Filter Removes Blank Tasks

[Dave R]

I'm using Project 2007. My project has a number of blank tasks that I use to
increase clarity between groups of tasks. When I use a filter however, it
removes the blank tasks. Is there an option to change this behavior, or is
there a way to modify the filter(s) to include blank tasks?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[John]

I'm using Project 2007. My project has a number of blank tasks that I use to
increase clarity between groups of tasks. When I use a filter however, it
removes the blank tasks. Is there an option to change this behavior, or is
there a way to modify the filter(s) to include blank tasks?

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,
Well "blank" tasks are just that - nothing other than an ID. The only
way to keep those nothing tasks in a filtered view is to include their
IDs as part of the filter criteria.

John
Project MVP

 

[davegb]

I'm using Project 2007. My project has a number of blank tasks that I use to
increase clarity between groups of tasks. When I use a filter however, it
removes the blank tasks. Is there an option to change this behavior, or is
there a way to modify the filter(s) to include blank tasks?

Thanks,

Dave

My experience is that leaving blanks "for clarity", or any other
reason, only creates more problems than it solves. Bottom line is that
no matter what you do, Project sees them as (unamed) tasks, and will
treat them as such. Problems with filters will be the least of your
problems eventually. Keep in mind that Project, though the table
portion may resemble Excel, is not a spreadsheet, where a blank line is
just a blank line. It's a task that Project is trying to figure out
what to do with.

Hope this helps in your world.

 

[Dave R]

John,

I tried filtering on the ID number, but it doesn't seem to work. It appears
as though Project 2007 will simply remove any blank lines when a filter is
applied, regardless of the filter rules.

Dave

 

[Rod Gill]

Hi,

Rather than use blank lines, why not make one of the rows double height?
You'll get the same gap but no blank task.

 

[Dave R]

Rod,

I thought about that, but the problem with that approach is that those tasks
are subject to being filtered out, which would then remove the white space.

Dave

 

[Rod Gill]

But if the task with the double width was a summary task and you include
summary tasks in your filter, it wouldn't.

 

[John]

John,

I tried filtering on the ID number, but it doesn't seem to work. It appears
as though Project 2007 will simply remove any blank lines when a filter is
applied, regardless of the filter rules.

Dave

Dave,
You're right. I didn't actually try my suggestion, I just thought it
might be a way to get there. However, I agree with davegb, inserting
blank lines into a project may seem like a good idea but it usually just
creates problems you don't need. I never do it myself.

John

 

[davegb]

Hey, Rod, you're pretty sharp for a Kiwi!
(actually is a pretty good idea, just wish I'd thought of it)

 

[Dave R]

Rod,

I considered that as well, but when you increase the height of a row, it
aligns the text at the top, instead of the bottom. This puts the 'white
space' in the wrong spot (below the summary task instead of above it). Now
if there's a way to change the text alignment, then this would work, but I
haven't found a way to change the alignment.

Dave

 

[Steve House]

The bottom line is that blank tasks are an extremely bad idea in Project's
task tables and if you include them, sooner or later it's going to rear up
and bite you on the backside. The appearance of the tables, and even the
existence of the Gantt chart itself, is completely secondary to the
functionality of Project's primary purpose - it is not a graphical reporting
tool. As someone once said, Project is essentially a database that
understands time. When you have blank lines in the plan, that means you
have blank task records in the database - it is NOT simply formatting the
display such as double spacing in Word by hitting enter twice would be. And
those blank records are going to affect the behavior of Project's system in
exactly the same way blank records in a data table can impact an application
in Access, SQL Server, or Oracle. Blank rows in a SQL table screw up the
system and blank tasks in Project's task table does the same. When push
comes to shove, don't do it.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Dave,

Why not use gridlines instead? Format/Gridlines, select the Line to Change
and give it a distinctive Type and Colour, etc.

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials