KIDASA Software, Inc. News       November 2010 Issue

               
 
 In this Issue of Major Milestones
Symbol Text Options
Stoplight 1-2-3
Easy Resource Leveling
November 2010 Tips and Tricks
  
Please contact us if you have any questions. If you haven't yet upgraded to 2010, be sure to upgrade now!

Everyone seems to be after the one page project presentation.  While keeping it simple might be a good idea, sometimes you just really need to put ALL the information onto one sheet. In this issue of Major Milestones we will explore some topics which will help you get your project presentation onto a single page. 



Symbol Text - More flexible and easier to use than ever


Is all the annotation on the above schedule example really accomplished with symbol text?  YES!
 
Symbol text is the easiest way to annotate your schedule.  Symbol text makes it easy to make condensed schedules with relevant annotation.  Here are some quick facts about symbol text:
 
  • Can have up to 3 lines.
  • "Sticks" to the symbol and moves as the schedule dates change.
  • Can be associated with a blank or null "comment" symbol for those cases where you need text that "sticks" to a date but you don't want a visible symbol.
  • Can have special effects.
  • Can be displayed at an angle.  Great for trying to fit in extra text where it otherwise won't fit.
  • Position can be easily changed using ALT plus arrow keys.
  • If there's not enough room on your task row for symbol text, use ALT+T and drag to a new line to add remote symbol text.
  • Can have set "Prefix" and "Suffix"
  • Can include substitutable text, including: duration, column text, percent complete, WBS and a ValueSet value.
  • Can be filled with the contents of a column using &col1 .... & col 20

Learn More about Symbol Text



Stoplight 1-2-3

In a report that contains extensive data, how can action-items be quickly highlighted and addressed? 

Indicator symbols, or stoplights, are a great method for determining, at-a-glance, which project items need attention.  Indicators help make your schedule compact.

Milestones Professional uses the Stoplight SmartColumn to display built-in green, yellow, red, and blue indicators, or up to 10 custom stoplights.

Learn More about easy Stoplight Charts
Get the free e-book



Easy Resource Leveling

Question:  I have several manufacturing jobs and want to figure out a way to use Milestones to manage my employees.  I have several jobs for which I want to allocate employees.  I want to be able to keep the number of employees level over a time period.  Can I accomplish this?

 

Answer: Yes!  Using a Milestones Professional Datagraph you can visualize your workload quite easily.  Just enter the work requirements into a column and let Milestones "spread" the work across your timeline.  

Choose a column based "ValueSet" using daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly increments (weekly works best for resource allocation).

See the example (right).  Learn More about resource leveling charts






November 2010 Tips and Tricks

(Click the question title for the complete answer!)

Cleaner summary bar
Question: On my Summary line is there any way to make the appearance cleaner? Some of my symbols are overlapping.

What can affect the "Fill to Status" option?
Question: I have the Symbols: Fill to Status Date and Bars: Fill to Status Date options toggled on. However, it is not working. What could be disabling this feature?

Delete blank task rows at the bottom of my schedule
Question: How do I remove blank lines from the bottom of my schedule?  I have created a schedule with 16 lines and now need only 14. The Help says to right click on the task row and select delete - but this does not work.

Filter to remove tasks which are 100% complete from view
Question: I would like to turn on a filter that would remove tasks that are 100% complete from the view. Is this possible?

Photoshop Memory Error
Question: When pasting a metafile from Milestones into Adobe Photoshop I am getting a memory error.  Any suggestions?

Show lines and bars on a DataGraph
Question: I need to create a data graph with both bars and lines on the same DataGraph area.  It appears that DataGraphs  can only have bars or lines in the same graph.  Suggestions?

Can't change the height of task rows
Question: I am unable to adjust row height by dragging with the mouse anymore. This problem just appeared and occurs in every milestones file.

Copy to PowerPoint and screen redraws are slower than usual
Question: When I copy to PowerPoint with my new schedule, created from scratch, it often takes several minutes.  Screen redraws are also slow.

Assign Specific Text to a Toolbox Symbol
Question: Is there any way that I can assign each toolbox symbol to have a specific text to it or to include the task name next to each symbol automatically so I don’t have to do it manually?

Filter by symbols and date range
Question: We are trying to filter items with more than one symbol for a specific date range.  Is there another way to do this?.

Rotate column heading text
Question: I am trying to change the column header text in some of my columns to be rotated 90.  I know it can be done because one of my associates was able to do it.

Symbol date format
Question: The dates above my symbols show the month and the year.  I would like to show the month and the day.  How do I change this?

Summary bars and symbols on the same level
Question: I would like to have the summary bar line up with the rolled up symbols from below.





Did you miss the last newsletter?  Here's what was included:
  • Preview Handler available for Milestones Professional 2010
  • New Getting Started Movie
  • Use the keyboard to navigate dense schedules
  • Let Milestones Professional make your case: Case Study
  • More Tips and Tricks



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