Master project not working

[tbone]

I'm fairly new to Project (2003). I am trying to set up a summary
report for a client also new to Project.

I followed the instructions to insert a project file in another
project, and that works, but the changes are not propagated between
the subproject and the master project, even if I close and reload
either or both. I tried it with the "link" checkbox checked and
unchecked; neither worked.

Also, I am using mostly non-standard fields for now (e.g. Number1,
Text5, Cost2, etc). None of those fields appear to be getting linked
or copied.

I'm sure I tried it a couple weeks ago while going through the Project
2007 Inside Out book, but now I can't seem to get it to work. (BTW, I
think that book had the checkbox setting backwards.)

Any pointers on getting this to work?

Thanks
tbone

 

[Jack Dahlgren MVP]

"Linking" to the inserted project controls whether the master project is a
shell containing the sub-projects (thus maintaining a dynamic relationship)
or whether a copy of the tasks within the sub-projects are copied in
(unlinked / not dynamic).

If you want to have changes propagate then you should Link.

As for custom fields, the issue you are finding is that because linked
projects are not truly in the master project, the custom fields are not
going to come over.

That is because the master project displays the information about the custom
fields in IT. Not in the sub-projects. Have you tried defining the custom
fields in the master project?

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[tbone]

There must be something funky with the master project file I was
using.

I noticed (while going step by step through the process again with the
"Using Project 2003" book) that the "Project Info..." button on the
Inserted Project Information dialog box was greyed out. I started a
new, blank master file and now it's working ok.

Of course, now I have to redo the tables I added to view all the
custom fields.

Thanks for the very quick response

tbone

 

[tbone]

I think I figured out a lot of what was confusing me. There are
several items. For these descriptions, I'm looking at the Task Sheet
view (just the left half of the Gantt Chart view). I have both the
Master and subproject loaded and arranged so I can see both. The files
are linked and the subproject is read-write in the Master project.

1. With the Entry table displayed for both files, I have both
collapsed to just one line. The master project has what looks like the
summary line from the subproject. The top (only) line shown in each
window is *identical* - same data.

However, if I change the task name in the Master project file, it is
*NOT* reflected in the subproject window. This is what made me think
the changes were not being properly reflected between files.

2. I then noticed that, in what I think is the default column setup
for this table, all the fields shown, except Name, are calculated by
Project, and I cannot alter them in the subproject file. But I can
alter the "Depends on" and "Resource Initials" columns in the Master
project file; however, such changes are NOT reflected in the
subproject. Now this is starting to make sense to me. So any changes
in this top line in the Master project file are made to the Master
file only.

3. If I click the + next to the (only) line in the Master project,
both the Master and the subproject become expanded one level. I can
collapse and expand the Master at this point with no visible effect in
the subproject. However, if I collapse the first line in the
subproject, *both* projects collapse. There's a little bug here -
Project leaves the "-" indicator on the Master task line. If I click
it in that state, the indicator on the Master project changes to a
"+", but the subproject gets expanded. BTW, I'm using SP2. If I then
click the "+" on the Master, it expands as expected.

4. If I change something in either the Master or subproject, on
*other* than line 1, that change is immediately reflected in the other
window (which is what I expected from the beginning).

5. At this point, I haven't figured out why I lost the ability to
click on "Project Info..." in the "Inserted Project Information"
dialog. In my more carefully controlled experiments here, that has not
happened again (yet).

6. Now when I switch to my custom table, that displays my custom
fields, I see that the top line of the Master project does NOT contain
any of the data from the subproject's top line. However, if I enter
that data on another line in the subproject, whether it's a detail
task or a summary task, that data is immediately reflected in the
other window.

Originally, I was planning to have the order entry person create a new
Project file from a customized template, put the order info directly
into the top line, and then fill in some basic project info from the
purchase order. At some point, this project file would be added to the
Master project, thereby consolidating everything from which I could
create a production report.

However, since Project doesn't link that top line info, I need to
rethink my approach. Suggestions welcome.

Thanks
tbone

 

[Jack Dahlgren MVP]

The "top line" for a sub-project in a master file is the project name OR the
project title. You can go to the file menu, select properties and edit it
there.

-Jack Dahlgren