Managing Project Versions

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Microsoft Project 2003 gives users the ability to store multiple versions of a project plan. Each version is a complete copy of the plan at the time it was saved as a new version, and all the versions are stored on the Project server.

The Published version name is automatically created when Microsoft Project is installed, and cannot be renamed or deleted. Every project schedule saved to the Project server must have a Published version, and may have other versions.

The Project server administrator defines the versions other than Published that are available to the organization. Users can store copies of their plans in any of the available versions

To add a new version name for project managers to use, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the Microsoft Project server as an administrator.

  2. Select Admin, Manage Enterprise Features, Manage Enterprise Project Versions. A list of all currently available versions is displayed, as shown in Figure 25.6.

    Figure 25.6. You can add, modify, or delete a project version.

    graphics/25fig06.gif

  3. To add a new version, click Add Version and fill in the following fields:

    • In the Version field, enter a unique, valid name for the new version. A valid version name cannot contain the characters / " : < > , . ' ? * #.

    • In the Version Archived field, select either Yes or No. Archived project versions will not be updated with active Enterprise Global template or enterprise resource global data when they are opened; rather, they contain snapshot data from the time the project version was saved. This might be useful to show cost information that utilizes the resource rate at the time of saving the plan rather than the resource rate currently available in the enterprise resource pool.

    • In the Gantt Bar Name field, select a summary Gantt bar type for the new version.

    NOTE

    You should consider formatting versions so that they can be easily identified by users. To do this, you can assign one of the six summary version bars available in Project Web Access to a version.

    A version named Draft, for example, can be assigned to Project Summary Version 3. If you do this, the Draft version's project summary bar will appear the same in all Gantt Chart views because the formatting for Project Summary 3 will be the same in all Gantt Chart views.

    Alternatively, depending on your corporate reporting requirements and the number of versions required to support them, you might choose to have different formats in different Gantt Chart views.

  4. To keep the changes, click the Save Changes button. If you click Cancel, the changes are not made.

To modify a version, select the version to be changed and then select Modify Version, as shown in Figure 25.6. The parameters associated with modifying a version are identical to adding a new version, as described earlier in this section.

To delete a version, select the version to be deleted and then click Delete Version, as shown in Figure 25.6. For a version to be successfully deleted, there must be no project schedules currently saved with that version. If project schedules are currently saved with the version you are trying to delete, you are prompted with an alert that lists the associated projects.

For information on how versions work with cross-project links, see "Using Project Versions, Including the Published Version," p. 981 .


Adding the Version Field to Views

Since Project 2002, which allows multiple versions, it is possible to have multiple lines in a view for a single project. Otherwise, you will see the same project listed twice, without knowing which project version you are viewing. To address this issue, the Version field has been added to the list of fields available when creating or modifying views.

TIP

Add the Version field to all views that contain the Project Name field, to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.


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Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003
ISBN: 0789730723
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 283
Authors: Tim Pyron

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