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About this lesson
Microsoft Project offers many options for you to configure the user interface, scheduling engine, and task tracking for your project. Most of these options are located in the backstage using the Options menu item.
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2013, 2019/365.
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Configure Project Options.mpp244 KB Configure Project Options - Completed.mpp
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Quick reference
Configure Project Options
Microsoft Project offers many options for you to configure the user interface, scheduling engine, and task tracking for your project. Most of these options are located in the backstage using the Options menu item.
Steps
To configure project options so they work similar to the rest of this course, follow these steps:
- Click the File tab to enter the backstage and then select the Options menu item.
- The project options dialog appears.
- Select the Display menu item and then select the Entry bar checkbox.
- Click the OK button.
- Click the File tab to enter the backstage and then select the Options menu item.
- The project options dialog appears.
- Select the Schedule menu item.
- Locate the schedule options for this project section and select All New Projects from the picklist.
- New tasks created: Auto scheduled.
- Duration entered in: Days.
- Work is entered in: Hours.
- Default task type: Fixed Duration.
- New tasks are effort driven: De-select.
- Autolink inserted or moved tasks: De-select.
- Click the OK button.
- Click the File tab to enter the backstage and then select the Options menu item.
- The project options dialog appears.
- Select the Advanced menu item.
- Locate the display options for this project section and select All New Projects from the picklist.
- Show project summary task: Selected.
Notice how some changes are for all new projects. These options will not change your existing project. You can select your project and perform these settings again.
When you made changes like fixed duration, and turned off effort driven, you are only turning off these settings for new tasks. If you want to change previous tasks, you will have to do so manually.
Login to download- 00:04 So far we've been working with a simple project schedule.
- 00:07 Moving forward, we're going to work with something a little bit more detailed.
- 00:12 But before we do that, there's some project options that you should
- 00:15 really configure for all new projects that you're working with moving forward.
- 00:21 You can decide whether these options that I recommend are good for you.
- 00:25 But right now we're going to make sure that we have
- 00:28 the same settings in our Microsoft project configuration.
- 00:33 So first and foremost there's this little known feature called the entry bar
- 00:37 which is very similar to the formula bar in Excel.
- 00:42 Editing text in a cell in a task for example, Is not quite that easy sometimes.
- 00:49 For example, here is this task called research car models.
- 00:52 Let's say I wanna say research car models at local dealers.
- 00:56 So I just start typing at local dealers, and
- 01:00 what it's done is its overwritten that text.
- 01:02 I'm gonna press the undo key or control Z.
- 01:07 If I press the F2 key, I go into an edit mode where I can make changes to the text.
- 01:14 Well, why don't I just get this bar at the top, like Excel?
- 01:17 Let's go ahead and do that right now.
- 01:19 Click the File tab.
- 01:21 Click Options.
- 01:23 Select the Display menu and then under Show these elements,
- 01:28 Click the entry bar check box, and click the okay button.
- 01:34 Now, there's an entry bar at the top of the page.
- 01:37 So, if I come back here now to research car models,
- 01:40 I can now just come over here and say, at local dealers.
- 01:46 If I want to accept this change, I can press the Enter key.
- 01:50 Or this checkbox icon, I'll just press Enter.
- 01:57 If I start typing more text I could say and Surrounding areas.
- 02:06 And I say, oh that task is too long.
- 02:08 I can press the X icon, or the Escape key on my keyboard,
- 02:12 and that will remove the text.
- 02:15 So now you can edit the text down below here, in the Gantt chart area.
- 02:19 Or you can edit it at the top of the screen.
- 02:22 If you recall from a previous lesson,
- 02:25 we added some additional resources to our task.
- 02:27 And the duration changed.
- 02:29 We said that this test drive cars at various dealers,
- 02:32 was going to take five days.
- 02:35 But by adding two resources, the duration is now two and a half days.
- 02:40 In reality you typically want to estimate the duration of your project,
- 02:45 and not have Microsoft Project recalculate that duration
- 02:49 because you just added more people to it.
- 02:52 So for example, if I have a task here that says install my new television.
- 02:59 If I add five people to it, it's not going to take less time.
- 03:02 It's actually probably going to take more time, so
- 03:04 we don't want Microsoft Project to calculate that duration for us.
- 03:09 So, let's go click on the File tab and click on the Options menu.
- 03:16 And now, let's click the Schedule Menu.
- 03:20 And you'll see in the middle of the screen there's a schedule options for
- 03:25 this project.
- 03:27 We're going to use the setting for all new projects, so
- 03:30 click the check box, I'm sorry the pick list and choose all new projects.
- 03:36 We wanna make sure that tasks are always auto scheduled, so choose that.
- 03:41 This will make sure that anytime we add a new task it'll be auto-scheduled, but
- 03:46 then here's the big one to prevent task from changing duration.
- 03:51 Set the default task type to fixed duration, and
- 03:55 then make sure that new task or effort driven Is deselected.
- 04:00 So deselect new tasks are effort driven, and click the okay button.
- 04:05 Finally, a lot of people,
- 04:07 when they create a new project schedule, what they do is they create
- 04:11 a new line at the top of their project that represents the start of the project.
- 04:16 We don't need to to that.
- 04:18 This actually what's called a project line level zero.
- 04:22 Or a project summary task.
- 04:23 You can see that if you have the Gantt chart selected and you click the format
- 04:27 tab, locate the show hide section and click the project summary task checkbox.
- 04:35 Here you can see this is the name of the file I saved.
- 04:38 And that displays at the top of the project.
- 04:41 It's also in bold and summarizes the project.
- 04:44 So it's saying here's when the entire project starts and
- 04:47 here's where the entire project finishes.
- 04:49 We want this turned on by default for all new projects.
- 04:52 So click the File tab, click the Options menu,
- 05:00 Click the Advanced menu and scroll until you find
- 05:05 the section called display options for this project.
- 05:11 We want this turned on for all new projects.
- 05:13 Go ahead and choose the pick list.
- 05:15 And choose all new projects.
- 05:17 Then click the show project summary task check box and click the OK button.
- 05:27 What you've seen are a number of settings that you can configure from
- 05:30 Microsoft Project.
- 05:31 I recommend you leave all of these options
- 05:34 as they are while you begin to use Microsoft Project.
- 05:38 As you become more advanced, you might want to change some of these options, and
- 05:42 that's okay because they're going to suit your needs.
- 05:44 But for right now this is a good way to get started.
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