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Create a
Schedule Using
Microsoft Office Access Data
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Please Note: This document
describes only one of the many possible ways schedules can be generated from
Microsoft Office Access. Please make note of the many ways this can be accomplished:
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By copying the
data from Microsoft Office Access and pasting it directly onto a schedule. (The
easiest method) Click here
for details on this method.
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By using Open
Database Connectivity (ODBC). Click here
to view an exercise demonstrating ODBC.
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By using OLE
Automation. This method is great for programmers who want to
integrate scheduling into their enterprise applications. Visit our
Programmer's page to learn
more.
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Introduction
It’s easy to create Gantt charts from your
Microsoft Office Access
databases, or any program that supports .CSV (comma separated variable) files, using
Milestones Professional. In many corporations, one department maintains an
Microsoft Office Access database with
dates and project resources while another department creates the schedules that are shown
to clients and/or co-workers. Milestones makes it easy to create schedules using your
Access data by the following steps: |
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Step-By-Step
This section describes how you can export
the information from Microsoft Office Access using Microsoft Office Access menus. The Full Automation section,
found after the Step-by-Step section, describes how you can make the importing and
exporting process automatic, so users of your application do not need to perform the
detailed steps.
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In Microsoft Office Access, your schedule information is stored in a
Microsoft Office Access table. The following steps are involved: |
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Export the data to a comma delimited file
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Select the Export option on the
File menu. |
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For Data Destination choose "Text (Delimited)" |
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Choose the table that has your schedule information.
(Table
only) |
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Specify a file name with an extension (file type) of CSV. |
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When you reach the Export Text Options dialog, click the
OPTIONS>> button to reach additional options. |
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For options, choose
File Type: Windows (ANSI);
Text
Delimiter: None; Field Separator: "," (comma). Date Order
and Date Delimiter should match
those set via Windows Control Panel (usually Date Delimiter is / and Date Order is MDY). |
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Import the data into Milestones Professional
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Start Milestones Professional
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Open a template with enough columns to accommodate the
information you plan to import, or add extra columns as needed to any empty schedule. |
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Select File | Import Data | Custom Import. |
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Locate and select the file you exported in step 1. |
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Mapping your Microsoft Office Access to data to a Milestones
schedule
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Using
Milestones Professional’s File | Import Data | Custom Import
dialog, map your input file to the fields on your schedule.
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Remember, there are 10 columns on each side of your schedule.
The column closest to the left side of your schedule is column 10.
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The first set of information from your data file is listed
under the headings Fields from line 1 of input file (on the left), and the
available Milestones Professional schedule fields are listed on the right.
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Map your task description to a column, such as column
10 (the
column closest to your schedule). To map, click once on the information on the left, and
then click once on Column_10 on the right. This will cause a link to appear. If you change
your mind and want to remove a link, just double-click on
mapped
field.
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Map the Start Dates from your file to the
Task1_Start_Date field.
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Map the End Dates from your file to the Task1_End_Date
field.
- In the custom import, you can have up to
20 consecutive "tasks"
on each project step. This allows you to show schedule information beyond simple start and
end dates.
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If you have information in your database for scheduled start/end and also
information for actual start/end, you might map the scheduled start/end to the
Task1_Start_Date and Task1_End_Date, and then map the actual start/end to the
Task2_Start_Date and Task_2_End_Date.
- Map any other sets of starts & stops that you
want to appear (if any) on the same row using the additional start and end dates
available. You can also map single
dates to any of the Milestone Date fields available.
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If your data is not stored in date format, you can use the
Task5 - Task8 fields to map the year, month, day, hour, and even minute.
- Choose Continue Import Using Current Filter. If asked if you
want to save the filter, indicate YES.
Your information should now be displayed on
your schedule. If it did not appear, check the following:
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Automating
the Exporting/Importing Process
Microsoft Office
Access developers can generate schedules
automatically from Microsoft Office Access databases using two simple macro statements. Before
implementing full automation, we recommend that you do the following:
- Perform the steps outlined above.
- Set up a Milestones Professional schedule and save it as a template
(.MTP) file while in Milestones Professional.
In your Microsoft Office Access database, create a new macro with 2
statements:
1. The first statement should be TransferText with the
following parameters:
Transfer Type : Export Delimited
Specification Name: (MS Access lets you save a specification name when you export
files. If necessary, provide the name here.)
Table Name: The name of the table you are exporting. This is the table containing
your schedule information.
File Name: Specify a file name, such as \ACCESS\schddata.csv
HasFieldNames: No
2. The second statement should be RunApp. The command line
will look like this:
You might have many different templates set up for use by
your Access application. For example, you might have one template that you will call up
for presentation to someone who wants project detail, and one template for presentation to
an executive who wants to view summary information.
If you have any questions or comments about the information
in this document, please contact KIDASA’s product support at 512-328-0168,
or support@kidasa.com. |
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OLE Automation
Using OLE Automation, you can obtain access to the
individual objects within a Milestones Professional schedule, such as cells, symbols,
titles, etc. This interface allows you to create and manipulate the elements of a schedule
from other programs such as Visual Basic or VBA or any other OLE
Automation Controller that conforms to the OLE 2.0 standards.
To learn more about OLE Automation, visit our
Programmer's
Page. |
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