Revision as of 15:10, 28 April 2018

Task Link Upgrades for OnePager 6.1 (0.4.1.7-61)-04272018

Introduction to the OnePager 6.1 Task Links Upgrade (Current as of OPP/X 6.1.K)

OnePager Pro and Express always supported the creation and showing of Task Links (previously called Event Links). The process for creating and editing Event Links was totally manual.

The two illustrations below show a simple Microsoft Project source plan with Predecessor field data and the OnePager Pro 6.1 project view graph that is created:

With version 6.1, OnePager Pro and Express you have the following enhanced capabilities:

(1) Task Link data can be imported from both Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel source plans and made available for editing with controls for showing them in the project view. Task Links imported from source plan data are called data-driven Task Links. When discussing data-driven Task Link import from Microsoft Project, we also support the capability to import data-driven Task Links from Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Online as well.

(2) Task Link editing capabilities are expanded so that you have a greater variety of options for formatting Task Link arrowhead shapes, their sizes, connection line options, line corner sizes, Task Link relationship types, and attachment points on tasks.

(3) Manual Editing capabilities are also enhanced so that you can perform drag and drop operations, and change the properties of any and all Task Links using the enhanced Task Link formatting options.

(4) You also maintain full control over Task Link formatting and which Task Links are shown or hidden in project views through the use of the new Task Links tabs on the Template and Project-View Properties forms. Control over showing or hiding Task Links is provided in a Task Links Filter Rules form. In a similar fashion to how OnePager assists your management of hidden tasks, OnePager 6.1 provides a Where Are My Links? form that provides a list of Task Links specific to each snapshot and allows you to change the show/hide status of any Task Link in the snapshot.

The remainder of this article overviews these new enhancements and capabilities and provides Wiki links to articles where you can find more detailed user information.

OnePager 6.1 Task Link Feature Overview

1) OnePager Pro 6.1 is enhanced so that you can import data on Task Links from Microsoft Project source plans where the syntax for specifying predecessor relationships corresponds to Microsoft Project standards. You can also import data on Task Links from Microsoft Excel source plans where the syntax for specifying predecessor relationships corresponds to either the Microsoft Project standard or the syntax used by Oracle’s Primavera P6.

2) OnePager Pro and Express 6.1 are designed to process Task Links that are specified as Predecessors ONLY.

3) You have the ability to control the properties for all Task Links in OnePager’s Template form before a project view is created. The Template form's Task Links tab is shown below:

4) OnePager 6.1 supports the visual representation of all four Task Link relationship types including Finish-to-Start (FS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), Start-to-Finish (SF), and Start-to-Start (SS) with proper Begin and End point placement on the Predecessor and Successor tasks. There are also controls available to reposition a Task Link’s Begin and End points on the top, middle, or bottom of the task.

5) OnePager 6.1 does not automatically position the Predecessor to Successor connection lines to avoid overlapping other graphics. However, you use drag and drop method to adjust the position of connection lines to improve readable.

6) For manual Task Links there are slider bar controls in the PVP form's Task Links tab to control the global position of connection lines.

7) Please note that OnePager 6.1 does not process Task Link lag times which may be included in Microsoft Project Predecessor field data when showing data-driven Task Link visualizations.

8) OnePager 6.1 supports the previous version’s capability to manually create, edit, and delete Task Links in the project view. Manual Task Links are accounted for by OnePager 6.1 as are data-driven Task Links using the Where Are My Links? form. The Where Are My Links? is shown here:

9) There are three operational considerations to keep in mind when thinking about showing Task Links using the data-driven Task Link feature:

(1) The capability is by default turned OFF in all OnePager 6.1 distributed Templates and must be specifically turned ON for the feature to operate.

(2) Your decision to turn the feature ON or OFF can be made before or after project views are created and even after several snapshots are added. You have the ultimate in flexibility when using this feature.

(3) Data-driven Task Links and manual Task Links are snapshot-independent.

10) In any project view you have the capability to globally change the default properties of Task Links with the Project-View Properties (PVP) form’s Task Link tab controls. The Project-View Properties form Task Links tab is shown below:

11) You can also individually select a Task Link and change any of its properties using the Task Link Properties form. The Task Link Properties form is shown below:

12) You have options in the Project View Editor (PVE) to show all data-driven Task Links, show only those that meet your specified Filtering Rules, or show only those Task Links that you specifically desire to be shown or hidden. The Task Link Filter Rules form is provided for you to add, edit, and delete your Task Link Filtering Rules and to control hiding or showing of individual Task Links. The Task Link Filter Rules form is shown below along with a typical sample rule:

OnePager 6.1’s Data-Driven Task Link Import Process

13) Below we briefly overview the process used by OnePager 6.1 to import data-driven Task Links.

14) OnePager Pro 6.1 can now import Predecessor field data from Microsoft Project source plans and show them in a project view totally under your control. OnePager Express 6.1 can do the same although it is up to you to tell OnePager Express 6.1 the name of the Predecessor field in your Microsoft Excel source plan and the syntax to which it adheres.

15) The capability to show data-driven Task Links imported from your source plans can present some significant opportunities for helping to tell your schedule story. You now can use Task Links directly imported from your source plans without needing to manually create them. You can turn this feature ON and OFF and individually show or hide data-driven Task Links highlighting relationships between tasks.

16) However, these capabilities present some challenges. Showing too many Task Links clutters the project view; potentially concealing important information leading to graphics potentially difficult for audiences to see. For these reasons the OnePager 6.1 Task Links upgrade is designed to cope with these challenges through the following mechanisms:

a) By default, OnePager 6.1 is typically launched with the data-driven Task Link feature turned OFF. The default OFF setting approach prevents the creation of a cluttered project view initially or a cluttered snapshot further on when the original project view is updated.

b) As a result, a source plan containing multiple Predecessor field data does not have these data imported automatically until you physically turn the data-driven Task Link feature ON in the Template or Project-View Properties (PVP) form’s Task Link tab.

c) Additionally, OnePager 6.1 does not show any data-driven Task Links in the project view unless their associated tasks are flagged for import and are visible in the project view.

d) However, OnePager 6.1 does automatically import all data-driven Task Links from your source plan when the feature is ON in case they are required for showing later in your editing processes, even if they are not displayed initially.

e) New tabs, called the Task Links tabs, are added to the Template and PVP forms so you have global control over all Task Links properties.

f) Any Task Link, either manually created or data-driven can be manually selected in the project view and edited as in previous version of OnePager. You can manually edit all properties of Task Links in this way. Manually editing any Task Link turns it into a mavericked Task Link.

17) After carefully determining how and which Task Links should be shown in your schedule discussion graphic, you can “switch” the Task Links feature ON. OnePager 6.1 then imports the Task Link data from your source plan. You can now use the Task Link feature’s editing controls to determine which Task Links to show or hide and what they should look like. Task Link Filtering Rules and editing controls are also provided in the Task Link Upgrade.

Import Process Summary

18) The flow chart below shows, in general, how OnePager 6.1 processes data-driven Task Links with imported tasks under your control:

19) More detailed user information is provided in the Wiki links given in the list of Wiki Links below:

Links to Detailed Articles

Related Links

Getting Started (Portal) 3.0.1-61

Basic Workflows (Portal) 7.0.1-61

Conditional Import Filters (Portal) 7.18.1-61

Conditional Formatting (Portal) 11.0.1-61

Managing Hidden Tasks and Milestones Using "Where's My Stuff?!" 9.4.1-61

(0.4.1.7-61)