This page displays the schedule for a particular project. The default view is called the Production View which includes:

• Task #: Each task and subtask is provided with a number.
  
  
• Description: The description of the task, input by users.
  
  
• %: This column displays the Percent Complete for each task. The Percent Complete Type is defined when the project is created. If the Percent Complete Type is Manager Inputted Data and the task does not have any sub-tasks (or if it does, it is not synchronized with its sub-tasks), the Percent Complete value acts as a link. Click the link to edit the value. After clicking the link you can update the percentage by entering a new value and clicking Save. Click the red button with an "X" to cancel a change in the percentage. Only users with permission to complete the task will have the permission to edit the Percent Complete value.
  
  
• Type: The type helps define each task as an Upcoming Task, Task in Progress, Milestone, or Upcoming Milestone.
  
  
• CT: This defines a task as a critical task. Critical tasks are used to determine if a project is on schedule or not.
  
  
• Sub: This column displays whether or not tasks have subtasks associated with them. Subtasks can be viewed by clicking the plus sign . To stop viewing subtasks, click the minus sign .
  
  Note: If the start date and due date of a main task (when the schedule is expanded to view subtasks) are greyed out it means that the main task is synchronized with its subtasks. Synchronized main tasks take on all the properties of their subtasks, including: start date, duration, due date, percent complete, assigned users, and estimated time and actual time. This system allows users to setup their schedule in a multitude of different ways. For example, synchronized main tasks can now be used to define phases. Alternatively, unsynchronized main tasks might be milestones in the future, with the subtasks serving as tasks to complete before the milestone is achieved.

• Priority: This is the task priority. It is user-selected. The task priority is used to indicate task importance and sort order in reports.
  
  
• Start Date: This is the start date of each task.
  
  
• Duration: This is the duration of each task.
  
  
• Due Date: This is the due date of each task.
  
  
• Total Estimated Duration of Step: This column displays the estimated hours associated with each task. Estimated hours are added by associating them with individual users on each task, when tasks are added to the schedule.
  
  
• Total Actual Duration of Step: This column displays the actual hours associated with each task. Actual hours are determined through timesheet entries.
  
  
• Users: This column displays the number of users associated with each task. Clicking a number will popup the User Assignment page, where it is possible to assign people to tasks. If you click on a shell task it will display an annotated version of the Task Report for that task. From this User Assignment page it is possible to move between tasks, and continue assigning users. Immediately to the right of the number of users is an icon that launches an MS Outlook, Entourage, or iCal event. Click this icon to add events, deadlines, or appointments onto your calendar. Using your calendar software you can keep other people informed of project activities even if they are not using Vertabase.
  
  
• Dependencies: This column displays the steps that are dependent on others. The numbers in this column relate to the Task #. Clicking the task # in the dependency column, will shift the schedule to that specific step. The system only supports FS (Finish-to-Start Dependencies).
  
  
• Issues: This column is used to view and submit issues for each schedule step. Click the Set link or the plus sign to assign issues to tasks and view issues. Note: Even if a plus sign is visible you may not be able to see the associated issue if you were not made a participant on that issue.
  
  
• Documents: This column is used to view and manage documents and folders for each schedule step. Click the Set link or the plus sign to assign documents/folders to tasks and view documents/folders. Note: Even if a plus sign is visible you may not be able to see the associated document/folder if you were not meant to have access to it.
  
  
• Notes: This column displays whether or not schedule steps have associated notes. Clicking the plus sign will popup a window with the note information.
  
  
• Complete/Change: This column displays the steps that are complete, and allows users to complete steps as well. Multiple steps can be completed at the same time by checking off several boxes and clicking the Complete button at the bottom of the schedule.

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  Change Request System

  Click the Change Request icon to use the Change Request system to request, log and seek approval for changes to the task start date, due date, and task description or to delete the task. Change requests, and updates to their status can trigger email notifications based upon the configuration of the Email Notification page in the Admin section of the system. Clicking the icon launches the Make Change Request pop-up window where you can indicate the type of change requested and add Notes to annotate the request. After clicking Save Changes, you will see that the request has been added to the list of requests pending approval in the Change Request field. This field is located beneath the Gantt Chart and Calendar icons and to the right of the Filter button. Only if requests are pending will this field, a pending link and icon be visible. Clicking the link or icon will present a Change Requests pop-up window displaying the list of pending requests for the schedule.

  The Change Requests pop-up window

  Using this window, you can view general request information, view detailed information, and if you have the permission to do so, update the status of requests. This is outlined below.

  General Change Request Information

  The following general information is displayed for each request in the Change Request window:

  Ticket: A unique identifier for each change request.

  Project: The project for which the change request was made.

  Task: The task for which the change request was made.

  Type: The type of change requested. This can be one of four types: Change description, Change Task start date, Change Task due date, and Delete task.

  Status: The status of the change requested. Pending is the only label that is displayed here. This indicates that the change request has not yet been processed by the project manager.

  Date Added: The date when the change request was submitted.

  Added By: The name of the user who submitted the change request.

  Detailed Change Request Information

  Details for each change request are provided via links in the View column. The links open a pop-up window that displays the following:

  Project/Task: The task name for which a change request was made.

  Submitted By: The name of the user who submitted the change request.

  Submitted On: The date when the change request was submitted.

  Request Type: The type of change requested. This can be one of four types: Change description, Change start date, Change due date, and Delete task.

  Original description: The task description before the change request was submitted. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change description."

  New description: The task description requested through the change request. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change description."

  Original start date: The task start date before the change request was submitted. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change start date."

  New start date: The new task start date requested through the change request. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change start date."

  Original due date: The task due date before the change request was submitted. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change due date."

  New due date: Task: The new task due date requested through the change request. This is displayed only if the change request was of type "Change due date."

  Notes: Comments provided by the person who submitted the change request. This field can be used to explain the reason for the requested change.

  Current Status: The status of the change requested. Pending is the only label that is displayed here. This indicates that the change request has not yet been processed by the project manager.

  Your Action: See "Update Change Request Status" below.

  Update Change Request Status

  The Your Action section of the Change Request pop-up window allows you to change the status of the request. The pop-up window is accessible via the View links in the Change Request pop-up window.

  Your Action is visible only to the project manager. It provides options for handling the change request and changing its status. Select the desired option and click the Set status button to update the status. The following options are available:

  Leave unchanged

  Do not update the status of the change request. Do not update task information.

  Approve - Let the system process the changes now

  Approve the requested change. Update the status of the change request to "Approved (A)." Automatically update the task according to the requested change.

  Approve - I will make the changes manually

  Approve the requested change. Update the status of the change request to "Approved (M)." The task is not updated automatically. The project manager must make the requested change manually by editing the schedule.

  Deny

  Reject the requested change. Update the status of the change request to "Denied." Do not update task information.

  Delete this request

  Permanently delete this request from the list of change requests.

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• Edit/Delete: This column allows users to edit and/or delete schedule steps. Multiple steps can be edited and/or deleted at the same time by checking off several boxes and clicking either the Edit button or the Delete button at the bottom of the schedule. Users can also "un-complete" schedule steps by clicking the arrow-icon.

The Production View also displays a sum of Estimated Hours and Actual Hours at the bottom of the schedule. There may also be Non-Task Specific Hours which are defined as actual hours on deleted tasks, or actual hours input on the project without specifying a specific schedule step.

Also keep in mind:

• When a task is crossed out it means that it was completed.
• When a task is bold it means that it is a critical task.
• When a task is red it means that it is overdue.

The Schedule View page also includes the following:

• A pulldown of filters for manipulating the schedule view. Simply choose the filter of choice, and click the Filter button.
  
  
• A Gantt chart for displaying the schedule in Gantt format.
  
  
• A Project Calendar icon for displaying the timeline of the project's tasks. Tasks are shown as colored bars on a calendar. Use the drop-down menu identifying the month or click the Past and Future links to change the month. If the checkbox next to the Future link is enabled, you will see each month in its own window upon clicking Past or Future. This allows you to see timelines for several months simultaneously.
  
  
• A legend.
  
  
• An import/export feature for MS Project.

From this page it is also possible to:

• Add Tasks: To add tasks to the schedule, click the Add Tasks option in the submenu. A popup will appear asking how many steps you would like to add (default is 5). Choose the number of steps to add, click OK, and the page will refresh.
  
  
• Edit Tasks: To edit all tasks at once, click the Edit Tasks option in the submenu. The page will refresh.
  
  
• View Budget: To view budget information, click the View Budget option in the submenu.
  
  
• Assign Users to Tasks: In the column that displays the number of users on a task, click the number. This launches a popup window through which you can assign users to tasks (and estimated hours). The popup allows you to scroll between tasks, so you do not need to launch a separate popup for each task.
  
  
• Set Dependencies: In the column that displays the dependencies, click the Set link. This launches a popup window through which you can set dependencies. The popup allows you to scroll between tasks, so you do not need to launch a separate window for each task.

Schedule Filters

Filters are used to display schedule information in a variety of ways. Each filter displays different schedule information, in a slightly different format, to provide you with as much flexibility as possible.

1. Baseline Comparison view This filter displays all tasks along with Current Start Date, Current Due Date, Baseline Start Date, Baseline Due Date, and the variance between the baseline and current values.
   
   
2. Budget View Filter: This filter displays all tasks along with Estimated Net Cost, Expenses and Cost Totals for estimated and actual data. If the project is using a Top-Down Budget, the Project Price and Margin will also be displayed.
   
   
3. Critical Path Filter: This filter only displays critical tasks along with all associated information.
   
   
4. Completed Tasks Filter: This filter only displays completed tasks along with all associated information.
   
   
5. Incomplete Tasks Filter: This filter only displays incomplete tasks, including those in progress and those that are overdue. It includes all associated information for each task.
   
   
6. Late Tasks Filter: This filter only displays late/overdue tasks along with all associated information.
   
   
7. Milestone View Filter: This filter only displays milestones along with Start Dates and Due Dates.
   
   
8. Expanded Simple View: This filter displays everything that is visible in the Production View but in a simplified format. This format makes it possible to sort tasks by the various columns without ruining the task-subtask format.
   
   
9. Percent Complete Graphical View Filter: This filter displays all tasks along with a graphical representation of the percent complete on each task. The filter also displays Start Dates and Due Dates.
   
   
10. Resource View Filter: This filter displays all tasks along with the list of resources associated with each task (instead of a number, hyperlinked to a popup window). The filter also displays Percent Complete, Subtasks, Start Dates, Due Dates, Estimated Hours and Actual Hours.

At the bottom of the View Schedule page, you can export to Microsoft Project. The file will be exported from Vertabase in .csv format.

In the section labeled "Export a Schedule," click the radio button labeled "MS Project," then click the Export button. A prompt will appear with an option to save the file. Save the file then open it with Microsoft Project.

• From the File menu (in Microsoft Project), select Open.
• Use the pulldown menu to change the "Files of type" you are viewing to "CSV"
• Browse your file tree and click on the file you wish to import.
• You should see a popup window asking you to select the Import Format. Select either the Default Task Information map or the Import Data From Vertabase Pro map (if you have it installed) and click the Open button. In both cases, make sure that the default delimiter is set to comma (,). You can change this by clicking the Edit button of the Import Format window.

There are two ways of opening the file in Microsoft Project, using the Default Task Information map, or the customized Import Data From Vertabase Pro map. The maps are used to properly import and export data between Vertabase and Microsoft Project.

The Default Task Information map will allow you to export the following information from Vertabase into Microsoft Project:

• Task Number
• Description
• Sum of Time Estimates or Task Length
• Start Date
• Duration
• Due Date
• Dependencies
• Assigned Users

The Import Data From Vertabase Pro map will allow you to export the following information from Vertabase into Microsoft Project:

• Task Number
• Description
• Sum of Time Estimates or Task Length
• Start Date
• Duration
• Due Date
• Dependencies
• Assigned Users
• Critical Task
• Milestone
• Percent Complete
• Sum of Actual Hours
• Date of First Timesheet Entry
• Completion Date
• Notes

To install the Import Data From Vertabase Pro map do the following:

1. Click the Vertabase Maps link on the Schedule View page.
2. Save the file (VertabaseMaps.mpp) on your computer.
3. Run the file (by double clicking on it). This will launch MS Project, if you do not have it open already.
4. In MS Project's toolbar, select Tools and then Organizer. This will launch a popup.
5. In the popup, select the option Maps. On the right-hand side of the screen you should see two 'VertabaseMaps', including Export Data To Vertabase Pro and Import Data From Vertabase Pro. For the purposes of the specific process described above, you only need the Import Data From Vertabase Pro map.
6. Select both and click the Copy option in the middle of the popup. This will copy the two Vertabase Maps to the 'GLOBAL.MPP' list on the left-hand side.
7. Once the map is installed correctly, you will be able to import Vertabase .csv files into MS Project.

Note: For this to work properly, MS Project must be installed in a US Format (i.e. operating system, keyboard, clock and other regional settings should be in US Standard format) and the default date format must be DDD MM/DD/YY (i.e. Mon 5/15/01).

Note: In some versions of IE, when you click on the Vertabase Maps link you will be prompted to enable or disable the macros. After choosing to enable or disable the macros, MS Project will load into the browser. In order to avoid this (if it occurs), do the following:

1. Right-click the Vertabase Maps link and coose "Save Target As..." in the menu.
2. Save the VertabaseMaps.mpp file on your desktop.
3. Open the file from inside MS Project.

Import Schedule Information from MS Project into Vertabase Pro

Vertabase is compatible with Microsoft Project versions 98, 2000 and 2003. At the bottom of the View Schedule page you can import files from MS Project into Vertabase. To import MS Project schedules into Vertabase, do the following:

1. In MS Project, select the schedule file you wish to export.
2. From the File menu, select "Save as…"
3. Using the pulldown menu, change the "Save as type" to "CSV".
4. Click the Save button.
5. You should see a popup window asking you to select the Export Format. Select either the Default Task Information map or the Export Data To Vertabase Pro map (if you have it installed) and click the Save button. In both cases, make sure that the default delimiter is set to comma (,). You can change this by clicking the Edit button of the Import Format window.

Then, from the View Schedule page in Vertabase:

1. Click the Browse button to navigate your file tree and select the appropriate file.
2. Then click the Import button.

There are two ways of importing the file from MS Project into Vertabase, using the Default Task Information map, or the customized Export Data To Vertabase Pro map. The maps are used to properly import and export data between Vertabase and Microsoft Project.

The Default Task Information map will allow you to import the following information from Microsoft Project into Vertabase:

• Task Number
• Description
• Sum of Time Estimates or Task Length
• Start Date
• Due Date
• Dependencies
• Assigned Users

The Export Data To Vertabase Pro map will allow you to import the following information from Microsoft Project into Vertabase:

• Task Number
• Description
• Sum of Time Estimates or Task Length
• Start Date
• Due Date
• Dependencies
• Assigned Users
• Critical Task
• Milestone
• Percent Complete
• Sum of Actual Hours
• Date of First Timesheet Entry
• Completion Date
• Notes

To install the Export Data To Vertabase Pro map do the following:

1. Click the Vertabase Maps link on the Schedule View page.
2. Save the file (VertabaseMaps.mpp) on your computer.
3. Run the file (by double clicking on it). This will launch MS Project, if you do not have it open already.
4. In MS Project's toolbar, select Tools and then Organizer. This will launch a popup.
5. In the popup, select the option Maps. On the right-hand side of the screen you should see two 'VertabaseMaps', including Export Data To Vertabase Pro and Import Data From Vertabase Pro. For the purposes of the specific process described above, you only need the Export Data To Vertabase Pro map.
6. Select both and click the Copy option in the middle of the popup. This will copy the two Vertabase Maps to the 'GLOBAL.MPP list on the left-hand side.
7. Once the map is installed correctly, you will be able to export MS Project files in .csv format to Vertabase.

Note: For this to work properly, MS Project must be installed in a US Format (i.e. operating system, keyboard, clock and other regional settings should be in US Standard format) and the default date format must be DDD MM/DD/YY (i.e. Mon 5/15/01). Vertabase is compatible with Microsoft Project versions 98, 2000 and 2003

Note: In some versions of IE, when you click on the Vertabase Maps link you will be prompted to enable or disable the macros. After choosing to enable or disable the macros, MS Project will load into the browser. In order to avoid this (if it occurs), do the following:

1. Right-click the Vertabase Maps link and coose "Save Target As..." in the menu.
2. Save the VertabaseMaps.mpp file on your desktop.
3. Open the file from inside MS Project.

Note: In MS Project 98 milestones can only be one day long. Therefore if your schedule in Vertabase has a milestone that's longer than one day and you attempt to import that schedule into MS Project 98, the dates and durations of steps will likely appear incorrect. This is not a problem for MS Project 2000.

When exporting a schedule from Vertabase, two pieces of data that are not used by MS Project will be included in the exported file:

• Assigned hours per person (per task)
• Assigned work type per person (per task)

If the exported file is re-imported into Vertabase this data will be added into the schedule. If the exported file is used in MS Project and re-saved and then imported into Vertabase, the data will be lost, since MS Project has no mechanism for saving that information.

If the file is imported into a project that does not have the appropriate project members, error messages will appear on the Edit Schedule page, indicating that certain users are not project members on the project. These error messages will include the number of hours and assigned worked types per user so that other users can be assigned to the project with that time, or the user missing from the project can be added.

Export Schedule Information to Microsoft Excel from Vertabase Pro

At the bottom of the View Schedule page, you can export to Microsoft Excel. The file will be exported from Vertabase in .csv format.

In the section labeled "Import/Export a Schedule," click the button labeled "MS Excel or Google Spreadsheets," then click the Export button. A prompt will appear with an option to save the file. Save the file then open it with Microsoft Excel.

The following information is exported from Vertabase into Microsoft Excel:

• Task Number
• Description
• Start Date
• Due Date
• Critical
• Milestone
• Notes
• Resource Names
• Work Types
• Estimated Hours

Sample CSV format (required columns are in bold) [download]

TASK_NUMBER,TASK_NAME,START_DATE,FINISH_DATE,CRITICAL,MILESTONE,NOTES,RESOURCE_NAMES,WORK_TYPES,ESTIMATED_HOURS

1,"First Task Name",4/25/2007,5/1/2007,Yes,No,"notes",Team Leader,Project Management,4
2,"Second Task Name",4/26/2007,5/1/2007,No,No,,Team Leader,Project Management,2
3,"Third Task Name",4/27/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes",,,
3.1,"Task 3.1 Name",4/28/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes","Team Leader,Quality Assurance Analyst","Project Management,Testing","3,6"
3.2,"Task 3.2 Name",4/29/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes",Team Leader,Project Management,2

The spreadsheet exported from Google Spreadsheets must follow the sample CSV format displayed below (required columns are in bold) [download]

TASK_NUMBER,TASK_NAME,START_DATE,FINISH_DATE,CRITICAL,MILESTONE,NOTES
1,"First Task Name",4/25/2007,5/1/2007,Yes,No,"notes",Team Leader,Project Management,4
2,"Second Task Name",4/26/2007,5/1/2007,No,No,,Team Leader,Project Management,2
3,"Third Task Name",4/27/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes",,,
3.1,"Task 3.1 Name",4/28/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes","Team Leader,Quality Assurance Analyst","Project Management,Testing","3,6"
3.2,"Task 3.2 Name",4/29/2007,5/1/2007,No,Yes,"notes",Team Leader,Project Management,2