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About Editing With Task Link Filtering Rules

Show and Hiding Task Links

The Task Link Filter rules capability allows you to control the showing (or hiding) of Data-driven Task Links based upon source plan data field content values. This feature, similar to the Conditional Import feature, gives you greater control over the tailoring of Data-driven Task Links for schedule discussions. The Task Link Filter rules feature has no influence on whether Data-driven Task Links are imported.

Task Link Filter rules are important for a couple of reasons:

1) Using Task Link Filter rules usually reduces the number of Task Links showing thus reducing clutter.

2) Task Link Filter rules allows you to specifically show Data-driven Task Links that contribute to the issues you are presenting.

Task Link Filter rules can be written for OnePager Express before the chart is created by using the controls in the Template Properties form or after by using the controls in the Chart Properties form. Task Link Filter rules can also be edited in the chart or after more snapshots are created.

Task Link Filter Rules Are Global

The Task Link Filter Rules form, shown below, is global in that Task Link Filter rules entered in the form apply to all snapshots. The application of the rules, however, depends on where you are, in terms of snapshot, as discussed below:

Current Snapshot

Editing a Task Link Filter rule while you are in the current snapshot causes OnePager Express to reconfigure the Data-driven Task Links that are shown in the current snapshot to conform to the Task Link Filter rule edits made. When the edited Task Link Filter rule is applied, the snapshot in the Chart Editor can change appearance.

New Snapshot

If you create a new snapshot after editing a Task Link Filter rule in an existing snapshot, the new Task Link Filter rules are applied to the new snapshot only. Past snapshots are unchanged.

Existing Past Snapshots

Snapshots created before the Task Link Filter rules are edited remain unchanged with regard to the display of task/milestones and their associated Data-driven Task Links. However, if a past snapshot is refreshed by performing a snapshot UPDATE workflow of any kind (e.g., Replace Dates and progress or Replace All properties); the edited Task Link Filter rule(s) in the Task Link Filter Rules form are applied to the snapshot being refreshed only.

Task Link Filter Rules in the OnePager Express Template Form

In OnePager Express, the mechanism for managing Task Link Filter rules is the Task Link Filter Rules form which can be accessed from the Template Properties or Chart Properties form’s Task Link tab in the Data-Driven Task Link control group of the form. The illustration below shows the Template Properties form Task Links tab’s Data-Driven Task Link control group set up to import Task Links.

The Import predecessors checkbox is checked ON.

In the Template Properties form’s Data-Driven Task Links control group above, the Import predecessors checkbox must be checked ON for Data-driven Task Link import actions to take place. Once this checkbox is checked ON, the Filter Links control sub-group of the form and its controls are enabled. Within the Filter Links control sub-group you have the option to select the Show All radio button or to select the Use Rules radio button. Selecting the Show all radio button tells OnePager to show all Data-driven Task Links imported. Selecting the Use Rules radio button enables the Manage Rules… button to the right.

When Manage Rules… button is clicked, the Task Link Filter Rules form appears as shown below:

The Task Link Filter Rules form has the same general appearance as the Conditional Import Rules form with the exception of an additional column on the right giving you the option to apply the rule to the Predecessor task, the Successor task, or both.

For more information on Conditional Import , pleases see the article at: Conditional Import Filters (Portal)

Task Link Filter Rules in the OnePager Express Chart Properties Form

If you access the Chart Properties form’s Task Links tab but you have not yet imported any Data-driven Task Link predecessor information, the Data-Driven Task Links control group on the tab looks like this:

In this situation you can check the Show Data-driven links checkbox ON to import Data-driven Task Link predecessor information from your source plan and enable the Filter Links control sub-group. If you access the Chart Properties form’s Task Link tab '''after''' Data-driven Task Links are imported and the chart is created, which is the most typical situation, the Data-Driven Task Links control group of the form looks like this:

With task bars/milestone symbols imported as well as all Data-driven Task Links, the Data-Driven Task Links control group of the form is altered to show that the Filter links controls are enabled giving you access to the Show all and Use Rules radio buttons. Selecting the Show all radio button tells OnePager Express to show all imported Data-driven Task Links in the current snapshot.

Selecting the Use Rules radio button enables the Manage Rules … button. When this button is clicked ON, OnePager Express accesses the Task Link Filter Rules form shown above. The form is blank (also shown above) or has Task Link Filter Rule entries that were created in the current Template Properties form or previously in the Chart Properties form after a chart was created.

These Task Link Filter rules apply to the showing (or hiding) of Data-driven Task Links in all snapshots. The Task Link Filter rules feature is useful when you desire to configure your chart with Data-driven Task Links that are associated with task bars/milestone symbols of interest. While the Conditional Import feature gives you control over which task bars/milestone symbols are imported to OnePager, OnePager Express imports all Data-driven Task Links from your source plans when the feature is turned ON. The showing (or hiding) of Data-driven Task Links is controlled by the Task Link Filter rules.

Caution: Careful consideration of your presentation goals is recommended in order to make the best use of this new feature.

Additional Requirements for Importing Data-Driven Task Links for OnePager Express

For OnePager Express, in addition to the Show Data-driven links checkbox, there are two (2) dropdown menus. The Task Link Field dropdown menu to the immediate right of the word from shows a list of Microsoft Excel fields from your source plan.

Selecting the field containing your Predecessor information tells OnePager Express where to find your predecessors.

The dropdown menu to the right of the word using is the Syntax Format selector for you to select the syntax format for your Predecessor information so OnePager Express knows how to interpret your Microsoft Excel dependency data.

There are two Syntax Format selector options:

1) Microsoft Project’s syntax format for Predecessors: OnePager Express follows the Dependency syntax format rules used by Microsoft Project.

2) Primavera P6’s syntax format for Predecessors: Since OnePager Express is importing Dependency data through Microsoft Excel; OnePager Express 7.0 expects the Primavera P6 Dependency information to be copied intact into Microsoft Excel.

With the exception covered immediately above, the controls specifically for OnePager Express in the Filter Links control sub-group are the same as the corresponding controls in OnePager Pro.

Specifying the Wrong Predecessor Field to OnePager Express

Microsoft Project assures that the Predecessors field is error-checked and data conform to the proper syntax format. The same is true for Microsoft Project Server, Microsoft Project Online, and Primavera P6.

The same is not true for Microsoft Excel!

A typo in the Dependence field name can happen if Primavera P6 data are not imported to OnePager Express through Microsoft Excel. With Microsoft Excel as your source plan, the flexibility of Microsoft Excel lends itself to the possibility of attempting imports of dependency information from the wrong field. There is also a possibility you might specify the wrong Syntax Format selector option in the Template Properties or Chart Properties form’s Task Link tab.

When any of these potential errors are identified by OnePager Express, a message is provided and you are given an opportunity to correct the source plan or the OnePager Express settings.

Creating, Editing, and Deleting Task Link Filter Rules

You can write Task Link Filter rules for showing (or hiding) Data-driven Task Links based upon the contents of various data fields in your source plan.

Creating a Data-Driven Task Link Filter Rule - Example

Suppose you only want to show Data-driven Task Links associated with task bars/milestone symbols that have Start Dates that are greater or equal than March 1, 2021. This can be done by establishing a Task Link Filter rule in either the Template Properties form or Chart Properties form’s Task Link Filter Rules form. The first time you access the Task Link Filter Rules form it is blank.

To write a new rule click the Add Rule button and the form looks like this:

Once the Task Link Filter Rule entry is created, use the dropdown menus to format the Field, Operator, Value, and Applies to columns to make your selections. The ON column in the above form is used to activate or deactivate the Task Link Filter rule should you decide for any reason that you don’t want a particular Task Link Filter rule applied to the chart. By default, all Added rules are configured with the ON checkbox checked.

The chart example below has all Data-driven Task Links hidden:

If you create a Task Link Filter rule that says show only those Task Links for source plan predecessor or successor task/milestones that have Start Dates greater or equal to March 1, 2021, the Task Link Filter Rule form looks like this with the rule added:

When you click OK on the Task Link Filter Rules form above and the Apply/OK button on the Chart Properties form the chart looks like this:

Note in the illustration above that there are Data-driven Task Links showing on tasks that have Start dates prior to April 1, 2021. This is because the right-most column of the Task Link Filter rule entry specified Predecessor or Successor. Therefore, if a successor task has a Start date later than March 1, 2021 but its predecessor task started before April 1, 2021, the rule includes the Data-driven Task Link between this pair of tasks.

Taking a look at the Where Are My Links? form with this Task Link Filter rule enabled, shows you which Data-driven Task Links are being shown and which are not as indicated by the checkboxes in the Show field of the Where’s My Links? form below:

The result from this Task Link Filter rule action is to change the chart so that only Data-driven Task Links associated with predecessor or successor task/milestones having Start Dates greater than or equal to March 1, 2019 are shown. This focuses audience’s attention on these dependencies. Additional Task Link Filter rules can be added or edited as discussed below.

Other Task Link Filter Rule Form Controls

There are controls in the Task Link Filter Rules form above and below the grid as shown here:

The Copy Rule(s) and Delete Rule(s) buttons work the same way as the same buttons in the Conditional Import Rules form.

There are two (2) radio buttons at the top of the Task Link Filter Rules form that specifies to OnePager how to handle multiple rules. The ANY of the following rules are true radio button says show the Data-driven Task Link if any one of the rules in the form are true. The ALL of the following rules are true button says show the Data-driven Task Link only if all of the rules in the form are true.

Caution: Care should be exercised when using these two radio buttons in conjunction with settings in the Applies to column where you have a choice to make between applying the individual rule to both predecessors and successors (AND) or to either predecessor or successor (OR).

More on Creating, Editing, and Deleting Task Link Filter Rules

As mentioned above, the formatting and editing of Task Link Filter rules are identical to the rules for creating, editing, and deleting Conditional Import rules. The meanings of the first four fields in the Conditional Import Rules form are the same as the first four fields in the Task Link Filter Rues form. The Conditional Import Rules form is shown below for reference:

For more detailed information on constructing Task Link Filter rules for OnePager Express Add-in, please see this section in the article at: Conditional Import Rules for OnePager Express Add-in – Overview

For more detailed information on constructing Task Link Filter rules for OnePager Express Desktop, please see this section in the article at: Conditional Import Rules for OnePager Express Desktop – Overview

You can access the Task Link Filter Rules form at any time through the Chart Properties form, select any cell in any entry, and edit the contents of that cell using the dropdown menus or by inserting a new value in the Value column as required. When you click OK buttons in the Task Link Filter Rules form and the Chart Properties form, the Task Link Filter rule edit is applied.

In charts with multiple snapshots, the entries in the Task Link Filter Rules form and any edits made at any time are applied to snapshots in accordance with the cases discussed above. Entries in Task Link Filter Rules form are global edits and although Data-driven Task Links are snapshot-dependent, Task Links shown in a snapshot are conditional on the settings in the Task Link Filter Rules form and the task bars/milestone symbols that are within the Start/Finish Date boundaries of the chart in the snapshot being displayed.

The OnePager Express Where Are My Links? Form

The Where’s My Links? form can also be accessed through the Chart Properties form’s Task Link tab in the Data-Driven Task Links control group where there is an additional button, the Where Are My Links? button, as shown here:

The Where Are My Links? form can also be accessed from the Editing control group on the OnePager Express Home ribbon tool bar tab by clicking the Show/Hide dropdown and selecting the Where Are My Links? command as shown below:

Using either the Chart Properties form’s Task Links tab or the OnePager Home ribbon tool bar tab accesses the Where Are My Links? form shown here:

The Where Are My Links? form above lists all the Data-driven Task Links shown (or hidden) in the current snapshot as well as any manual Task Links. The Where Are My Links? form is “snapshot-dependent” in that OnePager Express creates the form’s content based upon the snapshot that is being displayed in the Chart Editor .

There are four (4) columns in the Where Are My Links? form.

In the Show column (1) you can check or uncheck any entry’s checkbox to control the showing (or hiding), respectively, of the associated Task Links.

The Predecessor column (2) and Successor column (3) provide the Task/Milestone Name participating respectively in the Task Link pair. The numbers in parenthesis following the task bar name label correspond to the Task ID for Microsoft Excel source plans.

The Source column (4) tells you which entries in the form are Data-driven Task Links (Imported) or which are manual Task Links (Manual). At the top of the form, are controls to Filter entries showing in the form based upon task bar name labels such that only task bars/milestone symbols that meet the task bar name filtering condition appears in the form’s data window.

For example, if you want to show only those entries that relate to Engineering Team 2 task bar name labels, type the task bar name label into the window provided and click the Filter button and the Where Are My Links? form looks like this:

After clicking the Filter button the entries shown in the Where Are My Links? form’s window are only those where the Engineering Team 2 task bar name label appears in either a Predecessor or Successor task bar/milestone symbol name regardless of whether the Task Link is showing (or hidden). The current show/hide status is displayed in the Show column’s checkboxes.

Clicking the Clear Filter button restores all the entries in the Where Are My Links? form and clears the contents of the search window. Using the Filter feature in the form does not change the show/hide status of Task Links managed within the form.

The four columns in the form can be sorted by clicking on the column’s header.

Sorting on the Show column means that you are sorting between checked and unchecked entries.

Sorting on the Predecessor or Successor columns means that you are sorting alphanumerically on the contents of the entire field. Because of the relationship between these two columns, sorting on the Predecessor column, for example, brings along the corresponding Successor entry and vice versa.

Sorting on the Source column means that you are sorting between Imported and Manual entries.

The Use Show/Hide Defaults button at the bottom of the form controls the resetting of defaults for showing (or hiding) Task Links based upon the Task Link Filter rules you established in the Task Link Filter Rules form. This button also applies if you are Showing All Task Links instead of using Task Link Filter rules. If after establishing which Task Links are to be shown (or hidden) in the Task Links Filter Rules form and you later make edits to any Task Link individually, clicking the Use Show/Hide Defaults button restores all Task Links to the current Task Link Filter rules or the Show all selection.

The two other buttons at the bottom of the Where Are My Links? form can be used to override any pre-established filtering rules and force either a Show All or Hide All Task Link entries in the chart. These two controls are shortcuts that are applied to all entries in the Where Are My Links? form.

Using the Where Are My Links? Form to Show or Hide Task Link

The Where Are My Links? form is “snapshot-dependent” in that OnePager provides a list of Task Links specific to the snapshot that you are currently displaying in the Chart Editor. If you don’t use the Task Links Filter Rules form to conditionally control the showing (or hiding) of Data-driven Task Links, the Where Are My Links? form gives you total manual control over the showing (or hiding) of all Task Links in a snapshot at any time.

For more information on the use of the controls in the Where Are My Links? form, please see the article at: Using the Where Are My Links? Form for OnePager Express

Editing the show/hide status of Task Link(s) in the Where Are My Links? form as described above can turn the edited Task Link(s) into maverick Task Link(s). The edit made to any entry in the Where Are My Links? form applies to the current snapshot.

Copy Edits to All Snapshots (CTAS) Feature Relationship to Showing/Hiding Task Links

The CTAS (Copy edits To All Snapshots) feature plays a role in the propagation of Where Are My Links? form edits made in the current snapshot.

For more information on the CTAS feature, please see this section in the article at: Advanced Tab for OnePager Express-Display Options

The CTAS control is a checkbox in the Template Properties form and Chart Properties form’s Advanced tab in the Display Options control group that turns the CTAS feature ON and OFF. CTAS controls the propagation of maverick edits to all snapshots (ON) or to keep maverick edits to tasks/milestones in the current snapshot (OFF).

CTAS Turned On: With the CTAS turned ON, making an edit in the Where Are My Links? form while in any snapshot changes the show/hide status of the edited entry in all snapshots.

CTAS Turned Off: With the CTAS turned OFF, any edit to an entry in the Where Are My Links? form is only made in the current snapshot.

A Note on Task Link Filter Rules and Data-Driven Task Link Mavericks

The intended purpose of Task Link Filter rules is to establish specific conditions for conveniently showing desired Data-driven Task Links. Accordingly, Task Link Filter rules can be written to cause the showing of Data-driven Task Links based upon any source plan data field relationships that you need to meet your schedule conversation goals. That said, exceptions to written Task Link Filter rules can exist and you need a way to override Task Link Filter rule(s) when required.

To satisfy this need, you can always maverick the show/hide status of one or more Data-driven Task Links either by:

1) Making appropriate edits to the Data-driven Task Link’s entry in the Where Are My Links? form entry for that Task Link or by

2) Individually selecting the desired Data-driven Task Link and using the task link right-click context menu commands to edit the Task Link’s show/hide status.

Overall, manual edits to the show/hide status of any Data-driven Task Links by whatever means changes that Task Link into a maverick. When this is done, Task Link Filter rules no longer apply to the maverick Data-driven Task Link and the maverick condition is maintained regardless of whether you selected the control to show all Data-driven Task Links or are using Task Link Filter rules.

Related Links

Conditional Import Filters (Portal)

Conditional Import Rules for OnePager Express Add-in

Conditional Import Rules for OnePager Express Desktop

Using the Where Are My Links? Form for OnePager Express

Advanced Tab for OnePager Express

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