Project 2010 - Project Server Help Blog

8/9/2010

Essential Study Guide for Microsoft Project 2010 Exam 77-178

Letting our Blog readers kow in advance about the presale release of Ultimate Study Guide: Foundations Microsoft Project 2010.

Ultimate Study Guide Foundations You are in for a real treat with the 2010 version of Microsoft Project. Dale and I wrote this book with our audience in mind; both novice and experienced users who want to solidify their skills or study for Microsoft's 77-178 certification exam for Microsoft Project 2010. This is the same book we use for our training courses.

Be the first on your block to own one!

Posted at 10:38 AM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project 2010; Project Professional Client | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

7/18/2010

Add the Default Macros to Microsoft Project 2010

In the 2000 through 2007 versions of Microsoft Project, the software included a group of default macros. These default macros, written in the VBA programming language, included the following:

Format_Duration
ResMgmt_TaskEntry
Rollup_Formatting
Toggle_Read_Only
Update_File

Probably the most popular macro of the preceding group of five was the Format_Duration macro. This macro allowed you to change the formatting of values in the Duration column from the default "Days" format to another format, such as "Hours" or "Weeks", for example.

Microsoft Project 2010 no longer ships with any default macros. However, if you installed Microsoft Project 2010 in parallel with a previous version of Microsoft Project (such as the 2007 version), you can transfer the default macros from your previous version of Microsoft Project to the 2010 version.

Warning: Before you begin the macro transfer process, keep in mind that you must transfer all five of these macros and their two supporting forms in order for these macros to work in Microsoft Project 2010.

To begin the macro transfer process, you must first export three macro modules and two macro forms to files using the following steps:

1. Launch the previous version of Microsoft Project.

2. Click Tools Ø Organizer and then click the Modules tab in the Organizer dialog. Figure 1 shows the Organizer dialog in Microsoft Project 2007, for example.

Figure 1: Organizer dialog in Microsoft Project 2007

3. Select all of the modules from the left side of the dialog (in the Global.mpt file) and click the Copy button to copy them to the right side of the dialog (into a blank file).

4. Click the Close button.

5. Save the active project (which now contains the default set of macros) using a name like Microsoft Project 2007 Macros.mpp.

6. Close the project and then exit the previous version of Microsoft Project.

7. Launch Microsoft Project 2010.

8. Open the file created in step #5 above.

9. Click the File tab and then click the Organizer button on the Info page of the Backstage.

10. Click the Modules tab in the Organizer dialog. Figure 2 shows the Organizer dialog in Microsoft Project 2010. Notice the set of five modules in the right side of the dialog (in the active project).

Figure 2: Organizer dialog in Microsoft Project 2010

11. Select all of the modules from the right side of the dialog (in the active project) and click the Copy button to copy them to the left side (into the Global.mpt file).

12. Click the Close button.

13. Click the File tab again and then close the project containing the modules.

At this point in the process, you have now successfully added the five default macros and two supporting forms into Microsoft Project 2010 from an earlier version of the software. You can now open any file and run the macros by completing the following steps:

1. Click the View tab to display the View ribbon.

2. In the Macros section of the View ribbon, click the Macros pick list button and select the View Macros item on the menu. The system displays the Macros dialog as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Macros dialog in
Microsoft Project 2010

3. Select one of the five macros in the list and click the Run button.

Posted at 7:29 PM by Dale Howard | Category: Project 2010; Project Professional Client; Project Standard Edition | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

6/23/2010

See the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in the Resource Usage View

The Resource Usage view is one of two special assignment views in Microsoft Project, the other of which is the Task Usage view. On the left side of the Resource Usage view, the system displays each resource in the project, along with the task assignments for each resource. The system indents and italicizes the task assignments below each resource's name. On the right side of the Resource Usage view, the system displays the timephased grid, which displays Work per time period by default. The following figure shows the default Resource Usage view for a project in Microsoft Project 2010.

Resource Usage view

One of the chief limitations of the Resource Usage view is that you cannot see the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of summary tasks for each task assignment in the left side of the view. For many project managers, this limits the usefulness of the Resource Usage view. In most versions of Microsoft Project (including the 2003, 2007, and 2010 versions), however, there is a very simple way to see the WBS of summary tasks in the Resource Usage view. To do this, simply apply the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group. This group is one of the default groups included in all three versions of the software.

To apply the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group in Microsoft Project 2003 or 2007, complete the following steps:

Open any project in which the task list includes summary tasks.
Click View Ø Resource Usage.
Click the Group By pick list on the Standard toolbar and select the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group.

To apply the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group in Microsoft Project 2010, complete the following steps:

Open any project in which the task list includes summary tasks.
Click the View tab to display the View ribbon.
In the Resource Views section of the View ribbon, click the Resource Usage button to apply the Resource Usage view.
In the Data section of the View ribbon, click the Group By pick list and select the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group.

The following figure shows the Resource Usage view with the Assignments Keeping Outline Structure group applied in Microsoft Project 2010. Notice how you can clearly see the WBS of summary tasks for every task assignment. For example, notice that the tasks assigned to Amy McKay are in the Renovation phase, the Construction deliverable section, and the Carpentry sub-deliverable section of the project. Notice also that the tasks assigned to Bob Siclari are in the Renovation phase, the Construction deliverable section, and the Plumbing sub-deliverable section of the project.

Resource Usage view with the Assignments
Keeping Outline Structure group applied

Posted at 9:30 PM by Dale Howard | Category: Project 2010; Project Development; Project Professional Client; Project Standard Edition; Training | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

5/12/2010

Project Server 2010 Must Read

Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010
sets the deployment Gold Standard. Do not start your Microsoft Project Server 2010 implementation without it!

New York, NY, May 13, 2010 –msProjectExperts essential reference for Microsoft Project Server 2010 begins shipping June 14, in step with the general availability launch of the Microsoft Office 2010 suite. "We are pleased to announce the pre-sale availability of our most popular book in our series for Microsoft Project Server 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010," commented Gary Chefetz, Microsoft Project MVP and the book's primary author. "My co-authors Dale Howard, Tony Zink and I are very excited to be first to market with Project Server 2010 guidance, especially considering the importance of this release," he continued.

Project Server 2010 is a landmark release of Microsoft's market-leading project and portfolio management software. "This is the one I've been waiting for," remarked Chefetz. "This release fulfills the potential I saw in this software when I first started using it as a PMO Director in 2000, when Microsoft first released Project Central. Project Server 2010 connects enterprise project management, enterprise portfolio management, resource management and business intelligence in an unprecedented package through the marriage of Microsoft's project management and SharePoint 2010 technologies."

Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010 covers all aspects of Project Server deployment, from installation through configuration, and includes non-technical topics such as preparing an organization for an enterprise project management deployment and providing techniques for organizational change management. "Time and again we see organizations master the technical challenges of deploying an enterprise project management tool, but fail to plan for the organizational challenges, which very often prove to be the most difficult," Chefetz said. "We tackle this right up front in Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010, and follow this guidance with best-practice considerations throughout the book."

At 912 pages, Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010 includes extensive SharePoint Server 2010 management guidance and a strong introduction to configuring and managing Microsoft's business intelligence stack, including Excel Services and PerformancePoint Services. "We show you how to get started with SharePoint Server 2010 workflows, how to build and deliver Excel reports and how to build dashboards for your Project Server 2010 implementation," commented Chefetz.

Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010 is available directly from msProjectExperts or your favorite bookseller. For a limited time only, you can pre-order your copy from msProjectExperts at special pre-order pricing.

Contact: info@msprojectexperts.com

Posted at 11:55 AM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project Server Administration; Project Server Development; Project Server General; Project Server Usage; Project 2010 | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (3)

5/11/2010

Prepare for Project Server 2010 -- Go Back to Excel School

Content in this post is derived from Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010

As many of you already know, Project Server 2010 is finally here, and it brings many powerful new features in tow, including the flexible and approachable Microsoft Excel based reporting infrastructure available in the new Business Intelligence Center. Project Server 2010, along with the Excel Services feature provided by SharePoint Server 2010, now offer the ability to publish Excel-based reports to the web for business users to consume without the need to download and launch them in Excel. These reports draw data from the Project Server Reporting Database or one of possibly several OLAP databases via a built-in collection of Office Data Connection (ODC) files.

Business users can view these web-enabled Excel workbooks in whole, or you can control what they can view by only exposing the data that you choose.

Excel Services allows business users to view an Excel workbook as a web page...

...and it also allows you to very easily embed workbook components, such as tables and charts, into a dashboard (a.k.a. SharePoint web part page).

Whether you are planning to implement Project Server 2010 now or a year from now, I recommend that you take the opportunity to brush up on your Excel skills in preparation for Project Server 2010 reporting. Even if you are currently using Project Server 2007 and do not plan to upgrade for a while, you can still use these concepts in your current system (especially if your Project Server is deployed with MOSS 2007)!

Spend some time learning about the following Excel features and tools, and you will be several steps closer to developing powerful Project Server reports... therefore providing more decision power to the users of your system.

PivotTables and PivotCharts

Although many of us have heard of them, an area in Excel that many people do not fully understand is PivotTables and PivotCharts. A PivotTable is a table that displays a breakdown of data in various ways, such as work hours broken down by year, by region, and by amortization type. This allows the business user to perform a detailed analysis and identify patterns in the data.

To learn more about working with Excel PivotTables and PivotCharts, visit the Office Online web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP101773841033.aspx

Conditional Formatting

Similar to graphical indicators in Project Pro and PWA, Excel Conditional formatting allows you to set up flexible rules to visually format ranges of data, providing business users with quick visual cues to identify the data of interest. Cells of data in a workbook can appear with different background colors, color fill gradients, and icons.

To learn more about working with Excel conditional formatting, visit the Office Online web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP100739391033.aspx

Connecting to External Data

Microsoft Excel can display static data that you manually enter into a workbook, and it can connect to an external data source such as the Project Server Reporting Database or an OLAP database and extract live data for reporting. To extract data from a live data source, Excel uses an Office Data Connection (ODC), which contains information describing the data source, how to connect to the data, and which data to retrieve.

The data connection information can reside directly in the Excel workbook file, or it can reside in a shared ODC file. Project Server 2010 provides several ODC files, making it easy for you to connect to the desired data source, extract the data, and display it in Excel for reporting purposes. These ODC files reside in the Business Intelligence Center.

To learn more about working with Office Data Connections, visit the Office Online web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101672271033.aspx

Creating Calculated Fields

When building an Excel report, you may need to display a field of data that is not easily available in the data source; in this instance, Excel allows you to build a mathematical expression, similar to a formula in Project Pro or PWA, to calculate the required data based on one or more fields of existing data. This can be especially useful when fetching data from an OLAP cube that has a limited set of available data fields.

To learn more about working with Excel calculated fields, visit the Office Online web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101672271033.aspx

As I stated previously, these are valuable Excel skills to master, regardless of your Project Server version… so set some time aside now and go back to Excel school.

Good luck!

Posted at 8:47 AM by Tony Zink | Category: Project 2010; SharePoint 2010; Project Server Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/5/2010

What’s New Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010 ships April 20th

The first Microsoft Project 2010 book release from msProjectExperts, What's New Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010, begins shipping on April 20, 2010. We are especially pleased to ship this book in time for the first Microsoft Project 2010 soft release. If you order now, you can have your book in your hands before May 12, when the first RTM versions of Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 technologies become available to partners and corporate customers.

Microsoft Project 2010 is a landmark release. From What's New Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010 support for a radically changed scheduling paradigm to a host of new features that improve a Project Manager's experience, many of you 22 million Microsoft Project users worldwide are going to want to learn about Project 2010. msProjectExperts is Microsoft Project 2010 Ready.

Teach yourself how to use Microsoft Project 2010's new features with this self-paced study guide. Hands-on lessons complete with practice files get you up to speed on all of the revolutionary new features in Microsoft Project 2010, including manual scheduling, team planner, the fluid user interface and the new timeline view. Learn how to connect Project with SharePoint to allow your team members to update their tasks through the web without using Project Server. This book contains content culled from the acclaimed learning authority, Ultimate Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010 Foundations. What's New Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010 focuses only on new and changed features and behaviors. This book is the perfect learning solution for experienced Microsoft Project users upgrading from Microsoft Project versions 98 through 2007.

For a limited time only, What's New Study Guide Microsoft Project 2010 is available through the msProjectExperts Preview Sale for $15 freight-included for delivery anywhere in the US. Click here to be first on your block to own one.

Posted at 1:32 PM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project 2010; Project Professional Client; Project Standard Edition; Training | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/3/2010

Project Server 2010 Exchange Server Sync Gotcha for Test Domains and VM Environments

Here is a little gotcha that can catch you off guard in a Virtual Machine Demo environment or in a lab or test domain. When I'm writing, I like to use my domain admin account as one of the test accounts in Project Server lab instances to speed up my ability to go from the application to diagnostics. I do this for convenience. Well, that convenience reared an ugly head when I activated Exchange synchronization for my domain account. At first it appeared as though the impersonate PowerShell commands were simply not taking, yet with additional retries the impersonation rights would seem to stick for a while. My colleague, Stephen Sanderlin, ultimately identified the impersonation rights disappearing act. The following is an excerpt from our upcoming book, Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010. Please remember to heed the admonishments about not using this security hack in production environments.

Special Considerations for Test, Dev and Demo Domains

Every hour, Active Directory runs a process to ensure that members of protected groups are not subject to any manipulation of their security descriptors. If a security descriptor for a user account that is a member of a protected group, such as Domain Admins, does not match a security descriptor that is defined on the adminSDHolder object, the system overwrites the user's security descriptor with a the appropriate security descriptor from the adminSDHolder object. Therefore, when you set the MS-Exch-EPI-May-Impersonate extendedRight on a user that is a member of a protected group, the system will overwrite this permission on an hourly basis.

This is problematic only if you use accounts with elevated privileges to demonstrate Exchange Synchronization. Your alternative is to follow security best practices and use separate logons for this purpose.

To work around this issue you must grant the MS-Exch-EPI-May-Impersonate permission to the adminSDHolder object. To do this, execute the following steps:

On your Exchange server open the Exchange Management Shell
Run the following PowerShell command before you run the command for individual users who are members of protected groups. Note this is the same command you run for individual users, however you run this on the adminSDHolder object rather than an individual user.

add-adpermission -identity "adminsdholder" -user <account> -extendedrights ms-exch-epi-may-impersonate

Protected Groups in Active Directory include:

Account Operators
Administrator
Administrators
Backup Operators
Domain Admins
Domain Controllers
Enterprise Admins
Kerberos
Print Operators
Read-only Domain Controllers
Replicator
Schema Admins
Server Operators

Posted at 9:13 AM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project 2010; Project Server Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

1/5/2010

Project Server 2007-2010 Admin Tip -- Naming Enterprise Lookup Tables

Here is a quick naming convention tip for Microsoft Project Server 2007 and 2010 Enterprise Lookup Tables. To avoid any confusion when working with several Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables in Project Server, consider naming your Lookup Tables with the "Lookup" suffix:

Notice that I have not only named my new Lookup Tables with the "Lookup" suffix, but I have also renamed all of the built-in Lookup Tables as well:

To rename an existing enterprise lookup table, simply click on the Lookup Table name on the Custom Fields and Lookup Tables PWA page, edit the name on the Edit Lookup Table page, and save:

When you rename Enterprise Lookup Tables, notice that the Enterprise Custom Fields listing on the Custom Fields and Lookup Tables PWA page automatically updates to reflect the name changes as well:

The Lookup Table column in the Enterprise Custom Fields listing shows whether each Custom Field is using one of your configured Lookup Tables:

Some fields have no Lookup Table listed, either because they are manually-entered or calculated (as indicated in the Formula column).

An Added Reminder About Naming Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables

It has been said many times in our little community, but I cannot talk about naming Lookup Tables without also reminding you of a cardinal rule for naming Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables...

For your own sake (and sanity!)... ONLY use the following when naming these entities:

Uppercase letters
Lowercase letters
Numbers
Spaces
Underscores

Do not EVER use special characters when naming Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables!

Good luck!

Posted at 1:19 PM by Tony Zink | Category: Project 2010; Project Server Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

12/11/2009

Revised Installation Help for Microsoft Project Server 2010 BETA

I want to let those of you who have downloaded our sample installation chapters for Microsoft Project Server 2010 Beta know that I have found and corrected errors that you should be aware of:

1) On page 22, for Target Applicaton ID, "ExcelServices" is specified when it should be "ProjectServerApplication"

2) In all occurrences in the documents where SQL 2005 AMO and SQL 2005 Native Client are specified, it should specify the 2008 versions.

I'm pleased to say that I've already corrected these errors in the chapters, and I've added new content on creating additional Project Server 2010 instances. You should read this if you plan on creating additional instances as 2010 demands some unique security considerations and additional gyrations when you intend on serving multiple audiences. More importantly this is guidance not yet available from Microsoft. Read this if you want to learn how to segregate report viewer security between Project Server instances.

If you are planning on installing the Project Server 2010 beta, grab your free copies of our beta installation chapters at http://www.msprojectexperts.com/betainstall

Posted at 2:41 PM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project 2010; Project Server Administration; SharePoint 2010 | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

11/30/2009

Installation Help for Microsoft Project Server 2010 BETA

msProjectExperts releases installation sample chapters for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010 BETA versions as free community download.

New York, NY December 3, 2009 – Today, Microsoft Project Server 2010 Beta users get an implementation boost from msProjectExperts, which released Beta versions of the installation modules from Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010 for free download. The modules cover both Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 installation and Microsoft Project Server 2010 installation and basic configuration.

"We're making the modules available as a free download as part of our continuing commitment to the Microsoft Communities," said Gary Chefetz, Microsoft Project MVP, co-author of Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010, and founder of msProjectExperts. "Microsoft's documentation is understandably sparse when new beta software releases, so we want to provide early beta adopters with an alternative that adds depth and value to the initial installation experience," said Chefetz. The download is available on the company's website: http://www.msprojectexperts.com/betainstall.

The sample modules from Implementing and Administering Microsoft Project Server 2010 contain fully-illustrated in-depth installation instructions to guide first-time Microsoft Project Server 2010 users with a visual reference to verify that they are on the correct path when installing the software. The authors, including Dale Howard who is also a Microsoft Project MVP, provide insights into the various software components, explaining what they are and how they contribute to the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 environments. "Where Microsoft provides a dozen or so pages to get you through an installation, these modules dig deeper with more than 110 pages that help you understand the big-picture environment rather than simply providing only the barest steps," Chefetz added.

The modules include descriptive introductions to the various software components and service applications that comprise the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 environment and that are leveraged by Microsoft Project Server 2010 to build a complete EPM solution. The authors include copious notations as well as warnings about bugs and "gotchas," along with best practices for installing and configuring the SharePoint and Project Server beta versions. People who download the sample chapters are automatically invited to participate in the private pre-publication book sale that msProjectExperts conducts 30 days prior to ship date.

About msProjectExperts
msProjectExperts is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leading provider of consulting services, training, software add-ons, and books and courseware for the Microsoft EPM environment. Headquartered in New York City, msProjectExperts is in its eighth year serving both business and government sectors.

Contact
Jennifer Herman
msProjectExperts
(646) 736-1688 x22

Keywords: Microsoft Project 2010, Microsoft Project Server 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Project Management, Enterprise Project Management, EPM

Posted at 4:08 PM by Gary Chefetz | Category: Project 2010; SharePoint 2010; Project Server Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (1)

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