Customizing the Calendar View (Bar Styles)

[Greggy]

We use the Calendar all the time for meetings. In the Calendar View,
you can change how things look in the Calendar view, from the top pull
down menu: Format / Barstyles.

On the 'Bar Styles' dialogue box is a list call 'Task Type'. You
will get a list like this:

All
noncritical
Critical
Milestone
Summary
Marked
etc ....

You can change the colors of task types so they look different on the
calendar view..

There is a task type called: 'Marked'

I would like to use more colors on the calendar view so we can find it
easier see different types of tasks.

My question is this: How do you identify a task as 'Marked' or
'Highlighted' or 'Critical' so that I can customize the way the task
looks on Calendar view?

Thanks!

Greg

 

[JulieS]

Hi Greg,

Critical tasks are identified by Project based upon calculations of early
start, late start, early finish, late finish and slack. As such, you cannot
"make" a task critical at will.
Highlighted tasks are tasks that are highlighted using a highlight filter.
You may mark at task by inserting the Marked field in a table and changing
the value to "yes".

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

 

[Greggy]

'Highlighted tasks are tasks that are highlighted using a highlight
filter.'

'You may mark at task by inserting the Marked field in a table and
changing
the value to "yes". '

I'm not sure how you do the above. The Marked field in a table ... is
this added with the custom feilds?

 

[Greggy]

It's just too bad that more colors can't be used more easily.

 

[JulieS]

Hi Greg,

As you have discovered, the number of options for colors is very limited in
the calendar view.
But to answer your questions:
To mark tasks:
Click your secondary mouse button in a column heading in the table (left
side of Gantt view) and select Insert > Column....from the shortcut menu.
Select the field called "Marked" from the Field Name drop down list. Click
OK to close the Column Definition dialog box. Change the field for the
tasks to "yes".

To highlight tasks using a filter:
Select Project > Filtered for...More filters.
Select the filter you wish to use and click the Highlight button to apply a
highlight filter to those tasks matching the filter criteria.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.
Julie

 

[Greggy]

Julie, this is great! With some creativity I can add some color to the
calendar view.

I'm trying to see how I can use other task types 'creatively'. How
about:

Noncritical
Critical
External Tasks

Do you have any idea of how I could use these?

Thanks!
Greg

 

[JulieS]

Hi Greg,
Glad to have helped and thanks for the feedback.

As I mentioned in my first post, whether a tasks is critical or not is
determined by MS Project based upon the link relationships (predecessor and
successors), constraints, and deadlines, just to mention a few. It sounds
as though you are not terribly concerned with critical vs. non-critical in
the current use of Project, so I don't know if coloring tasks based on
critical and non-critical will have much of a meaning visually.

External tasks are tasks from another project file that is usually linked as
the predecessor or successor.

Hope this helps.
Julie

 

[Greggy]

I want to thank you for your help. It's nice using the highlight
filter to fade completed tasks so the incomplete are the ones are
standing out. Very cool.

 

[JulieS]

Hi Greg,

You are most welcome for the help and thanks very much for the feedback.

Julie