Master schedules

[DavidC]

Hi,

I have a project made up of 14 separate files. These files cover three of
our contractors, four of their contractors, and seven files relating to our
own work fronts. To keep the history, I make a copy of the folder containg
all the files and rename it with a unique name.

I work over a network with the folder kept on a server, but as I work on
site as well and do not always have access to the server, I have
synchronised the relevant folders including the folders for my schedule.

What I find is that the external links seem not always to update to the new
folder name, but rather retain the link to a file in an older folder which is
found on the server.

Is there a fix for this or any work around that anyone has found? At
present the only work around that seems to work after a fashion, is to have
the current working folder on a flash drive and not be connected to the
network, so that there is no path back to previous versions of the folder.

The problem can be exacerbated since the eight files from the contractors,
all need to be updated by those contractors and sent back to me. Our main
contractor also runs a folder to keep their own file and that of the
contractor's own contractor files which they update and send through.

Any thoughts would be most usefull and helpful, especially given I have
another simillar project due to start in the next three or four months and
would like not to have another two years of this again.

Regards

DavidC

 

[John]

Hi,

I have a project made up of 14 separate files. These files cover three of
our contractors, four of their contractors, and seven files relating to our
own work fronts. To keep the history, I make a copy of the folder containg
all the files and rename it with a unique name.

I work over a network with the folder kept on a server, but as I work on
site as well and do not always have access to the server, I have
synchronised the relevant folders including the folders for my schedule.

What I find is that the external links seem not always to update to the new
folder name, but rather retain the link to a file in an older folder which is
found on the server.

Is there a fix for this or any work around that anyone has found? At
present the only work around that seems to work after a fashion, is to have
the current working folder on a flash drive and not be connected to the
network, so that there is no path back to previous versions of the folder.

The problem can be exacerbated since the eight files from the contractors,
all need to be updated by those contractors and sent back to me. Our main
contractor also runs a folder to keep their own file and that of the
contractor's own contractor files which they update and send through.

Any thoughts would be most usefull and helpful, especially given I have
another simillar project due to start in the next three or four months and
would like not to have another two years of this again.

Regards

DavidC

DavidC,
I think the real answer is that you need Project Server. It is made for
just your situation. You may be able to get by with stand alone versions
of Project but you will NOT be able to move files around as you are now
trying to do. As you are finding out, it messes with the inter-file link
structure and will probably lead to file corruption.

John
Project MVP

 

[DavidC]

John,

Thanks for your reply. What I forgot to mention is that we do use server,
but I do not believe it has been set up right. Everytime I try to use it, it
wants to overwrite calendars, entry tables and the like. This unacceptable,
as that is then deciding on the contractors programme, and they MUST have
control over it. The reason that I need to work on a schedule away from
access to the company server also means that I need the schedules available
on the laptop.

Since I posted the query, I have finished 'tidying up' the schedules using
the "Link between Projects" dialog box. I fear that I have been lazy in the
past and been simply deleting the extraneous links directly out of the task.
It looks (hopefully) that this approach may have been a major part of the
problem. I wonder if the diaolg box deletes not only the link, but also some
other attribute that retains a 'memory' of the external link, hence the
reason it keeps recreating the links.

Any further thoughts would be most appreciated.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi David,

Try posting on the server newsgroup. Please see FAQ Item: 24. Project
Newsgroups. FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information
can be seen at this web address: http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm

Mike Glen
Project MVP

 

[John]

John,

Thanks for your reply. What I forgot to mention is that we do use server,
but I do not believe it has been set up right. Everytime I try to use it, it
wants to overwrite calendars, entry tables and the like. This unacceptable,
as that is then deciding on the contractors programme, and they MUST have
control over it. The reason that I need to work on a schedule away from
access to the company server also means that I need the schedules available
on the laptop.

Since I posted the query, I have finished 'tidying up' the schedules using
the "Link between Projects" dialog box. I fear that I have been lazy in the
past and been simply deleting the extraneous links directly out of the task.
It looks (hopefully) that this approach may have been a major part of the
problem. I wonder if the diaolg box deletes not only the link, but also some
other attribute that retains a 'memory' of the external link, hence the
reason it keeps recreating the links.

Any further thoughts would be most appreciated.

DavidC,
First of all, follow Mike's advice and post to our sister newsgroup that
deals exclusively with Project Server issues.

With regard to linking between Projects, each link is two-ended.
Breaking the link on one end and then not saving both files is a mistake
because the file that was not saved will still contain it's part of the
link. I call this "link fragments" and they can lead, at best, to issues
like you are seeing and, at worst, file corruption.

John
Project MVP