distributed Template Properties form’s Task Bars tab in the Task Bar Decorations sub-control group at the Endpoints button. (Milestones do not display Endpoint symbols.) Checking the Endpoints checkbox ON and clicking the Endpoints Properties… button accesses the Set endpoint properties form where the default endpoint dates can be changed before the chart is created. Following the same path in the Chart Properties form to the Set endpoint properties form can accomplish the same result after the chart is created.

For more information on using Endpoint symbols, please see the article at:

Representing Task Links from Asana Project Formatted Files

OnePager displays Task Links in the chart when the “master switch” for Task Links in the Template Properties form’s Task Link tab is checked ON as shown below:

When the “master switch” is checked ON, Task Links are enabled and can be shown in the chart after the Show data-driven links checkbox is checked ON in the Chart Properties form’s Task Link tab as shown below:

You can use the above form to change the properties of the Task Links to meet your schedule discussion needs. When the chart is created, the Task Links look like this:

In the chart shown above, the Predecessor column is shown as a Left#1 text column to indicate the task bar that is the predecessor for the task link. The SmartsheetRowNumber column is shown as the Left#2 text column to identify the successor task bar.

For more information on Task Links, please see the articles at:

Note on Column Not Imported from Asana

At the present time, the import software (API) that is used by OnePager Bundle to import source plan data from Asana does not pass the Type column to OnePager.

Related Links

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