The following features have been added or enhanced for P6 version 7.0:
- Enhanced Activity Gantt
- Activity Gantt Bar customization options
- New WBS details
- New activity details
- Dockable tabbed activity/WBS detail dialog boxes
- Fast close of all open activity/WBS detail dialog boxes
- New grouping options
- More flexible filter definitions
- Display and set color for non-worktime shading of the timescale.
- New progress line feature
- New features for typing ahead in a cell, deleting, and saving expansion state
- Instant collaboration with activity feedback
- Enhanced Project Gantt portlet
- New activity network view
- New activity calendar view
- XML support for the import and export of project data
- Microsoft® Excel® *.xls format support for import of activity data
- New support for project data and Oracle ERP systems
- New ability to open the Web Access Gantt chart in Oracle Business Intelligence
- Convenient creation of activity code values without leaving the Activities page
- Improved content management integration
- Oracle's AutoVue integration for editing Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) documents
- Support for copying or linking to repository documents
- Manage baselines for all open projects
- Enhanced work day definition and groupings/summary duration calculations
- Greater administrative control over editing in user views
7.0 New Features
Enhanced Activity Gantt
The new Bars tab of the Customize Activity Views dialog box provides improved customization of the bar area for a better graphical representation of the project timeline. You can set the following new options for each bar:
- display a third bar on the Activity Gantt
- new bar definitions for planned date bar, float bar, free float bar, and display percent complete
- color-code each bar by activity code
- customize the height of each bar
- customize font and size of bar labels
- necking, the narrowing of bars to visually represent periods of calendar or activity non-worktime
- non driving relationships shown as dashed line
In the activity table, the WBS Details menu displays for a selected WBS when you:
- right-click a WBS, or
- click the Details menu
in the Activities page toolbar, and click WBS Details
In the activity table, the Activity Details menu displays for an activity when you:
- right-click an activity, or
- click the Details menu
in the Activities page toolbar, and click Activity Details
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Dockable tabbed activity/WBS detail dialog boxes
All Activity/WBS Detail dialog boxes can be dragged and docked for ease in clearing your work area to view your activity data. You can drag Activity/WBS Detail dialog boxes to a position under, over, to the left, or to the right of your Gantt chart, or outside your browser, allowing you a full view of your Gantt chart and the ability to view specific activity data when you need it.
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Fast close of all open activity/WBS detail dialog boxes
The Close All option lets you close all Activity/WBS Detail dialog boxes at once, allowing for greater control in clearing activity data on demand.
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New grouping options
Group the Gantt chart by date intervals such as day, week, month, and financial period.
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More flexible filter definitions
The number of filter definitions has increased from 5 to 10.
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Display and set color for non-worktime shading of the timescale.
In the Gantt Options tab of the Customize Activity Views dialog box, you can choose to display non-worktime on the timescale as a gray shade and specify the color of gray to be applied.
In the Gantt Options tab of the Customize Activity Views dialog box, you can set a progress line to display in the Gantt chart. You can show the progress of activities as a variance line based on start or finish dates, or a progress point line based on remaining duration or completion percentages.
For more information, see Apply a progress line to a Gantt chart.
New features are available for additional ease in using the activity table and the Gantt chart, including:
- typing data directly into a cell of the activity table without the requirement of selecting an item from a picker dialog box
- deleting by selecting an entry in a cell of the activity table and pressing Delete on your keyboard, or setting your cursor behind an entry in a cell of the activity table and pressing the Backspace key on your keyboard to remove the entry
- expanded and collapsed state of groupings now saved during each session in the Activity Gantt
If you have the appropriate privileges, you can collaborate with your team on an activity by sharing and exchanging messages, called feedback notes, in the Feedback dialog box.
You can send notes, receive acknowledgements when your note has been read, and comment on and acknowledge the notes of others. For more information, see Collaborate with Feedback.
Enhanced Project Gantt portlet
Available from P6 Web Access dashboards, the Project Gantt portlet is enhanced with the ability to display baseline bars.
New activity network view
Use the new activity network view to display a visual diagram of your project's activities and activity relationships. The Activity Network View depicts the sequencing of activities within a project using boxes and arrows.
The activity network view provides a comprehensive scan of all planned, started, and completed activities across the project. Options allow you to change the view of the activity network in the following ways:
See Working with the activity network for more information.
- view the full layout
- zoom in for a closer look at details
- zoom out for the complete view of activities across the project
- zoom to 100% to set the network diagram to its actual size
- magnify a selected portion of the layout
You can visually isolate driving relationships in your project by customizing your view of activities. Showing only driving relationships allows you to automatically and immediately identify the longest path through your project, view the status and details of activities on the path, and make relevant decisions regarding resources and scheduling. For more information, see Show only driving relationships or all relationships between activities.
New activity calendar view
The new activity calendar view displays activities in a familiar monthly calendar format. This view has the same filtering capabilities as the Activity Gantt view. It can also have the activity detail windows displayed for making resource assignments, updating progress of activities, modifying other activity information, and even navigating to predecessor and successor activities.
For more information, see Activity Calendar View.
XML support for the import and export of project data
P6 Web Access now supports XML for the import and export of project data.
Primavera XML is supported for importing and exporting P6 projects.
Microsoft® Project XML is supported for sharing project data between P6 and Microsoft® Project® 2007.
Microsoft® Excel® *.xls format support for the import of activity data
Import from Microsoft® Excel® to add new activities to the project, supporting additional import fields.
New support for project data and Oracle ERP systems
P6 Web Access now supports sending projects to your configured Oracle ERP system to use your project data within your ERP applications. For more information, see Sending projects to an Oracle ERP system.
New ability to use the P6 Web Access Gantt chart in Oracle Business Intelligence
Users of Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) software can open, view, and use the P6 Web Access Gantt chart within their business intelligence application.
Convenient creation of activity code values without leaving the Activities page
Without leaving the Activities page, you can quickly assign activity code values and create dictionary entries . For more information, see Add activity code values on the fly.
Improved content management integration
In addition to JackRabbit, P6 Web Access 7.0 can use Oracle Universal Content Management (UCM) and SharePoint as a repository for project documents. Documents can be uploaded through P6 and stored in UCM or SharePoint. Additionally, individuals may search documents in the content management system, as well as link documents to projects and activities. Document review workflow is supported through the native workflow capabilities of UCM and SharePoint, but will no longer be available with JackRabbit.
Oracle's AutoVue integration in P6 Web Access
P6 Web Access supports viewing, applying mark up to, and sharing Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) documents within Oracle's AutoVue. This feature is available when a content repository is configured with P6 Web Access and if the P6 administrator has enabled Oracle's AutVue and provided users with the ability to view documents with AutoVue. With the appropriate administrative privileges, users can access AutoVue from the Projects tab on the Documents page or from the Project Documents portlet. For information, see Documents page (with content repository), Documents portlet, and Edit Documents with Oracle's AutoVue.
Support for copying or linking repository documents into the P6 Web Access repository
Your content repository may contain documents that exist outside of the P6 Web Access repository folder.
With the appropriate privileges and repository, you can use and share these files in P6 Web Access in any of your document views, including the Projects tab of the Documents page, Project Documents portlet, and Workgroup Documents portlet, and the Private tab of the My Documents portlet.
If you want to share a non-P6 repository document and provide abilities to modify it, you can copy the document into the P6 Web Access content repository structure. Within your document views, you and individuals with appropriate privileges and access can perform all available document management functions on the document.
If you want to maintain the integrity of a non-P6 repository document, you can create a link to the document in its repository location, where it can be viewed and shared but not modified or managed. In your document structure (for example, in the Projects tab of the Documents page), the document displays for read-only viewing.
For more information, see Copy or link repository documents into the P6 repository.
Manage baselines for all open projects
Located in the P6 Web Access 7.0 Activity toolbar, the new
baseline icon launches the Baselines dialog box, in which you can set baselines for all open projects.
Enhanced work day definition and grouping/summary duration calculations
P6 Web Access 7.0 obeys the option to use the new hours per time period setting that has been added to each calendar. This provides more flexibility and control in the display of units and duration.
Calculations for summary durations are more precise within grouping bands of activity views and elsewhere. If the activities within the grouping band share a common calendar, that calendar is used for summary duration calculations. If the activities have differing calendars, but belong to the same project, the default project calendar is used to calculate the summary duration value.
Note: For more information about calendars and admin preferences, see the P6 Project Management User Guide and the P6 Administrator's Guide.
Greater administrative control over editing in user views
P6 Web Access now supports field level security for project activities. Each user can be assigned edit privileges to just the activity fields they are required to update, while other fields are read only. Controlling access to content in user interface views provides additional security over configured privileges, and ensures that users can edit only the appropriate set of activity details.