Administering Your Enterprise Project Management Solution in Microsoft Project 2010
- 5/15/2011
Managing Pages, Views, and Reports
Project server administrators have the capability to create custom pages, views, and reports for Project Web App users. You do this so that Project Web App clearly reflects your organization and also to provide users with information where and when they need it.
Pages are the major screens you see as you move from area to area within Project Web App. For example, Server Settings is a page, Project Center is a page, and Resource Center is a page. You can add and remove elements on most pages by editing the page’s Web Parts, which are the content components that make up the page.
On the other hand, views are subsets of pages. Views specify a certain collection or arrangement of information within a page. For example, the default view for the Project Center page is the Summary view, but you can switch to the Cost view or the Tracking view.
Creating and Managing Pages with Web Parts
Project Web App is essentially a website made up of a series of pages. The elements on these pages come from a collection of predesigned Web Parts. Web Parts are a feature of Microsoft SharePoint, the platform on which Project Web App is built. Web Parts are self-contained, reusable components that consist of types of information, varying from sophisticated, dynamic web page content embedded in a frame to simple, concise text messages. Generally, most features and content that can be seen on a web page can be included as a Web Part. Web Parts group and position all key information logically and consistently; the information is accessed through hyperlinks.
You can use Web Parts in Project Web App to develop web page components that convey key project information efficiently for your team or organization. For example, the Tasks page is made up of the Tasks Web Part, and the Project Center is made up of the Project Center Web Part. But you can put the two Web Parts together to create another page. You can add the Reminders Web Part to the Timesheet page if you learn that’s what your users need.
Modifying a Built-In Page
You can modify the structure and content category of any Project Web App page, including the Home page. To do this, follow these steps.
In Project Web App, navigate to the page you want to change.
Click Site Actions in the upper-left corner of the window, and then on the drop-down menu, click Edit Page.
The page is redrawn to show each Web Part element on the page. An Add A Web Part control (see Figure 23-24) shows at the top of the page. The Page Tools and Web Part Tools tabs appear on the ribbon.
Figure 23-24 When you edit a page, Web Part controls appear directly on the page.
Using the Web Parts controls, edit the page:
To add a new Web Part, click the Add A Web Part control. In the Add Web Parts pane that appears, select the Web Part category from the Categories box on the left. Under Web Parts, select the name of the Web Part you want to add; for example, Project Detail Pages or Reporting Services Reports. When you click the name of a Web Part, a description appears in the About The Web Part pane on the right. Click the Add button. The Web Part is added to the page. A new Add A Web Part control appears at the top in case you want to add another.
To edit an existing Web Part, click the arrow near the upper-right edge of the Web Part’s title bar, and then from the drop-down menu that appears, click Edit Web Part. Or, you can click in the Web Part, and then on the Options tab, in the Properties group, click Web Part Properties. A task pane appears on the right side of the window, as shown in Figure 23-25. Specify how you want to modify the Web Part. The choices differ depending on the nature of the Web Part. However, most Web Parts provide choices such as Appearance, Layout, and Advanced. Click OK or Apply at the bottom of the Web Part pane to implement your changes on the page.
Figure 23-25 Use the Web Part task pane to edit a Web Part on the page.
To remove a Web Part from a page, click the arrow near the upper-right edge of the Web Part and click the Close option. The page is redrawn with that Web Part removed. Don’t use the Delete command because that will remove the Web Part entirely from Project Server.
When you have finished making changes to Web Parts on the current page, on the Page tab, in the Edit group, click Stop Editing, as shown in Figure 23-26. The Web Part controls disappear, and the changes you made are shown on the page.
Figure 23-26 When you’re done editing the Web Parts, click Stop Editing on the Page tab of the ribbon.
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Creating a Page
You can create an entirely new page and arrange the Web Parts you want on it. To do this, follow these steps:
On any page in Project Web App, click the Site Actions button in the upper-left corner of the window, and then from the drop-down menu, click More Options.
In the Create window that appears, scroll down and click Web Part Page.
In the right pane, click the Create button.
On the New Web Part page, enter the name that you want to appear in headings and links throughout Project Web App when you refer to this page.
In the Layout section, in the Choose A Layout Template box, click the page layout you want for the new page. (See Figure 23-27.)
Figure 23-27 Specify the layout for your new page.
In the Save Location section, click the document library where you want to save this web page. This is the category that will contain the Web Part page.
Click Create.
The page is created and appears as a page filled only with Web Parts controls, as shown in Figure 23-28.
Figure 23-28 When you create a new Web Part page, a series of Web Part controls appears to help you start building the content for the page.
Click one of the Add A Web Part controls.
In the pane that appears, under Categories, click the category that contains the Web Part you want to add.
Under Web Parts, click the Web Part you want to add.
A description of the selected Web Part appears in the About The Web Part section on the right.
Under About The Web Part, in the Add Web Part To box, click the location on the page where you want the new Web Part to be added.
The location choices correspond with the layout you chose for this page.
Click Add.
The Web Part is added to the page in the location you specified.
Repeat steps 8 through 12 for additional Web Parts you want to add to this page.
When you have finished adding Web Parts to the new page, on the Page tab, in the Edit group, click Stop Editing.
Your changes are saved and the new page appears according to your specifications.
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Deleting a Custom Page
To delete custom web page you’ve created in Project Web App, follow these steps:
On the Quick Launch in Project Web App, under Documents, click the category name of the document library in which the Web Part page was created—for example, Shared Documents or Project Risk Forms.
Any pages you have created are listed.
Move your mouse pointer to the left of the name of the page you want to delete, and then select the check box that appears.
On the Documents tab, in the Manage group, click Delete Document, and then click OK.
The page is moved to the Recycle Bin.
To return to Project Web App, click the Navigate Up button in the upper-left corner of the page, and then click Project Web App.
Creating and Managing Views
Many pages throughout Project Web App need to display only a single view of project data. Examples of such pages include the Home page and the Personal Settings page.
The use of other pages, however, benefit from the availability of different views of project data. Such pages include:
Tasks
Timesheets
Project Center
Resource Center
Business Intelligence
A view is a collection of selected fields, filtered in a particular way, laid out in a certain format, and with certain permissions applied on a page. For example, the Project Center page includes the Cost, Projects by Phase, Summary, Tracking, and Work views, among others. To see the views available for a page, the user clicks in the View box, typically located in the Data group on the page’s ribbon.
You can modify existing Project Web App views or create new views to add to a page. When defining a view, you can specify the following types of information:
View name and description.
The fields to be displayed in the view’s table.
Formatting for the view, including Gantt Chart format if applicable, outline levels, grouping format, and sort order.
The filter to be applied to the view’s information.
The security categories that the view belongs to.
Modifying a Built-In View
To modify an existing view, follow these steps:
On the Quick Launch, under Settings, click Server Settings.
Under Look And Feel, click Manage Views.
All views used throughout Project Web App are listed under their categories.
Click the name of the view you want to change. The Edit View page appears.
Go to the section that contains the aspect of the view you want to change—for example, the fields included in the view are in the Table And Fields section, and the filter applied to this view is in the Filter section.
Click the Save button.
The view is now changed for all Project Web App users.
Creating a New View from a Copied View
You can create a view that uses an existing view as its starting point. To do this, follow these steps:
On the Server Settings page, under Look And Feel, click Manage Views.
On the Manage Views page, click somewhere to the right of the name of the view you want to copy. Don’t click the name of the view itself, or you’ll open the Edit View page.
In the toolbar above the table, click Copy View.
In the dialog box that appears, enter a name for the new view, and then click OK.
The copied view appears in the list.
Click the name of the copied view to open the Edit View page, and then make the changes you want.
Click the Save button.
Creating a View from Scratch
If you prefer, you can create a view from a completely clean slate. To do this, follow these steps:
On the Server Settings page, under Look And Feel, click Manage Views.
In the toolbar above the table, click New View.
In the Name And Type section, click the type of view you want from the View Type drop-down list. The view type determines the page on which your new view becomes available.
Work through the sections of the New View page to define the view.
Click the Save button.
The new view is added to the list and is also now available to apply to the page you specified through the Views drop-down list.
Deleting a View
You can delete a view you created. To do this, follow these steps:
On the Server Settings page, under Look And Feel, click Manage Views.
On the Manage Views page, click somewhere to the right of the name of the view you want to delete.
Don’t click the name of the view itself, or you’ll open the Edit View page.
In the toolbar above the table, click Delete View, and then click OK.
The view is deleted from the list.
Customizing the Quick Launch
To change the Quick Launch pane to better suit the needs and preferences of your organization, follow these steps:
On the Quick Launch, under Settings, click Server Settings.
On the Server Settings page, under Look And Feel, click Quick Launch.
In the Configure Quick Launch Behavior section, specify how menu items should be expanded or collapsed within their sections.
In the Set Menu Item Details section, you can do the following:
Edit the name or web address of a link appearing on the Quick Launch. Click the link name to open the Add Or Edit Link page. Enter a different name in the Custom Link Name field, or enter a different URL in the Custom Web Address field.
Hide a link on the Quick Launch. Click the link name to open the Add Or Edit Link page. In the Display Links In Quick Launch box, click No.
Change the order of links on the Quick Launch. Click anywhere to the right of the link whose position in the list you want to change. Don’t click the name of the item itself or you’ll open the Add Or Edit Link page. On the toolbar above the table, click the Move Up or Move Down button until the link appears in the position you want.
Create a link. On the toolbar, click New Link to open the Add Or Edit Link page. In the URL section, enter the name of the link as it should appear on the Quick Launch. Also enter the web address for the link. In the Heading section, select the location where the new link should appear on the Quick Launch.
Delete a link you created. Click anywhere to the right of the link to select it, and then click Delete Link.
When you have finished, click the Save button.
Sending Automated Alerts and Reminders to Users
You can have Project Server automatically send e-mail messages to team members and project managers to remind them about assignments and status reports that are due. To set up automated alerts and reminders, follow these steps:
On the Quick Launch, under Settings, click Server Settings.
Under Operational Policies, click Alerts And Reminders.
Complete the fields in the Notification E-Mail Settings section. (See Figure 23-29.)
Figure 23-29 Use the Alerts And Reminders page to send e-mail reminders to users about their assignments and status reports.
In the Schedule E-Mail Reminder Service section, specify the time of day that the reminder should be sent.
Click the Save button.
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