Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for the clarification and suggestions. I think
we'll
start
with downgrading to 2003 and see how it goes.
On another note, would you be able to point me in the direction of
a
good
Web site that answers FAQs, sample files, etc. regarding Project?
Thanks so much! You advice has been extremely valuable.
--
Thanks!
Dee
:
Hello Dee,
My comments are inline.
Julie
Project MVP
Hi Julie,
I verified my facts and this is what is required.
Although simultaneous would be great, I have no idea how we
would
know
who
was making changes and whose changes would be respected.
So, what I think it should be really be called is multi-user.
Put
the
project on a shared folder and if a user tries to access it and
it
is
already
open, let them know who has it opened and allow them to open it
read-only.
[Julie] A project file installed on a network drive will work
exactly
as above.
Also, what is *crucial* is to be able to communicate task
changes,
etc. to
users via Outlook. I believe this was available with Project
prior
to
2003
version and that I can modify the registry of Project 2003 to
"activate" it,
although it isn't supported by Microsoft.
[Julie] Yes, releases of MS Project prior to 2003 had a workgroup
messaging capability using Outlook. See the following url for
information about where to obtain and how to install the workgroup
feature in Project 2003. As you note, it is not a supported
solution.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/818337/en-us
There may also be other third party products available that do
what
you
are looking for.
We would like a users to be able to modify or complete their
part
of
the
project and then send information on to one or more other users
to
let
them
know of the changes and/or that the "ball is in their court".
[Julie] If different users are responsible for discrete parts of
the
project, subproject files combined into one master or consolidated
project may be the way to proceed. That way each user could have
complete control over their project file (no worry about the need
to
have simultaneous access.
We will have to purchase Project 2007 no matter what, so can
either
use
it,
or downgrade to 2003. My understanding is that we would require
Project
Server in order to achieve the communication with other users
via
Outlook.
[Julie] Other than the workgroup feature, yes. Again, you may
find
some
solutions from the companion products section of the mvp webside I
listed earlier.
Does this make any sense to you?
Any advice would be appreciated!
--
Thanks!
[Julie] You're welcome, Dee.
Dee
:
Hello Dee,
You're welcome for the assistance and thanks for the feedback.
To
your
new questions:
1. See the following link for some information from Microsoft
about
the
capabilities of Project Server:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/epmsolution/HA101655111033.aspx
2. You can still place the project file on a network share and
multiple
people can read/write to it -- just not simultaneously. What
are
you
trying to accomplish by having multiple people with
simultaneous
access?
There may be third party products or solutions within Project
which
accomplish what you want but without knowing why you need
simultaneous
access, it is tough to get more specific. For a list of
"companion"
products to MS Project see:
http://project.mvps.org/comprods.htm
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
Hi Julie,
Thanks for your response. This brings me to a couple of
other
questions:
1. What exactly does Project Server do?
2. How can I accomplish having a shared project file?
Thanks so much.
--
Thanks!
Dee
:
Hello Dee,
If you are asking if a single project file can be placed on
a
network
drive and be used by multiple people at the same time, the
answer
is
no.
No version of Project allows the same file to be accessed by
multiple
people with read/write access. Project Server does not
allow
this
either.
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
That's not an issue. Just wondering whether Project 2003
or
2007
will
do the
trick.
--
Thanks!
Dee
:
Dee --
Regardless of whether you choose Project 2003 or 2007,
you
need
a
licensed
copy of the software for every user. Hope this helps.
Hi,
I had posted recently about Project 2003 vs Project
2007,
as
we
are
making
decision on which way to go.
I know you can change the registry of 2003 so that it
acts
like
previous
versions in terms of workgroups.
Does this mean that a copy can be put on a server that
multiple
users can
use at the same time, or do I need Project Server for
that,
regardless of
the
version of Project?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
