Links

Links

The Links tab allows you to add, view and edit all of the Standard Links to external schedules in your project. Task hierarchies can then be added to the Tasks tab and synchronized from the link. The Field Selector Dialog determines various options used when importing data from a link.

The Links Tab

The Links Tab

The Links tab shows all of the links to external schedules in your project, listed in a multi-column format.

The columns show link name, source (e.g. Microsoft Project), project (e.g. my_schedule.mpp , and link status. Any further columns (there maybe none) identify the fields from the external schedule which specify the task type, unique id, start date and end date for each linked task.

The possible values for Status are:

Synchronized

All linked tasks have the same values as the external schedule.

Old

Linked tasks have values that are out of date compared to the external schedule. >Synchronize Tasks from Link to update the tasks.

Status Not Available

Its not possible to determine whether tasks are Synchronized or Old. This value only occurs for schedule sources that don't provide any way of determining when a schedule was last updated.

Broken

The external schedule can not be accessed. The file may have been moved or deleted, or required software may be missing or not functioning correctly. TimeLiner will still function using the task values determined when the link was last synchronized.

All Link operations are performed via the context menu (accessed by right clicking in the Links tab). This allows you to add, delete and edit links; rebuild the task hierarchy from the project file into TimeLiner; synchronize existing tasks in TimeLiner with updated data in the project file.

  • Add Link . Choose this to create a new link to an external project file. Selecting this option will display a further menu, listing all project sources that may be connected to on the current machine (See Supported Scheduling Software for more information on which sources are available). Choose the source to which you wish to link to. A standard Open file dialog will be displayed. Browse to and Open the project file you wish to link to. The Field Selector dialog will then be displayed, from which you can identify additional data to be brought through from the project file.

  • Delete Link . Choose this to delete the currently selected link.

    Note

    Deleting the link to an external project file will not delete any tasks that have previously been rebuilt in the TimeLiner Tasks tab.

  • Rebuild Taks Hierarchy from Link . Choose this to read all of the tasks and associated data (as defined in the Field Selector dialog) from the selected project file and add these to the Tasks tab.

    Choose this option also to synchronize with the selected project file when new tasks have been added to the project file. This will rebuild the task hierarchy in TimeLiner, containing all of the latest tasks and data.

  • Synchronize Tasks from Link . Choose this to update all existing tasks in the Tasks tab, with the latest associated data from the selected project file (e.g. Start and End dates).

  • Rebuild Task Hierarchy from All Links . Choose this to read all of the tasks and associated data (as defined in the Field Selector dialog) from all project files listed in the Links tab and add these to the Tasks tab.

    Choose this option also to synchronize with all project files when new tasks have been added to the project files. This will rebuild the task hierarchy in TimeLiner, containing all of the latest tasks and data.

  • Edit Link . Choose this option to edit the selected link. This will display the Field Selector dialog, from which you can define new fields or re-define existing ones.

  • Rename . Choose this to rename the link to something more appropriate. When the text field becomes highlighted, enter the new name, then press Enter to save it.

Note

Tasks in the external schedule will be ignored if they do not include both start and end dates, with the start date being less than or equal to the end date.

JetStream TimeLiner supports multiple sources of external schedules using a COM interface. Anyone can develop support for a new schedule source - the type library that defines the interface is included with TimeLiner.

Field Selector Dialog

Field Selector Dialog

The Field Selector dialog determines various options used when importing data from a Link. The options available may be different for each type of link source.

Options

From the drop down list to the right of each field, choose the corresponding field from your project source.

Task Type import field

The field used to automatically assign >Task Types to each imported Task.

Unique ID import field

The field used to uniquely identify each imported Task. This allows synchronization to work even if major changes are made to the external schedule in the scheduling software. The default behaviour is to use the most appropriate field for each source. Some sources do not have a well defined unique id, in which case you may need to choose a field manually.

Start Date import field

Some project sources support multiple start dates for different purposes. The default behaviour is to use the most appropriate available date for each source. This field may be used to define an Actual Start date, should it be different to that selected by default.

End Date import field

Some project sources support multiple end dates for different purposes. The default behaviour is to use the most appropriate available date for each source. This field may be used to specifically define an Actual End date, should it be different to that selected by default.

Planned Start

The field used to identify a planned start date. This allows planned against actual comparisons to be made and simulated.

Planned End

The field used to identify a planned end date. This allows planned against actual comparisons to be made and simulated.

User 1 to 10

Ten user fields available to link any custom data fields from the project source.

Standard Links

Standard Links

JetStream TimeLiner supports a variety of scheduling software. Note that some of these may only function if the relevant scheduling software is installed.

Supported Scheduling Software

Microsoft Project 2000

Microsoft Project 2002

Microsoft Project MPX

Primavera Project Planner

Primavera Project Management 4 and 5

Asta Power Project

Microsoft Project 2000

Microsoft Project 2000

This Link requires Microsoft Project 2000 to be installed.

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project

This Link requires Microsoft Project 2002 to be installed.

Microsoft Project MPX

Microsoft Project MPX

TimeLiner can read Microsoft Project.mpx files directly, without needing a copy of Microsoft Project (or any other scheduling software) installed. Primavera SureTrakPrimavera Project Planner and Asta Power Project can all export .mpx files.

Note

Primavera SureTrak exports its unique id in the text10 field of the .mpx file, rather than the unique id field. When linking to an .mpx file exported from SureTrak be sure to specify the text10 field as the unique id field in the Field Selector Dialog

Primavera Project Planner

Primavera Project Planner

This Link requires Primavera Project Planner to be installed. The Link status will be displayed as "Status not available".

Note

TimeLiner will ask for a username and password to link to Primavera Project Planner. If these are unknown, there is a possibility that these can be retrieved from the P3 shortcut.

To locate this information, right-click on the shortcut used to run P3, and select Properties . The properties dialog will show the target command line which will look something like 

"C:\'Program Files\'P3\'P3.exe /U:Bob"
Here, the username is set as "Bob", and for the purposes of the TimeLiner dialog the password will be the same.

Primavera Project Management 4 and 5

Primavera Project Management 4 and 5

This Link requires a number of elements to be installed alongside JetStream:

  • Primavera Project Manager 4 and 5 product

  • ActiveX Data Objects 2.1

  • Primavera Software Development Kit (available on the Primavera CDs)

PPM 4 and 5 are database driven, and as such require the Software Development Kit to be installed in order to set up the ODBC data source link. This can be installed and setup from the Project Management CD by taking the following steps:

  1. Insert Project Management CD, enter the Product Key and accept the License Agreement.

  2. Make sure "Primavera Applications or Components" is selected and click "Next".

  3. Select "Other Components" and click "Next".

  4. Select "Software Development Kit" and click "Next".

  5. Continue through clicking "Next" until the install starts.

  6. Once installation is complete, click "OK" to start the Database Configuration Wizard.

  7. Adjust settings in the Software Development Kit Setup dialog where appropriate, and click "OK".

  8. Click "Yes" for a log file, followed by "Finish" to complete.

On connecting to PPM 4 and 5 within TimeLiner, a logon dialog allows the source link to be selected (a warning occurs if none are present). The username and password are not stored in the NavisWorks file, and will be prompted for each time.

Once connected, a dialog box allows the user to select which project to open. A checkbox determines if all sub-projects are opened.

By default, TimeLiner brings through Start, End, Planned Start, and Planned End as "Start", "Finish", "BL Start" and "BL Finish" respectively.

Other Primavera dates can be selected through the generic TimeLiner 'Field Selector' Dialog, including 'Project Activity Codes', 'Global Activity Codes', and 'User Defined Fields'.

The TimeLiner hierarchy supports the WBS structure for Project / Activity hierarchy.

Note

Due to the nature of the Primavera Project Manager 4 and 5 products using the SDK for data access, linking with TimeLiner can take a longer period of time than other formats.

Asta Power Project

Asta Power Project

This Link requires Asta Power Project to be installed.