If you have appropriate access to the current view, you can use the Customize Activity View dialog box to customize settings of all parts of the Activity View, including the Gantt chart, activity network diagram, layout of elements opened within the activity view, filters, and access privileges.
I want to
- open the Customize Activity View dialog box
- name the view
- choose and sort the columns that display on the Activities page
- select grouping and sorting criteria
- specify filtering options
- customize Gantt chart bar features
- apply a progress line to the Gantt chart
- set the timescale of the Gantt chart
- customize layout settings of windows
- customize information displayed in each activity box of the activity network diagram
- choose user access to the activity view
What options are available?
Open the Customize Activity View dialog box
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
The Customize Activity View dialog box is displayed.
Name the view
- From the Activities toolbar, while the view you want to save is displayed, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Save View As.
- In the View Name field, enter a name for the view.
- Click OK. A copy of the current view is created with the new name you provided.
top
Choose and sort the columns that display on the Activities page
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Columns tab.
- In the Available Columns field:
- expand the list of available columns
- double-click the data fields you want to display, or select the data fields and click the horizontal arrow buttons to move them to the Selected Columns field.
- change the order of selected data fields in the Selected Columns field by clicking the vertical buttons.
The top-to-bottom order of fields in the Selected Columns list corresponds to the left-to-right display order of the columns in the Activity Table of the Activities page.
Tip: You can double-click a column name to move the column to the opposite list. To move multiple columns at a time, use Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select the appropriate columns, then click the arrow. You can display a maximum of 30 columns in the Activity Table.
- From the Sort by menu, select from a wide range of sort fields categorized by type, for example,
units, dates, or general data fields.
- From the Sort order menu, select to display the columns in Ascending or Descending order.
- Text fields are sorted alphabetically.
- Numeric and date fields are sorted numerically or in calendar sequence.
- Checkbox fields, for ascending, are sorted as checked followed by unchecked.
- Activity status ascending sort order is Not Started, In Progress, and Completed.
- Indicator UDF fields, for ascending, are sorted
in this sequence:
- From the Show first column as menu, select either Activity Name or activity ID as the stationary first column.
These are the only fields you can display in the first column. The first item that appears in the Selected Columns list will occupy the second column on the Activities page.
- From the Font menu, click
Browse.
- In the Table Font dialog box, select the font name, size, style, and color to display line items in the activity table. Click OK.
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Select grouping and sorting criteria
Tip: When activities are grouped, the Gantt chart on the Activities page displays a summary bar for each group. The summary bar represents the time period from the earliest Early Start to the latest Early Finish for the group.
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Grouping tab.
- From each of the Level menus, select a field or category in which to group activities. You cannot group activities by more than one hierarchical field. You can create up to twenty levels of content.
- From the To Level menu, select the number of hierarchical levels to group the fields or categories you selected previously from the Level menu.
- From the Band Color menu of each level, select the background color of the group heading row, or band. The color you select for each band will be displayed in the activity table and the activity network diagram.
- From the Text Color menu of each level, select a color for the text that displays in the activity table for each band.
- From the Sort Order menu of each level, select:
- Ascending
- Descending
- Hierarchy
Sort order for groups follows the same rules as described above for the sorting of activities. However, when grouping by a hierarchical field, an additional sort order option, Hierarchy, is available.
The Hierarchy option sorts groups based on the sequence defined for the hierarchical item, rather than using alphabetical or numerical sequencing. For example, with Hierarchy sort order, three WBS elements defined in the hierarchy as WBS a, WBS c and WBS b, would appear in bands replicating that sequence, but for Ascending sort order would appear as WBS a, WBS b, and WBS c. - To display the group, select Show field title.
- To display group totals in heading rows for all cost, numeric, integer, start date, and finish date fields, in the Band Options section, choose Show field rollups.
- To hide grouping bands that do not have any activities, choose Hide if empty in the Band Options section. For example, if you select this option, a WBS element that does not have any activities assigned to it will not display.
- In the For WBS, Project, Activity Codes, or Primary Resource, include section, select from the following options
to determine the text that displays on the grouping band:
- ID/Code - displays the short name (ID or Code) when grouping by WBS, Project, Activity Codes, or Primary Resource.
- Name/Description - displays the long name (Name or Description) when grouping by WBS, Project, Activity Codes, or Primary Resource.
- ID/Code and Name/Description - displays the ID/Code and Name/Description combinations on the band
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Tip: To create a view for managing the WBS for a single project, in the Level 1 drop-down list, select WBS and in the To Level drop-down list, select All. To create a view for managing the WBS for multiple projects, in the Level 1 drop-down list choose Project. Then, in the Level 2 drop-down list, select WBS and in the To Level drop-down list, select the number of WBS levels you want to display.
For example, if you select to group activities by Early Start, the field name Early Start appears to the left of the date value for the group. If you do not choose this option, only the date value for the group appears in the band.
Tip: Start date rollups reflect the earliest date for the group. Finish date rollups reflect the latest date for the group. Unit and cost rollups are a total of the values for each activity in the group.
Note: Unexpected display results can occur when hours per time period settings are stored per calendar in the Project Management module and you group activities by a duration field, such as original or planned duration. If an unexpected display results when grouping activities by a duration field, set your preference for duration format to hours. You can change your preference for duration format in Global Preferences. See Specify formats for time units, dates, and currency in Global Preferences for details.
Specify filtering options
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Filters tab.
- In the Select Filter section, select a filter type:
- Click All Activities to filter all activities in the project.
- Click Standard Filter and from the drop-down list, select a predefined filter:
- My activities
- Completed activities only
- Milestones only
- Critical activities behind schedule only
- Activities finishing within specified days
- In progress activities only
- Not started activities only
- In progress and not started activities only
- Activities occurring within specified days
-
The My Activities filter displays all project activities you are either assigned to as a resource or designated as the activity owner.
-
For the Activities Finishing Within Specified Days filter, specify a number of days.
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The Critical Activities Behind Schedule filter uses the project baseline to determine variance, identifying activities behind schedule. If no project baseline is assigned, the current project is used as the baseline, so no activities are displayed.
- Or, click Custom Filter to create a filter based on activity data fields and values you specify.
-
In the Select Filter Criteria drop-down list, choose to display activities that meet all or any of the specified criteria. If you select Any of the following, any activity that meets at least one of the filtering conditions will display in the Activity View.
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To create a filter criteria statement, in the Parameter drop-down list, select a field. Next, select an operator from the Is drop-down list. In the Value field, type or select a value to complete the filtering criteria statement.
-
You can create up to 10 criteria statements for a custom filter. Click the appropriate icon to add
or delete
a criteria statement.
Notes for Standard Filters:
Notes for Custom Filters:
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Customize Gantt bar features
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Bars tab. You can set features for up to three bars per activity.
- In the Type field, select the type of content to be represented in each bar. Options include:
- Current bar - shows a bar that spans the early remaining/actual start to the early remaining/ actual finish for each activity. For a Current bar, you can select additional options for showing the progress of activities or if activities are on the critical path.
- Late bar - shows the late start to the late finish of an activity.
Tip: A Late bar does not display if the project has not been scheduled
- Project baseline bar - shows the project baseline start and finish dates of an activity. Viewing this bar compared to the Current bar, you can determine if an activity is on or behind schedule.
- Primary baseline bar - shows the primary baseline start and finish dates of an activity.
- Float bar - shows the total float, the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying completion of the project
- Free float bar - shows the free float, the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without causing subsequent activities to be delayed
- Plan bar - shows the forecasted status of planned activities. This bar is used for simulating the outcome of the project schedule as part of project planning
- Percent complete bar - shows the completion percentage of an activity
- In the Height field, select the height in pixels of each bar.
- In the Color field, choose to display the bar with a selected color or to set an activity code for the bar.
Note: Color definitions of activity codes are set by your P6 administrator in the Activity Codes tab of the Administration page.
To select a bar color: From the Color menu, click Browse
to display the Color dialog box. Select the color to display from the Swatches, HSB, or RGB tab, then click OK.
To set the bar color by Activity Code: In the Activity Code field, select to set each bar to represent an activity code. Click Browse
to display the Select Activity Code dialog box. Click OK.
- Mark the Show Necking check box to apply bar necking to each of the three bars. Bar necking refers to indentations of bars in the Gantt chart during periods of non-worktime.
- Set Current Bar options:
- Mark the Show Progress checkbox to chart progress, or actual work, along the Current bar. The Progress bar is blue.
- Mark the Show Critical checkbox to represent critical activities with a red bar instead of the color you selected for the Current bar.
- Set a bar label:
- From the Label field, select a bar label.
- From the Label Position field, select the location on the bar to position its label:
- on the left side of the bar
- in the center of the bar
- on the right side of the bar
Tip: When you display many bars at once, for greater ease in reading the bar labels and identifying a specific bar, you may find it helpful to vary the position of the label on each bar.
- In the Label Font field, click Browse
, and select options for the font type, size, and color of the bar label.
- Mark the Use calendar non-work time check box to visually narrow the bar in the Gantt chart to show calendar-based non-work time, such as weekends and holidays.
- Mark the Use activity non-work time check box to visually narrow the bar in the Gantt chart to show activity non-work time, including activities that were suspended and resumed using suspend and resume dates or activities that started out of sequence.
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Apply a progress line to the Gantt chart
Applying a progress line to the Gantt chart enables you to quickly view the progress of activities compared to the baseline of the activities.
As a variance line, the progress line can represent a variance between the planned and actual start dates or finish dates of a task.
The progress line is drawn by connecting progress points of each activity. Progress points are determined by calculating the difference between current and baseline dates for each activity (called baseline variance), or based on actual progress determined by each activity's remaining duration or percent complete.
In the Gantt options tab of the Customize Activity View dialog box, you have complete control over how the line is drawn, whether it will be a variance line based on start or finish dates, or a progress point line based on remaining duration or completion percentages at the time the line is drawn.
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Gantt Options tab.
- Mark the Show Progress Line checkbox.
- Select a line style, color, and size for the progress line.
- Select to draw the progress line:
- Based on the difference between the current and baseline activity's start and finish dates, or
- By connecting progress points based on the activity's remaining duration or percent complete.
- Select to use the project baseline or primary baseline when calculating the Progress Line.
- Click OK. In the Gantt chart, the new progress line is displayed near corresponding tasks.
-
to the left of the progress line are behind schedule
-
on the progress line are on time
-
to the right of the progress line are ahead of schedule
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Note: In the Gantt chart, the new progress line is displayed. The variance of the progress line is based on your previous selection to draw the line between the current and baseline start and finish dates or remaining duration or percent complete of an activity. Using this basis, all tasks displayed:
Set the timescale of the Gantt chart
Set the timescale interval of the Gantt chart and apply shading for non-worktime.
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Gantt Options tab.
- From the Timescale drop-down menu, select from the following options to set the timescale of the Gantt chart:
- Year/Month
- Year/Quarter
- Quarter/Month
- Month/Week
- Week/Day
- Financial Period
- Mark the Show shading for non-worktime check box to apply shading to non-worktime represented in the Gantt chart. From the color menu, select the shade of gray to be applied.
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Customize layout settings of windows
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Details tab. To set the default position for displaying windows, select one of the following options:
- Floating - allows you to move and dock open dialog boxes within the activity view
- Tabs - minimizes open dialog boxes to tabs, allowing for the maximum use of space in the activity view.
- Tiled windows- aligns open dialog boxes next to each other, to take up the allotted space within the Default Window Position
- To set the default location of detail dialog boxes when they open in the Activities page, select one of the following options:
- Top
- Bottom
- Left
- Right
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Customize information displayed in each activity box of the activity network diagram
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Activity Network tab.
The Activity Box section provides options to choose and view in the Preview section before applying your changes.
- Mark a Split Row check box to divide a row of information to be displayed in an activity.
Notes:
Splitting a line of information allows you to display more information per row within an activity. For example, without splitting a row, you can present a maximum of four fields of information, such as:
Activity ID
Activity Name
Expected Finish
Activity Status
By splitting all four rows, you can present two fields of information per line for a maximum of eight fields of information per activity. For example, if you split all four rows, you can present, per line:
- Activity ID - Activity Name
- Planned Total Cost - Actual Total Cost
- Actual Start - Actual Finish
- Planned Value Cost - Earned Value Cost
- Activity ID - Activity Name
- Planned Total Cost - Actual Total Cost
- Actual Start - Actual Finish
- Planned Value Cost - Earned Value Cost
- Click the Expand Grouping Bands to Level field and select the number of grouping bands to expand per activity network view.
- Mark the Show Only Driving Relationships check box to show relationship lines when the predecessor activity causes or drives the date of the successor activity.
Note: Leaving the Show Only Driving Relationships check box unmarked causes all activity relationships in the project to be displayed in the activity network diagram.
You can mark the Show Only Driving Relationships check box to:
- isolate and identify the driving relationships of tasks required to keep your project on schedule
- track the progress of driving relationships
- compare the status of multiple driving relationships to analyze their effect on completing the project, and use this information to make changes to stay on schedule
- view driving relationships in the context of the entire project (by unmarking the Show Only Driving Relationships check box)
- Click the Show Progress checkbox to display progress indicators on each activity box. The Activity Network View indicates progress by drawing an X on a completed activity or a slash on an activity in progress.
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Choose user access to the activity view
In the Access section, specify user access to the view.
- From the Activities toolbar, click the Customize View
arrow
.
- Select Customize View.
- In the Customize dialog box, click the Access tab.
- Select one of the following options:
- Current User to make the activity view available only to you
- All Users to make the activity view available to all P6 Web Access users
- List of Users to make the activity view available to specific users, then search for and select the users who can access the view.
- Select another tab to make further changes or click OK.
Field Definitions
-
- Saves changes you make in each of the tabs of the Customize Activity Views dialog box.
- Cancels your changes without saving your selections in each of the tabs of the Customize Activity Views dialog box.
Columns tab
- Available Columns
- Lists possible columns to display in the Gantt chart and the Activity Table. Selecting a column and clicking the arrows enters the selection into or removes the selection from the Selected Columns list.
- Selected Columns
- Lists the columns you select from the Available Columns field. Selected columns will be displayed in the Gantt chart and Activity table when you click OK.
- Column Options
- Provides options that affect the display of columns and the content you choose to present.
- Sort By
- Displays activities by selected type in the Gantt chart and Activity table based on your selections. For example, you can sort activities based on units, dates, percentages of completeness, or general data fields.
- Sort Order
- Sorts activities in ascending or descending order, numerically and alphabetically.
- Show first column as
- Shows the first column as Activity Name or Activity ID to identify the activity.
- Font
- Provides font options for displaying WBS and activity types in the Gantt chart and Activity Table.
Grouping tab
- Field
- Provides options by which to group activities, for example, by dates, durations, units, or activity codes. These options are used to build the hierarchy of Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and activities that make up a project. You can add up to 20 levels of structure.
- To Level
- Choose the level on which to apply the Field, Band Color, Text Color, and Sort Order selections.
- Band Color
- Select a color to visually represent each hierarchical level. The color you select for each band will be displayed in the Activity Table and the activity network diagram.
- Text Color
- Select a color for the text to be displayed within each grouping band.
- Sort Order
- Display columns ascending or descending order alphabetically or numerically or per the hierarchical structure you create.
- Band Options:
- Show field title
- Mark the check box to show the title of the field in the Gantt chart or Activity table. Leave the checkbox empty to prevent this information from displaying.
- Show field rollups
- Mark the check box to display summarized values, such as the dates of the Gantt chart or Activity table. Leave the checkbox empty to prevent this information from displaying.
- Hide if empty
- Mark the check box to hide grouping bands that do not contain any activities.
- For WBS, Project, Activity Codes, or Primary Resource, include:
- ID/Code
- Displays the short name or ID/Code within the grouping band.
- Name/Description
- Displays the long name or name/ description within the grouping band.
- ID/Code and Name/Description
- Displays both the short and long name within the grouping band.
Filters tab
- Filter:
- Provides options for designing the filter.
- All Activities
- Select to filter all activities.
- Standard Filter
- Select to filter activities by your activities, completed activities, milestones only, critical activities running behind schedule, activities finishing within specified days, activities in progress, activities not started, activities that are in progress but have not started, and activities that occur in a specified number of days.
- Custom Filter:
- Filter Criteria
- Set filtering criteria to All of the following or Any of the following.
- Parameter
- Select a filtering parameter.
- Is
- Select equals, is not equal to, is greater than or equals, or is less than or equals.
- Value
- Enter a value on which to sort.
- Delete a Line of Filtering Criteria
- Delete a line of filtering criteria.
- Add a Line of Filtering Criteria
- Add a line of filtering criteria. You can add up to 10 lines.
Bars tab
- First Bar, Second Bar, and Third Bar:
- Select options for up to three bars.
- Type
- Select one of the following bar types: Current Bar, Late Bar, Project Baseline Bar, Primary Baseline Bar, Float Bar, Free Float Bar, and Plan Bar. Select a color for each bar and a font size (up to 64 points) for the text displayed with each bar.
- Height
- Select the bar height from the menu.
- Color
- Provides options for selecting the color of the bar or for setting the bar to represent an activity code.
- Show necking
- Mark the check box to apply bar necking to each of the three bars.
- Current Bar Options:
- Show Progress
- Mark the check box to show the progress of activities displayed in the Gantt chart.
- Show Critical
- Mark the check box to show critical activities in the Gantt chart.
- Label
- Select the type of label to display above the activity lines in the Gantt chart.
- Label Position
- Select the position, left, center, or right, for the label to display above its related activity line in the Gantt chart.
- Label Font
- Select the font for the label.
- Necking:
- Use calendar non-work time
- Mark the check box to show calendar non-work time, such as holidays and weekends. Leaving the check box empty shows work time only.
- Use activity non-work time
- Mark the check box to show activity non-work time, such as the suspension of an activity through the use of suspend /resume dates or non-work time of an activity that started out of sequence.
Gantt Options tab
- Progress Line
- Provides options for setting a progress line on the Gantt chart.
- Show Progress Line
- Select to show a progress line on the Gantt chart.
- Style
- Select a solid, dashed, or other style for the progress line.
- Color
- Select the color of the progress line.
- Size
- Select the thickness of the progress line, between 1 and 10 points.
- Draw the progress line:
- Select one of the following:
- Based on the difference between the current and baseline activity's
- Select Start Dates or Finish Dates.
- By connecting progress points based on activity's
- Select Remaining Duration or Percent Complete.
- Baseline to use for calculating Progress Line
- Select Project Baseline or Primary Baseline.
- Timescale
- Select the timescale to be displayed in the Gantt chart: Year/Month, Year/Quarter, Quarter/Month, Month/Week, Week/Day, or Financial Period. The default timescale is Month/Week.
- Show shading for non-worktime
- Mark the check box to apply a shade of gray to calendar non-worktime in the Gantt chart. Select a shade of gray from the Color menu.
Note: A progress line provides a visual representation of the variance between selected criteria such as the start or finish dates of an activity and its baseline, or the progress of an activity based on its remaining duration or percent of completion.
Details tab
- Display detail windows by default as
- Select to display activity detail dialog boxes as floating, tiled, or tabbed. The settings apply when new activity details dialog boxes are opened. They do not change the current window display.
- Default location of detail windows
- Select the position of the tiled activity detail dialog boxes or their tabs in the Activities page. The dialog boxes can be positioned in the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right portions of the Activity page when the Activity table, Gantt chart, or activity network diagram is displayed.
Activity Network tab
Select options for displaying activity boxes in the activity network diagram.
- Activity Box
- Provides options for customizing the activity boxes that display in the activity network diagram.
- Split Row
- Mark the check box to display two fields in each of the four rows of the activity boxes. Marking the check box causes the Second Field menus to become active.
- Each activity box contains four rows by default. Each row can be divided into two sections, allowing for up to eight fields to be displayed per activity box. Click the menus of each field to select the content to be displayed.
- Field
- Provides options to display in each of the four default lines of the activity boxes.
- Second Field
- Provides options to display in each of the four possible secondary fields that display in an activity box when the Split Row check box is marked for a line.
- Preview
- Provides a view of the options you choose to include in each activity displayed in the activity network diagram.
- Options
- Provides options for displaying grouping bands, driving relationships, and progress in the activity network diagram.
- Expand Grouping Bands to Level
- Select a value to expand up to 20 or All grouping bands.
- Show Only Driving Relationships
- Mark the check box to show only driving relationships between activities in the activity network diagram. Leave the check box empty to show all relationships between activities in the activity network diagram.
- Show Progress
- Displays progress by marking an X on completed activities and a slash (\) on activities in progress in the activity network diagram.
Access tab
- This Activity view is available to
- Select to make the activity view available to the Current User, All Users, or a specific List of Users. If you select List of Users, search for the user, or select users from the Available Users list.
- Current User
- Makes the activity view available to the current user.
- All Users
- Makes the activity view available to all users.
- List of Users
- Causes options to display to search for or select a specific list of users to grant permission to the view.
- Search
- Enter the name of a user to find.
- Available Users
- Select a user or press Ctrl or Shift and click multiple users to have access to the activity view. Click the arrows to move users between the Available Users and Selected Users fields.
- Selected Users
- Lists the names of users who will have access to the view after you click OK.