newbie summary task question

[keene]

I inherited a Project file from a previous project. I have added a new task
with 4 subtasks indented below it. I have entered start and end dates for
each of the subtasks and the summary task correctly shows the begin and end
dates for the task (duration?). However, in the work column it does not show
the number of months to complete the task. Every other task (the ones that
were inherited with the original Project file) show the duration in the work
column. What do I need to do to get the duration to automatically be
calculated in the work column?

 

[Sarah]

You can't. You're confusing Work and Duration as MS Project uses the
terms. Work is the amount of effort (manpower) required to complete the
task. Duration is the time span between the beginning minute of the
task and the final minute of the task. If the tasks you've added each
have zero work, then the Work column will show zero for the summary.
The Duration field should have a value, though.

As an aside, you stated that you entered start and end dates for the
tasks you added. You really should never do this. The whole point of
using scheduling software like MS Project is so you can tell it what
tasks you need to do, in what order, and how much effort each task
requires, then the software calculates the dates for each task.

SarahK