Difference between revisions of "What's New with OnePager Release 6.0?"

Revision as of 16:54, 7 April 2017

About OnePager Version 6.0

OnePager Pro (OPP) and Express (OPX) version 6.0 provides additional capabilities for the user as described in this article. OnePager version 6.0's new features are a response to our customers.

Conditional Import

Versions of OnePager Pro and Express prior to 6.0 require you to insert a field (i.e., flag field) into yoursource plan that tells OnePager which rows to import. These flag fields for Microsoft Project source plan were typically fields named Flag1 through Flag20. OnePager Pro uses these flag field to control the import of rows. In both OnePager Pro and Express you could also use Numeric type fields or Boolean type fields as long as the contents were either 1 to indicate Yes (bring in this row) or 0 to indicate No (do not import this row). This approach to controlling the import of Microsoft Project/Excel source plan rows is quite flexible. However, it required a modification to the source plan before importing data to OnePager.

In OnePager Pro and Express version 6.0 the capability for you to control the import of rows from your source plan is made even more flexible with our new Conditional Import capability.

(1) There are occasions where you would like to import a source plan row but only when the contents of a specified field holds a desired value or range of values. For instance, you might want to include source plan rows where task/milestone Start dates are greater than a specified date. Prior to OnePager Pro/Express version 6.0 you would have to manually modify the Flag fields for those rows meeting the desired condition before importing data to OnePager. With version 6.0 you can clearly specify, in a Conditional Import rule, defined before the import process begins, the conditions that meet any logical combination of criteria WITHOUT first making modifications to the source plan.

(2)Other occasions might also arise where you may not be able to modify a Microsoft Project or Excel source plan. For read-only files you might be unable to add the required import control flag fields. In such a situation, you would have to first import all rows and manually then edit out or hide the unwanted row tasks/milestone after the project view is created. Again, version 6.0 allows you to specify import conditions that meet your needs, say, only the rows which correspond to a particular project phase for which there are data already available in the source plan.

(3) There are also occasions where you may need to go back AFTER a project view is created and Update the project view to reflect rows imported controlled by another flag field or another logical relationship as described above. Before version 6.0, handing these situations meant totally starting over by going back to the OnePager Start form and selecting a different flag field. Version 6.0 lets you change the import conditions from the Project View Editor by using the Custom Update feature to access your Conditional Import rules and edit them.

OnePager Pro/Express version 6.0 both Add-in and Desktop editions, with Conditional Import, allows you to make changes described above without starting over from your source plan.

Detailed articles for using Conditional Import can be found at the link just below the Basic Workflows (Portal) link.

Please take a moment to look at the Read More... article below for an overview of Conditional Import:

Read More... Conditional Import for OnePager

Additional Text Columns

OnePager Pro/Express previously supported just one text column option - previously called the Row Label. Our user's requested additional text columns' so that source plan information could be displayed within the row as an adjunct to Tasks/Milestones labels within the graph. For example, not only can you organize your source plan data for display into Swimlanes but you can further organize your data visually into rows within swimlanes.

OnePager version 6.0 now supports up to five (5) additional snapshot-dependent text columns which will appear on the left side of the project view and immediately to the right of the left border or the Swimlane label if swimlane labels are displayed.

Controls for these additional text columns are provided in the Project-View Properties (PVP) and Template form's Rows/Swimlanes tab in the Labels group of controls.

With these controls you may specify which Microsoft Project or Excel source plan fields are to be imported to populate the text column. With the same controls you may format text column properties in terms of font style, alignment, format, and text column height.

Additionally, the controls in the PVP Rows/Swiimlanes tab's Ordering group continue to support your selection of which text column should be used to order rows (ascending or descending) within a swimlane.

An example showing the usage of the Additional Text Columns feature is given in the article whose link is below:

Read More... Additional Text Columns

Retroactive Column Mapping

The Retroactive Column Mapping (RCM) feature allows you to reconfigure your OnePager column mapping (i.e., use other or additional source plan fields) after a project view is created.

This feature is designed to eliminate the need for you to start over if, for any reason, you wish to utilize a different or additional source plan field for another purpose. For example, you may want to unhide and populate a Text field in Microsoft Project and then use that field to present data in an Additional Text Column discussed above.

Our intent is to provide you a more efficient way to create a new project view for the first time and to efficiently tailor it to fit your schedule conversation needs.

(1) As such, the feature is limited to single snapshot project views. The RCM feature is turned off for project views with more than one snapshot.

(2) This feature does not increase the number of OnePager columns that can be mapped from a source plan to your project view. Rather it makes it much easier to make a change to the column mapping after a first project view is created and needs to be modified with respect to column mapping.

Additionally, we've changed the Other Columns tab on the Template and Project-View Properties forms. The name of the new tab is the Field Mappings tab. Since the RCM feature allows you to import all fields from Microsoft Project and Excel source plans, the Field Mappings tab is a significantly simplified tab which focuses on those Microsoft Project and Excel fields that customers tell us are the most frequent fields they wish to remap into other OnePager columns after a project view is created. For OnePager Pro there are eight (8) Microsoft Project fields as named in the Field Mapping tab list below:

(1) Percent-complete column

(2) Critical-path column

(3) Task-name column

(4) Start

(5) Finish

(6) Baseline start

(7) Baseline finish

(8) Deadline

For OnePager Express there are seven (7) fields involved. The exception is the Critical-path column since OnePager Express dose not support critical path representations.

For OnePager Pro the Retroactive Column Mapping includes Enterprise Custom Fields (ECF). Care should be taken, however, that you have turned on the ECF function in the current Template and established your connection to your project server service before creating the first project view.

As in the Other Columns tab in previous versions, version 6.0 supports field splitting with the control on the Field Mappings tab in the Template form and Project-View Properties forms. Field splitting can be performed on any source plan string type column with comma-separated components imported either before or after the project view is created.

The link shown below provides more details on the Retroactive Column Mapping feature and should be read before attempting to utilize this feature:

Read More... Overview of Retroactive Column Mapping

Other Enhancements

OnePager Pro and Express version 6.0 has some other enhancements added at your request and some that we feel will enhance your experience with our products. These include the following:

Automatic Resizing of Text Columns and Swimlane Labels

Resizing of Swimlane Labels and Text Columns is supported by a drag and drop operation performed on the vertical right side border of the Swimlane Label or Text Column. The Auto-resizing feature allows you to do this with a simple double-left-click of your mouse. Position the mouse on the vertical right side border of the Swimlane Label or Text Column and just perform a double-left click with the mouse. OnePager will automatically resize the width of the Swimlane label or Text Column to fit the text of the largest or smallest content of any row. As a useful tip, when using this enhancement, make sure that the Lock Background checkbox is unchecked on the PVP form's Advanced tab.

Read More... Resizing Text Columns or Swimlane Labels

Moved Visibility of Task Selection Flag and Conditional Import Rules from PVP form's Advanced Tab to PVP form's Main Tab

To enhance readability of the PVP form's Advanced tab, we moved the Task Selection Flag dropdown list and the access to the Conditional Import Rules form to the PVP form's Main tab.

Removed the Template form's Other Columns Tab and Replaced it with the Template form's Field Mappings Tab and Included this tab on the PVP form

To simplify the new Retroactive Column Mapping feature we redid the Template form's Other Columns tab and reconfigured it to become the Field Mappings tab for the Template form. We also included this tab on the PVP form.

Additional Date Formats were added to the Time-Axis Annotations Available

Additional date formats now cover those formats commonly used on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This brings all time-axis week numbers into ISO compliance.

Warning Message Added to Inform Users that a OnePager Express Template is about to be Used for a OnePager Pro NEW Workflow and Vice Versa

Since Templates for OnePager Pro and Express differ, we've added this warning message to prevent confusion when you are about to associate a OnePager Express Template with a OnePager Pro action or vice versa.

Mouse Single Left Click in Text Column Cells Allows Editing of The Cell's Text with the Editing Tools on the OnePager Tool Bar

When you have a project view with a single or multiple Additional Text Column you can use the editing tools on the OnePager tool bar to edit the text in the selected cells.

Doing a single left click in any Additional Text Column text cell will select the entire row (including the single or multiple text column cells and activate the tool bars editing tools. When you select multiple text column cells with a single left click, this action will select all text column cells and any editing actions will apply to all selected cells.

The editing tools available are in the Font, Format, and Alignment sections of the tool bar.

Additionally the mouse left click can be used in combination with the CTL key to select multiple non-contiguous rows or with the Shift key to select a set of contiguous rows for text cell editing. Using the editing tools on the OnePager tool bar is a faster way to edit Additional Text Column text cells.

Read More... Editing Row Text Columns or Swimlane Labels

Using the Mouse Slow Left Click Sequence to Select and Edit the Contents of a Single Text Column Cell with the Editing Tools on the OnePager Tool Bar

There is a mouse click technique called the slow left click that we use to help you select a single text column cell where there are multiple text columns. The slow left click can be a little tricky but once you have it mastered it allows you to use the OnePager tool bar's editing tools as described in the previous subsection to edit the text content of a single text column cell.

The slow left click is a two-step set of actions on your mouse left click key. First, position the mouse on the text column cell you which to select. Do a left click and wait between a half-second and two-seconds before doing your second left click. When performed in this sequence with the appropriate delay between successive clicks OnePager will select a single text column cell. Once selected, all OnePager tool bar editing tools are available for you to use as described above.

Read More... Editing Row Text Columns or Swimlane Labels 12.3.1-60

Line Styles, Arrow Styles, Path Controls, and Link Labeling

1) The illustration below shows all the line styles and arrow styles now available with OnePager Pro version 6.0.

2) These options are available by the standard method of right clicking on an event link and making the desired changes in the Event Link Properties form that appears.

3) Additionally, you may make global event link property selections via the Template form or the Project-View Properties form's Event Link tabs

4) Event Link Path controls are provided by way of slide bars available at the Event Link tab in both the Project-View Properties form and the Template form.

Data Driven Event Links

1) With OnePager Pro version 6.0 we are not only supporting the manually inserted Event Links but are providing the capability to import event links from your Microsoft Project source plan under the control of OnePager Pro.

2) OnePager Pro version 6.0 will import but not necessarily display all event links from the selected tasks coming from your Microsoft Project source plan. The capability to import links or not from Microsoft Project can be turned on and off.

3) When the feature is turned on via a checkbox in the Project-View Properties form's Event Links tab, you may specify the conditions under which you want OnePager Pro to import links. Various filtering mechanisms are provided to assist you where a large number of tasks in your Microsoft Project source plan contain event links otherwise know as Predecessors.

4) Once the source plan's event links are imported and displayed, you have the ability to edit them as you would a manually inserted event link.

5) There is an example provided in the article link below:

Read More... Event Link Upgrades 0.4.1.7-60

Time Axis Upgrades

There are two major enhancements associated with the management of time axes in OnePager version 6.0 project views:

(1) The redesign and enhancement of the Time Axis Properties form previously titled the Advanced time-axis features" form. Recall that the Advanced time-axis features form was accessible by either right clicking on the project view's time axis itself or by clicking the Configure time-axis button on the Main tab of the Project-View Properties and Template forms.

(2) The addition of manual editing for the time axis. This enhancement allows you to left click on a time axis row and move that time axis row up and down on the project view with your mouse using drag and drop. Where your project view displays a time axis on the top and bottom of the project view you may drag and drop time axis rows on either time axis displayed independently of one another. Further, using the left click on the mouse you can select an individual cell or cells of the time axis and make changes to the cell's background color and font properties,

Enhanced Time Axis Properties Form

1) The new Time Axis Properties form is shown below. It has four (4) tabs just like its previous counterpart but it is reorganized into two major groups. An example of the first three tabs is shown below:

2) Note that the Labels group is reorganized but the basic controls labeling elements of the time axis at the tab's designated level remain.

3) The Formatting group of controls is significantly enhanced specifically with a greater number of controls over the borders associated with that time axis' level. Note that border line styles and colors are now available for use.

4) The Advanced tab of the Time Axis Properties form is shown here:

5) The tab is reorganized so that calendar related controls are in the top group - Calendar Settings.

6) The primary enhancement is a new feature which allows you to highlight selected days of the week. For example, if your project team meeting is always on a Wednesday, you may just check the Wednesday checkbox and specify a color and OnePager will display that color vertically in the project view.. This feature may also be used to highlight weekend days by checking the Saturday and Sunday checkboxes.

7) In the Project Settings group we've retained the controls by which you may set the boundaries of the count up or down from the beginning or end of the project. You may also access the projects start and finish date controls on the Main tab of the Project-View Properties form by clicking the click here hot spot. This will close the Time Axis Properties form and take you to the Main tab of the Project-View Properties form.

Manual Editing of the Time Axis

8) Version 6.0 of OnePager has a limited drag and drop capability for the time axes, both top and bottom. When all three (3) levels are displayed, you may use your mouse to left click on a level and move it up or down as you desire. If the Corner is being used to display the time axis level the time axis labels will be automatically moved to match your drag and drop action. You may independently drag and drop levels on both the top and bottom time axes if both are displayed.

9) As mentioned above, you may left click on any time axis cell or cells and change the background color of the cell or the font color or both. It should be noted that making such changes will make the cell or cells so change a maverick cell in the same sense that making changes to an individual task will make that task a maverick. Controls are provided to reset mavericked cells back to their default property values.

10) The article found at the link below provides some interesting examples of what can be done with these Time Axis Upgrades.

Read More... Time Axis Upgrades 0.4.1.9-60

Comment Box Upgrades

We've made some artful upgrades to comment boxes in OnePager version 6.0. There are not only additional comment box shapes provided but we've added a host of new border styles, fill patterns, background colors, and shadows.

Examples of the new comment box shapes are shown in the illustration below:

Enhanced Comment Box Properties Form

1) The Comment Box Properties form is redesigned to provide all the controls necessary to manipulate a comment box once it's created.

2) When you right click on a comment box the Comment Box Properties form shown below will appear:

3) In addition to the previous controls available as shown in the Text group above, the primary enhancement here is the Data-driven feature. This checkbox turns the Data-driven feature on and off as will be explained a bit more in the next sub-section below. The Comment: field is the window where you provide your own text for the content of the comment box.

4) The Formatting group of controls provides control over comment box shapes; anchor shapes; background colors for the box itself, connectors, and anchors; and border properties similar to the new features for the time axis borders.

Comment Box Tab of the Project View Properties Form

5) The controls on the Comment Box tab of the Project-View Properties form (and the Template form as well) are the same as discussed above for the Comment Box Properties form. The Comment Box tab of the Project-View Properties form are shown below:

6) As mentioned above, the primary enhancement is the Data-driven feature which allows you import data from your Microsoft Project or Excel source plan and populate comment boxes in your project view.

7) OnePager will generate a comment box on a task/milestone depending on the contents of the Microsoft Project or Excel column you specify. If no data are present for a task/milestone in the specified source plan field a comment box will not be created. Recall that individual comment boxes can be toggled on or off by right clicking on the comment box an unchecking the Data-driven checkbox in the Comment Box Properties form.

8) Please take a look at the article whose link is below to see some examples of comment box shapes and usage within a sample project view.

Read More... Comment Box Upgrades 0.4.1.11-60

Enhanced Project View Editing Assistance

Rounding off the enhancement included in OnePager 6.0 are some editing features for text that attempt to make smart changes where such text would make the project view cluttered.

1) In this version we've attempted to anticipate where text should be wrapped before hand so that you do not have to change the width of row or swimlane labels for example. The text wrap analysis is also applied to comment boxes, free boxes, headers, footers, titles, the time axis cells.

2) We've also added smart processes to anticipate where text might collide such as when task labels in the same row might overlap. In such cases OnePager 6.0 will attempt to avoid these text collisions without truncating text or otherwise make the project view look cluttered.

3) The article linked below has a couple of examples where smart text wrapping and text collision avoidance were involved in formatting text in the project view.

Read More... Enhanced Project View Editing Assistance 0.4.1.13-60

Integration with OnePager Live

1) As many of you know, we are building a cloud version of OnePage called OnePager Live. This produce is a browser based application connected to an Internet server that can take your Microsoft Project or Excel source plans and create a project view which will be returned for display in your browser. Additionally, OnePager Live has the necessary management controls to allow you access and update to project views as your source plans are updated or changed. Finally, OnePager Live is specifically designed to work with Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Online.

2) Our goal in OnePager 6.0 is to assure that our desktop applications of OnePager Pro and Express are fully compatible and inter-operate with OnePager Live.

3) The article with the link below provides some additional background an information on the relationship between our desktop products and OnePager Live.

Read More... Integration with OnePager Live 0.4.1.15-60

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