SureTrak "Expected Finish" equivalency

[andyb]

Hi, I'm new to MS Project 2002. I'm used to SureTrak that had a handy
"Expected Finish" check box. In it, I could tell the program to assume that
the task would end on a particular day and would automatically deduct the
right amount of days from the Remaining Duration. I know there is an "Update
work through" box, but I only want this done for a few items (if I say for
selected tasks, then I can't come back with updating everything else). How
can I do this?

 

[Jim Aksel]

You would need to use some VBA. Here's one way to do it:

Insert a Date1 column, this will become your Expected Finish date. Then you
can write a macro that would subtract the Expected and Scheduled finish dates
(as long as Expected did not equal NA) and then alter Remaining Duration by
the result of the calculation. Since the calculation would produce either a
+ or - duration, you can successfully move finish dates left or right.

That would be a pretty nice toy.

You could also avoid use of the Date1 column. If you take that approach you
can ask the user for a date using 1 line of code. You will need to parse
their input to make sure it is a date, etc. I prefer the Date1 method as
Project will handle the "Murphy Proof" code for you so you don't have to deal
with id10t errors.

If you found this post helpful, please consider rating it.

 

[JulieS]

Hi Andy,

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by:
"I know there is an "Update work through" box, but I only want this
done for a few items (if I say for selected tasks, then I can't come
back with updating everything else)."

If you first select the tasks you wish to update then choose Tools >
Tracking > Update Project set your update work as complete through, you
can choose the option button at the bottom of the dialog box "for
selected tasks". The command will do as you wish. It will determine
the "Expected Finish" of the task based upon the current schedule and
mark the selected tasks the appropriate % complete. If the task should
have been completed, it will be marked 100% complete.

You can still go in and modify any task manually as needed.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

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