WBS Add-in question

[Jay]

I'm using Visio 2007 and the WBS add-in. I'm having trouble with off-page
connectors. When I use an off-page connector, the element shape on the new
page doesn't allow me to add children to it. If I select a node from my
top-level WBS that already has children and then create an off-page
connector, all the children are copied to the new page and all the lines are
drawn correctly, but the parent element doesn't behave as if it has
children.

Is this the expected behavior?

-Jay

 

[David Parker]

This is the reply that I sent to Jay:

The following link should provide some background into WBS.
http://www.hyperthot.com/pm_wbs.htm

Essentially, it is the project planning stage BEFORE elements become tasks,
so it is usually done on an increasing size of paper rather than on multiple
pages. We have included the ability to narrow or widen the gap between
sub-elements, and extra space between elements, change the orientation of
sub-elements, and to show/hide sub-elements. It is possible, with these
features, to present large complex WBS charts sensibly ... usually.
It is more difficult to control the export to Project with multiple pages,
so it is best to keep to a single page (which can be enlarged) if you intend
to export to Project.

However, we introduced the Create Off-page reference feature specifically
for imported Project plans, which are mainly for display purposes.

Regarding identical elements at different levels: I suspect that you are
thinking more of "tasks" than "elements", as elements should be unique.

I hope this helps.