Custom fields and internal values

[Bud]

Where does one find the internal values of how MS Project is storing
something. For instance I saw a formula IIf([Baseline Finish]>100000,"W".
There are others....this is just but one example.

How did the person know to compare Baseline finish to 10000? What does it
mean? How is MS Project storing this?

Finally where is there a list of fields and what/how MS Project is storing
them so a proper compare can be made?

Thanks

 

[JulieS]

Hello Bud,

You may find the Data Reference document helpful. For Project 2003
the file is PJDB.HTM and details how information is stored in the
project database. For earlier releases, I believe the file is called
PRJDB.HTM. The file is usually found in the install directory for
Project.

There are other alternatives as well.

You can always get help directly on a specific field by clicking the
hyperlink titled "Help on (field name)" that appears in the screen tip
if you hover your mouse over a field column heading. The field help
will tell whether the field is entered or calculated and if the field
is calculated based upon other fields, help will frequently show the
calculation.

For how data is stored you could insert some spare text or number
fields and set the value of the field equal to another field by using
a formula. For example, if I use the Text1 field and create a formula
that reads [Duration], I can see a 4 day duration task is shown as
1920. If I divide 1920 by 4 to get 480 it becomes a bit clearer that
what I am seeing is a duration shown in minutes. The definition of a
"day" is set by me to 8 hours (Tools > Options, Calendar tab) and
therefore there are 480 minutes in each day.

Fellow MVP, Jack Dahlgren also has several posts on his blog about
working with custom fields. See Jack's blog at
http://zo-d.com/blog/index.html .

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[Bud]

In the original question there was a check on finish date of >100000. I know
that this is comparing to "NA" but why is 100000 or 50000 that I saw in
another formula relating to NA?

It appears in what I read on the information below that this Finish date
must be represented in minutes and I see 480 minutes in the day when doing
comparisons.

Also, the previous information was helpful as I read through it.

Thanks

Hello Bud,

You may find the Data Reference document helpful. For Project 2003
the file is PJDB.HTM and details how information is stored in the
project database. For earlier releases, I believe the file is called
PRJDB.HTM. The file is usually found in the install directory for
Project.

There are other alternatives as well.

You can always get help directly on a specific field by clicking the
hyperlink titled "Help on (field name)" that appears in the screen tip
if you hover your mouse over a field column heading. The field help
will tell whether the field is entered or calculated and if the field
is calculated based upon other fields, help will frequently show the
calculation.

For how data is stored you could insert some spare text or number
fields and set the value of the field equal to another field by using
a formula. For example, if I use the Text1 field and create a formula
that reads [Duration], I can see a 4 day duration task is shown as
1920. If I divide 1920 by 4 to get 480 it becomes a bit clearer that
what I am seeing is a duration shown in minutes. The definition of a
"day" is set by me to 8 hours (Tools > Options, Calendar tab) and
therefore there are 480 minutes in each day.

Fellow MVP, Jack Dahlgren also has several posts on his blog about
working with custom fields. See Jack's blog at
http://zo-d.com/blog/index.html .

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

Where does one find the internal values of how MS Project is storing
something. For instance I saw a formula IIf([Baseline
Finish]>100000,"W".
There are others....this is just but one example.

How did the person know to compare Baseline finish to 10000? What
does it
mean? How is MS Project storing this?

Finally where is there a list of fields and what/how MS Project is
storing
them so a proper compare can be made?

Thanks

 

[JulieS]

Hello Bud,

My comments are inline.

In the original question there was a check on finish date of
that this is comparing to "NA" but why is 100000 or 50000 that I saw
in
another formula relating to NA?

{Julie] When a date field is not completed with a specific date,
Project enters "NA". It actually resolves to some very large number,
(2 to the 32nd power -1 according to Jack's blog) hence the test for
very large values. The formula snippet you note could be used to see
if a baseline had been saved before attempting to compare another date
with a baseline finish.

It appears in what I read on the information below that this Finish
date
must be represented in minutes and I see 480 minutes in the day when
doing
comparisons.

[Julie] Both work and duration are stored in minutes in Project. So
if you are attempting to subtract work or duration values, you do
usually want to convert back to hours or days.

You can use either the ProjectDateDiff or DateDiff function to perform
math on date fields in Project.

Also, the previous information was helpful as I read through it.

Thanks

{Julie] You're welcome Bud and thanks for the feedback.

Hello Bud,

You may find the Data Reference document helpful. For Project 2003
the file is PJDB.HTM and details how information is stored in the
project database. For earlier releases, I believe the file is
called
PRJDB.HTM. The file is usually found in the install directory for
Project.

There are other alternatives as well.

You can always get help directly on a specific field by clicking
the
hyperlink titled "Help on (field name)" that appears in the screen
tip
if you hover your mouse over a field column heading. The field
help
will tell whether the field is entered or calculated and if the
field
is calculated based upon other fields, help will frequently show
the
calculation.

For how data is stored you could insert some spare text or number
fields and set the value of the field equal to another field by
using
a formula. For example, if I use the Text1 field and create a
formula
that reads [Duration], I can see a 4 day duration task is shown as
1920. If I divide 1920 by 4 to get 480 it becomes a bit clearer
that
what I am seeing is a duration shown in minutes. The definition of
a
"day" is set by me to 8 hours (Tools > Options, Calendar tab) and
therefore there are 480 minutes in each day.

Fellow MVP, Jack Dahlgren also has several posts on his blog about
working with custom fields. See Jack's blog at
http://zo-d.com/blog/index.html .

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information
about Microsoft Project

Where does one find the internal values of how MS Project is
storing
something. For instance I saw a formula IIf([Baseline
Finish]>100000,"W".
There are others....this is just but one example.

How did the person know to compare Baseline finish to 10000? What
does it
mean? How is MS Project storing this?

Finally where is there a list of fields and what/how MS Project
is
storing
them so a proper compare can be made?

Thanks