Project 2000. The Network Diagram View

Module 3.1

PSS Learning Services

Lesson 1: The Network Diagram View            1

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Lesson 1: The Network Diagram View

Overview

Microsoft^® Project 2000 offers new tools to view your project information the way you want. These include the Network Diagram, Custom Fields and Grouping. In this lesson we will discuss the first of those tools, the Network Diagram (formerly known as the PERT Chart.)

What You Will Learn

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

n  Describe features of the Network Diagram

n  Use formatting features of the Network Diagram

n  Describe limitations of Network Diagram and potential workarounds

n  List new views and tables and describe their uses

Network Diagram (formerly the PERT Chart)

Of all the new ways to view your information, the Network Diagram is arguably the biggest change. Formerly known as the PERT Chart, the Network Diagram offers a new way for Microsoft Project users to view their projects.

Formatting Box Styles

As in the Gantt Chart, you can use the Box Style dialog box to format types of tasks in the Network Diagram. To bring up the Box Styles dialog box, go to the Format menu and click Box Styles.

Figure 1 - Box Styles

In the Style Settings For section of the dialog box, you can select the type of task that you would like to format. If you select multiple types of tasks, you can simultaneously change attributes of all the types of tasks you have selected. The Preview section displays how the node will look with the currently selected settings. If multiple types of tasks are selected, the preview will be blank.

Directly below are the options Set highlight filter style and Show data from task ID. The Set highlight filter style option allows you to preview the highlight filter style for that particular task type. It also changes the options below it to those of the highlight filter style and allows you to customize the style by changing those options.

When entering the task ID, the “Show data from Task ID” option allows you to view that task’s information with the currently selected formatting options.

In the Data template drop down list box you can select the data template on which the selected task type is based. Data templates setup up pre-defined groups of fields to be displayed inside nodes. Data templates will be discussed in more detail latter on in this lesson.

This dialog box also contains options for formatting borders and backgrounds for the nodes. There are also toggles for displaying vertical and horizontal gridlines within a node.

Data Templates

Data templates allow you to set up predefined groups of fields to display in your Network Diagram nodes. You can both import or create data templates in the Data Templates dialog box. To access the Data Templates dialog box, click the More Templates button in the Box Styles dialog box.

Figure 2 - Data Templates

Creating New Data Templates

To create a new data template, click the New button in the Data Templates dialog box to display the Data Template Definition dialog box.