Lesson1.4.Understanding the Project 2003 Screen

Lesson 1.4. Understanding the Project 2003 Screen

Figure 1-4. The Project 2003 screen.

You might find the Project 2003 program screen a bit confusing and overwhelming the first time you see it. What are all of those buttons , icons, menus , and lines for? This lesson will help you become familiar with the Project program screen. There are no step-by-step instructions in this lessonall you have to do is look at Figure 1-4 to see what everything you're looking at means. Relax! This lesson is only meant to help you get acquainted with the Project screen. You don't have to memorize anything.

1. Open Microsoft Project 2003.

   The default view, Gantt Chart view, appears on your screen as shown in Figure 1-4.

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   Tip: The default screen for Project is the Gantt Chart view, named after Henry Gantt, a consulting engineer from the early 1900s. Gantt wrote a revolutionary paper that claimed workers were human beings, not machines, and should be led, not driven.

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2. Find the screen elements listed in Table 1-4.

   Familiarize yourself with the parts of the Project 2003 screen.

Table 1-4. The Project 2003 Screen

Element	Description
Bar chart	Displays task information in a bar chart format.
Entry bar	Enter or edit contents of a selected cell in a table.
Menu bar	Displays a list of menus used to give commands to Project. Clicking on a menu name displays a list of commands. For example, clicking the Format menu would display different formatting commands.
Scroll bars	There are both vertical and horizontal scroll barsyou use them to view and move around your project. The scroll box shows where you are in the view. For example, if the scroll box is located near the right end of the horizontal scroll bar, you're at the end of the project.
Status bar	Displays the status of certain keys on the keyboard, as well as information about the current command or operation.
Task Entry table	Displays the tasks you enter for your project. Different views display variations of Task Entry tables, and some views don't have a Task Entry table.
Timescale	Displays time in different formats across the tops of some chart views.
Title bar	Shows the name of the file you're using. The Title bar appears at the top of all windows .
Standard toolbar	Toolbars are shortcutsthey contain buttons for the most common commands (instead of wading through several menus). The Standard toolbar contains buttons for the Project commands you use most frequently, such as saving, opening, and printing documents.
Formatting toolbar	Contains buttons for the most common formatting commands, such as applying bold or italic to text.
ID number column	Displays the ID number of a task or resource, depending on the current view.
Project Guide toolbar	Guides you through the correct procedures for building and maintaining a project.

Don't worry if you find some of these objects confusing at firstthey will make more sense after you've actually used them.

Lesson 1.5. Using Common Views

Figure 1-5. Three basic types of views.

Just as there are several different types of database objects in Microsoft Project, there are also many different program screens or views, which makes Project quite different from most Microsoft programs.

The default view for Project is the Gantt Chart view, which is the view you will probably use most often. However, there are many other views in Project. These views allow you to view and work with your project's data more easily. Most of them can be categorized into three basic types of views: chart or graph, sheet, and form (see the illustrations in Figure 1-5).

Each view focuses on information about tasks or resources, depending on what you need to do. This lesson will show you how to switch views, and help you understand the best use for these views.

1. Select View Task Usage from the menu.

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   Tip: Another way to open a view is to press Alt + V and press the underlined letter in the view name, or click the view button on the View Bar (select View View Bar from the menu to display the View Bar).

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   You are now in Task Usage view. This view shows each task and the resources assigned to it, and the cost of each task.

   Now try opening Resource Usage view.

2. Select View Resource Usage from the menu.

   Resource Usage view shows each resource, the tasks they are assigned to, and the amount of scheduled work put into each task. You can also view the resources that are overallocated and determine how much time each resource has available for additional work assignments. Let's try viewing a graphic view.

3. Select View Calendar from the menu.

   If you want to see tasks laid out in a month's time, use Calendar view. Calendar view is probably the easiest way to view task schedules, and it is easy to print and hand out to resources so they can see the project schedule without having to learn to use Project.

   Now go back to the default view, Gantt Chart.

4. Select View Gantt Chart from the menu.

   But what do all the rest of the views do? To read a description of each common views, refer to Table 1-5.

Table 1-5. Project 2003 Common Views ^[a]

^[a] Microsoft Project 2002 Help files, 1999, Microsoft Corporation.

QUICK REFERENCE TO CHANGE VIEWS: CLICK THE VIEW MENU AND SELECT A NEW VIEW. OR... PRESS ALT + V AND PRESS THE UNDERLINED LETTER IN THE VIEW NAME. TO DISPLAY THE VIEW BAR: SELECT VIEW VIEW BAR FROM THE MENU.