Hi Karen,
The duration field is the amount of time (days, weeks, hours etc) in
*working* time (set in the project calendar) from the start date and time of
the task to the finish date and time of the task. For example: based upon
project start date of today (set in Project -> Project Information) if I
create a task with a duration of 28 days, the end date of the task is
calculated for 1/31/05 - 28 working days from today - ignoring weekends
(non-working time).
You should allow Project to calculate start and finish dates for you. As I
mentioned below, Mike Glen's series of articles are an excellent primer for
using MS Project and may save you a great deal of grief and hair-pulling.
Hope this helps. Let us know how else we can help.
Julie
"Karen" wrote:
> I forgot to ask you something else - How does the "duration" field work?
> Let's say I have a project that should be completed on January 31 - (that's
> 38 days from now) should I set the duration to 38 days? I'm not sure how
> that field works. If not, how is that field used?
>
> Thank you Julie
>
> "JulieS" wrote:
>
> > Hi Karen,
> >
> > Because Project is a scheduling tool the rest of the information you see in
> > the line with the project title is calculated by Project and short of
> > changing the text in those cells white, you cannot hide the information. You
> > can hide columns (right click and choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu)
> > and add other columns (right click and choose Insert Column), but Project
> > will still use those hidden columns for calculations and task scheduling.
> >
> > For what you describe (and until you have some time to work more indepth
> > with Project) you may wish to use Excel. It doesn't appear from your stated
> > needs that you may need all of the power (and complications) of Project right
> > now.
> >
> > Hope this helps and best wishes for the holidays to you too! Let us know
> > how else we can help.
> >
> > Julie
> >
> > "Karen" wrote:
> >
> > > Thank you for your help - I have entered all my projects and my tasks as you
> > > suggested - Only problem, when I enter the project title and outdent, I don't
> > > want any dates or any other info in that row. I will list the tasks to that
> > > project below the title and then indent the tasks. How do I get only the
> > > project title and the rest of the fields in that row blank?
> > > I'm just setting up a very basic project list. What I want for field titles
> > > is:
> > > Task Name
> > > Completion Date
> > > % Complete
> > > Responsible Party
> > > Can I set up only these fields? Do I need the duration field?
> > >
> > > Thanks and Happy Holidays, Karen
> > > "JulieS" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi Karen,
> > > >
> > > > I assume you wish to enter all of the projects and their tasks into one file
> > > > instead of each project being its own file.
> > > > In that case, enter in the name of the project and under the project name
> > > > enter the tasks and then indent those tasks for that project. (Use the indent
> > > > button on the Formatting Toolbar.) For the next project, make sure you
> > > > outdent that project's name and indent each of its tasks under the summary
> > > > task.
> > > >
> > > > If you have an chance you may wish to view Mike Glen's[Project MVP]
> > > > Introduction to Project articles at:
> > > > http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...Search&AUTH=23
> > > >
> > > > Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.
> > > > Julie
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "Karen" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I have 4 projects to enter into Microsoft Project. Each project has 15-25
> > > > > steps. How do I go about entering this information so that each step is
> > > > > below each project?
> > > > >
> > > > > Thank you