The Tasks Tab

The Tasks Tab

The Tasks tab shows all of the tasks in your schedule, listed in a multi-column format.

The columns show, task name; start date; end date; planned start date; planned end date; task type; whether any objects from the model are attached to the task; whether the task is linked to an external schedule; index of task in external schedule; and unique ID of task in external schedule.

An icon is displayed to the left of each task. These identify the current status of the task, with relation to attached items and links to external schedules:

	Task with no attached items
	Task with attached items
	Task with link synchronized to external schedule
	Task with link synchronized to external schedule, including Task Type
	Task with link to external schedule that is either broken or old (unsynchronized)

A context menu, accessed by right clicking in the Tasks tab, allows you to perform a number of functions to create, edit and check the tasks in your schedule:

• Add Task . Choose this to add a new task to the schedule. "New Task" will be created and by default assigned the present date which you can change by clicking on the drop down icon to the right of the Start and End dates, then choosing the date you require from the calendar that is displayed:

  Note

  The dates under the Start and End columns are Actual start and end dates. For Planned start and end dates, see >assigning planned start and end dates

  

  Use the left and right arrow buttons at the top of the calendar to move backwards and forwards a month, respectively, then click on the day you require.

  Should you wish to change the start or end time, select the task, then click once on the time to highlight the hour, minute or second field. Once highlighted, you can then edit its value. Use the left and right arrow keys to move to the next time unit field. The date can also be edited in this way.

  Should you also wish to add Planned start and end dates, simply click on the drop down icon to the right of the Planned Start and Planned End dates, then choose the date you require from the calendar.

  Note

  If you have both Actual and Planned dates entered, but would like to disable one or the other, then this can be done by unchecking the check box to the left of the date.

  From the Task Type drop down, select the type of task you wish this task to be. There are three pre-defined task types, Construct, Demolish and Temporary . The task type defines how the items attached to the task will be displayed during simulation; for example, a default construction sequence would start with all items hidden, as the task starts the attached items will be displayed in transparent green, then as the task ends the attached items will be displayed as they are in the normal model display (this may be with materials applied if previously set up in JetStream Presenter). Task Types themselves can be defined and new types created in the Configure tab.

  Each task has it's own Status identified by an icon, representing planned against actual relationships:

  	Actual start and end dates equal Planned start and end dates
  	Actual end date before Planned start date
  	Actual start date after Planned end date
  	Actual start date before Planned start date and Actual end date after Planned end date
  	Actual start date before Planned start date and Actual end date equals Planned end date
  	Actual start date equals Planned start date and Actual end date after Planned end date
  	Actual start date equals Planned start date and Actual end date before Planned end date
  	Actual start date after Planned start date and Actual end date equals Planned end date
  	Actual start date before Planned start date and Actual end date before Planned end date
  	Actual start date after Planned start date and Actual end date after Planned end date
  	Actual start and end dates only
  	Planned start and end dates only

  Note

  The relevant Status icon will be automatically displayed based on the tasks actual and planned start and end dates.

  The check box in the Active column enables you to turn a task on/off. If a task is turned off, then it will not appear in the simulation . For hierarchical tasks, turning off the parent task will automatically turn off all child tasks.

  JetStream TimeLiner supports a hierarchical task structure, as brought through from a link to your scheduling software, e.g. Microsoft Project (see The Links Tab for more information). The hierarchy can be expanded or contracted by clicking on the plus or minus sign, respectively, to the left of the task.

  Note

  It is possible to move between entries in a manually editable task using the keyboard. Simply select a task that has been set to be manually editable, and use Tab and Shift-Tab to move forwards and backwards between fields. The keyboard can then be used to edit and set each entry where necessary.

• Delete Task . Choose this to delete the selected task(s).

• Detach Selection . Choose this to detach the currently selected items in the scene, from the selected task(s). See the chapter called "Selecting Items" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on making a selection in the scene.

• Attach Selection . Choose this to attach the currently selected items in the scene, to the selected task(s). See the chapter called "Selecting Items" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on making a selection in the scene.

• Append Selection . Choose this to append the currently selected items in the scene, to the items already attached to the selected task(s). See the chapter called "Selecting Items" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on making a selection in the scene.

• Attach Search . Choose this to attach all items selected by the current Search , to the selected task(s). See the section called "Finding Items" in the chapter called "Finding" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on searching.

• Attach Named Search . Choose this to attach all items selected by the named search currently selected in the selection tree. For example, anything on the Sets or Properties tabs.

• Attach Selection Set . This option is used to attach all items contained within a Selection Set , to the selected task(s). When you choose this option a list of all Selection and Search Sets saved in the current scene is displayed. Choose the Selection or Search Set you wish to attach to the task(s). See the section called "Selection and Search Sets" in the chapter called "Selecting Items" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on Selection and Search Sets.

• Display Attached Items . Choose this to select in the scene and the selection tree, all items attached to the selected task(s). The items will be highlighted based on the selection options you have defined. See the section called "Selection Options" in the chapter called "Selecting Items" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on selection options.

• Relink . Choose this to relink the selected task with your scheduling software. You will only be able to relink the parent task, i.e. the task with the same name as the link. You will be prompted to choose the link to attach the task to, as you may have more than one link set up. See Select Link Dialog for more information on linking tasks.

  Note

  Whilst a task is linked to an external schedule, Actual or Planned start and end dates cannot be edited. Unlinking a task from it's schedule will enable you to edit the dates, however it will obviously no longer be synchronized with the schedule. For editing of dates, it is recommended to do this in the scheduling software and then Synchronize Tasks from Link

• Unlink . Choose this to unlink the selected task from an external schedule, enabling you to maually edit start and end dates. You will only be able to unlink the parent task, i.e. the task with the same name as the link.

• Check . This option enables you to check the validity of the schedule, by identifying items that have not been included in any task, are duplicated in multiple tasks or, are in overlapping tasks. Choosing Check will list the available checks, including:

  • Find uncontained items . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are not attached to a task, or are not contained within any other item attached to a task.

    Note

    A Contained item is the child of another item. For example, if you select a Group, Block or Cell which is comprised of various pieces of geometry, then that geometry is contained within the Group, Block or Cell. A Group, Block or Cell may therefore be attached to a task and although the child geometry is not directly attached ltself, it is contained within an item that is attached.

  • Find contained items . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are either attached to a task or contained within any other items attached to a task.

  • Find attached items . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are directly attached to a task.

  • Find items attached to multiple tasks . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are directly attached to more than one task.

  • Find items contained in multiple tasks . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are either attached to, or contained within any other item that is attached to more than one task.

  • Find items attached to overlapping tasks . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are attached to more than one task, where the task durations overlap.

  • Find items contained in overlapping tasks . Choose this to select any items in the scene that are either attached to, or contained within any other item that is attached to more than one task, where the task durations overlap.

• Tools . This option enables you to quickly create your own schedule, based on model layers, topmost items, or selection sets:

  • Add named task for each topmost Layer . Choose this to create a new task for each topmost layer in the current scene. Each task will be named the same as the topmost layers and each layer will be attached to the corresponding task. Start and End dates will be automatically created, starting from the current date and incrementing by one day for each subsequent end and start date. Planned Start and End dates will also be automatically created and these will be the same as the 'Actual' dates. Finally, the task type will be set to Construct.

  • Add named task for each topmost item . Choose this to create a new task for each topmost item in the current scene, which may be a layer, a group, block or cell, or geometry, depending on how the model is constructed. Each task will be named the same as the topmost item and each item will be attached to the corresponding task. Start and End dates will be automatically created, starting from the current date and incrementing by one day for each subsequent end and start date. Planned Start and End dates will also be automatically created and these will be the same as the 'Actual' dates. Finally, the task type will be set to Construct.

  • Add named task for each selection set . Choose this to create a new task for each selection set in the current scene. Each task will be named the same as the selection set and each selection set will be attached to the corresponding task. Start and End dates will be automatically created, starting from the current date and incrementing by one day for each subsequent end and start date. Planned Start and End dates will also be automatically created and these will be the same as the 'Actual' dates. Finally, the task type will be set to Construct.

• Add Comment . Choose this to add a comment to the task. See the section called "Commenting" in the chapter called "Reviewing" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on adding comments.

• Rename . Choose this to rename the task. When the text field becomes active, enter the new name then press Enter to save it.

TimeLiner tasks can be sorted on a per-column basis. This can be done in two ways.

Firstly columns can be sorted by left-clicking on the column headers. Clicking multiple times will alternate the sort between ascending and descending, treating a-z, 0-9, Monday-Friday etc. as ascending.

Tasks can also be sorted by right-clicking on the column heading and clicking Sort

Columns can then be sorted by selecting Ascending or Descending

Maintain Hierarchy , that is, keeping contained tasks inside their containers, is on by default, and shows in this menu with a tick next to it. When sorting with Maintain Hierarchy selected, tasks are sorted first by container, then by container contents.

If it is not required to maintain the hierarchy in the sort, then Maintain Hierarchy can be un-ticked. Sorting without the hierarchy maintained will treat the tasks and containers as un-connected items and sort everything together.

All columns can be sorted in this manner. If Sorting is selected on the Status column, activities will be sorted from early through to late start for ascending, and vice-versa for descending.

Select Link Dialog

Select Link Dialog

You can Relink a task to an external schedule, by right-clicking on the Task and selecting Relink. When doing this, you will be prompted to select which Link to use, as your project may be linked to multiple schedules.

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:

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.

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.

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

"C:\'Program Files\'P3\'P3.exe /U:Bob"

The Configure Tab

The Configure Tab

The configure tab allows you to define Task Types Appearance Definitions and an Overall Start Appearance for the simulation.

Each Task has a >Task Type associated with it, which specifies how the >items attached to the task are treated (and displayed) at the start and end of the task during simulation. The available options are:

• None . Choose this if you wish for nothing to happen to the items attached to the task.

• Hide . Choose this if you wish the items attached to the task to be hidden.

• Model Appearance . Choose this if you wish the items attached to the task to be displayed as they are defined in the model. This may be the original CAD colors or, if you have applied color and transparency overrides in Roamer or materials in Presenter, then these will be displayed.

• Appearance Definitions . Choose from the list of Appearance Definitions , including ten predefined appearances and any custom appearances you have added. See >Appearance Definitions for more information.

TimeLiner comes with three predefined Task Types to help get you started. These are: Demolish (highlight the object in red at the start of the task and hide at the end); Temporary (highlight the object in yellow at the start of the task and hide at the end); Construct (highlight object in green at the start of the task and reset to Model Appearance at the end). You are free to add you own task types or even delete the predefined ones, as you wish.

• Construct . For tasks where the attached items are to be constructed. The default appearance is for items to be highlighted in green (90% transparent) at the start of the task and displayed in the > Model Appearance at the end of the task.

• Demolish . For tasks where the attached items are to be demolished. The default appearance is for items to be highlighted in red (90% transparent) at the start of the task and hidden at the end of the task.

• Temporary . For tasks where the attached items are only temporary. The default appearance is for items to be highlighted in yellow(90% transparent) at the start of the task and hidden at the end of the task.

Managing task types

New Task Types can be added and any may be deleted or renamed. These functions are available on the context menu (accessed by right clicking in the Task Types list).

1. Choose Add to create a new Task Type. This will be added to the bottom of the list and will be highlighted, enabling you to enter a new name for it.

   Click on the drop down icons to the right of each Appearance field and choose a definition from the list.

   Note

   Early and Late appearances can be defined here for the purpose of displaying Planned against Actual simulations.

   Simulation Start Appearance allows a unique start appearance to be set on a particular task type. Some tasks need to be visible at the start of a construction project to allow the simulation of the demolition of existing structures, prior to construction of new elements. Any tasks that don't have this set will default to the start appearance set in Default Simulation Start Appearance

2. Choose Delete to delete the selected Task Type.

3. Choose Rename to rename the selected Task Type. Once the Task Type is highlighted, enter the new name, then press Enter to save it.

Defining appearance definitions

TimeLiner comes with a set of ten predefined Appearance Definitions that you can use when defining task types. Appearances define a level of transparency and a color. You can add your own Apperance Definitions, delete and rename them. These functions are available on the context menu (accessed by right clicking in the Appearance Definitions list):

1. Choose Add to add a new Appearance Definition. This will be added to the bottom of the list and will be highlighted, enabling you to enter a new name for it.

   In the Transparency % field, use the Up and Down controls to set the transparency level, between 0% and 100% (where 0% is opaque and 100% is fully transparent).

   In the Color field, click on the color to open the color selector. From here, either select one of the basic colors available, or click Define Custom Colors to define your own color choice.

2. Choose Delete to delete the selected Appearance Definition.

3. Choose Rename to rename the selected Appearance Definition. Once the Appearance Definition is highlighted, enter the new name, then press Enter to save it.

Default Simulation Start Appearance

The Configure tab also specifies a default appearance to apply to all objects in the model at the start of the simulation. The default is Hide , which is ideal for simulating most construction sequences.

1. From the Default Simulation Start Appearance drop down, choose from the list of >Appearance Definitions that which you wish to start your simulations with.

The Rules Tab

The Rules Tab

The Rules tab lists all currently available rules. These can be used to map Tasks to items in the model. Each of the default rules can be edited and new rules may be added as necessary:

Predefined rules

• Items By Task Name . Choose this rule to attach each Item in the model to each Task with the same name in the specified column. The default is to use the Task Name column. See >Editing TimeLiner rules for information on editing this rule.

• Selection Sets By Task Name . Choose this rule to attach each Selection Set in the model to each Task with the same name in the specified column. The default is to use the Task Name column. See >Editing TimeLiner rules for information on editing this rule.

• Layers By Task Name . Choose this rule to attach each Layer in the model to each Task with the same name in the specified column. The default is to use the Task Name column. See >Editing TimeLiner rules for information on editing this rule.

• Attach Items to Task by Category/Property . Choose this rule to attach each Item in the model with the defined property, to each Task with the same name in the specified column. The default is to use the Task Name column, however you will also need to define the ' and '' values. See >Editing TimeLiner rules for information on editing this rule.

Editing TimeLiner rules

1. To edit an existing rule, click the Edit button and the Rules Editor will be displayed for the selected rule. See >Adding custom TimeLiner rules for information on the available options.

Adding custom TimeLiner rules

1. From the Rules tab of the TimeLiner control bar, click the New button.

   The Rules Editor dialog is displayed:

   

2. Enter a new name for your rule in the Rule name box.

   Note

   If you choose not to enter a name, upon selecting a rule template the name of that template will be used.

3. From the Rule templates list, choose a template from which your rule will be based upon.

   Note

   The Attach Items to Tasks template is that used for the first three pre-defined TimeLiner rules, (Items, Selection Sets and Layers By Task Name).

   The Attach Items to Tasks by Category/Property template enables you to specify a property within the model scene. If a task has the same name as the specified property value in the model, then all items having that property will be attached to that task when you check the rule Attach Items to Tasks by Category/Property , and click Apply Rules

4. In the Rule description box, click on each of the underlined values to define your custom rule. The customizable values available with the built in templates are:

   • Column Name . Choose which column in the Tasks tab you wish to compare Item names to. The default is the Task Name , though you may also choose one of the ten User columns, identified in the Field Selector

   • Items . Choose what you would like the value in the Column Name to be compared to in the model scene. The default is Item name, though you may also choose either Selection Sets or Layers

   • Matching . Use case sensitivity and therefore only match names that are exactly the same. You may also choose Ignoring to ignore case sensitivity.

   • Category/Property Name . Use the name of the category or property as it is displayed in the interface (recommended). You can also choose Internal Name which is that accessed via the API (for advanced use only).

   • '' . Choose from the available list, which category the property you wish to define is in. Only the categories that are contained in the scene are available in the drop down.

   • '' . Choose from the available list, which property you wish to define. Again, only the properties in the scene within the chosen category will be available.

5. Click OK to add the new TimeLiner rule, or Cancel to return to JetStream.

Applying TimeLiner rules

1. Check the rules you want to use and press Apply Rules to apply them. The rules will be applied in order and will attach items to any Tasks without attached items.

2. If Override current selections is checked, then when the rules are applied they will replace any existing attached items.

Deleting TimeLiner rules

1. To delete an existing rule, click Delete and the selected rule will be removed.

The Simulate Tab

The Simulate Tab

The simulate tab allows you to simulate your schedule. The tab includes standard animation style controls that enable you to set the simulation to any date within your schedule. Objects attached to each Task are hidden or highlighted as specified by the Task Type appearance definitions on the Configure tab.

Playing back a simulation

1. You can use the slide bar to quickly move forwards and backwards through the simulation. Full left is at the beginning and full right is at the end. The date box below the playback controls shows the point in time through the simulation. You can click on the drop down icon (to the right of the date) to display a calendar, from which you can select a date to 'jump' to.

2. Use the playback controls to step and play forwards and backwards through the animation:

   • Rewind will rewind the simulation back to the beginning.

   • Step Back will step back a single step size (see >Setting the step size for more information).

   • Reverse Play will play the simulation backwards.

   • Pause will pause the simulation at the time you press it at. You can then look around and interrogate the model, or step forwards and backwards through the simulation. To continue playing from where you paused, just press Play again.

   • Stop will stop the simulation playing and rewind back to the beginning.

   • Play will play the simulation from the currently selected time.

   • Step Forwards will step forwards a single step size (see >Setting the step size for more information).

   • Forward will fast forward the simulation to the end.

The simulate tab also shows all Active Tasks at the current simulation time and how close to completion they are (Progress , displayed as a percentage). The Status of each active tasks is also displayed as an icon. For simulations where Planned and Actual dates are available, the status provides a visual representation as to whether there is any variance between the planned and actual dates. See >TimeLiner task status for a definition of each status icon.

The Comments control bar can be used to view any comments attached to an active task (see the section called "Commenting" in the chapter called "Reviewing" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information on commenting).

While the simulate tab is in use, by default the current simulation date is overlayed on the main window. The information displayed can be customized using the Overlay Text Dialog accessed using the Settings button.

You can use a pre-recorded animation (created in JetStream Roamer) to dynamically change the viewpoint during simulation. See the Simulation Settings section for more information.

Simulation Settings

Simulation Settings

The Settings button provides access to the Simulation Settings dialog.

It is possible to override the Start and End dates that the simulation runs between. Checking the Override Start / End dates check box un-greys the date boxes and enables the setting of start and end dates to suit, allowing a small sub-section of the overall project to be simulated. The dates will be shown on the TimeLiner Simulate tab. These dates will also be used when exporting animations.

You can define the Interval Size to use when stepping through the simulation using the playback controls. The interval size can be set either as a percentage of the overall simulation duration or to an absolute number of days or weeks, etc.

Use the drop down to select the interval unit, then use the Up and Down arrow buttons to increase or decrease the interval size.

It is also possible to highlight all the tasks that are being worked on during the interval. By checking the Show all tasks in interval check box, and for example setting the Interval Size to 5 Days, all tasks being worked on during those 5 days will be set to their Start Appearance in the main view, including those that begin and end within the bounds of the interval. The Simulation slider will show this by drawing a blue line under the slider. If un-checked, tasks that begin and end within the bounds of the interval will not be highlighted in this manner, and will need to overlap with the current date in order to be highlighted in the main view.

You can define the overall Playback Duration for the complete simulation (the time needed to play it through from start to finish). Use the Up and Down arrow buttons to increase or decrease the duration (in seconds). You may also enter a duration directly into this field.

You can define whether the current simulation date should be overlayed on the main window, and if so whether it should appear at the top or bottom of the screen. From the drop down, choose from None (to display no overlay text), Top (to display the text at the top of the window), or Bottom (to display the text at the bottom of the window).

You can Edit the information displayed in the overlay text using the Overlay Text dialog. This dialog also makes it possible to alter the Font Type Style and Size by clicking on the contained Font button.

You can define whether the current simulation should interact with the current animation. If so, during the TimeLiner sequence playback, JetStream will also play the current animation, i.e. providing camera interaction throughout the simulation. You can pre-record a suitable animation for use with the simulation, using the normal JetStream Roamer Animation tools (see the section called "Creating Animations" in the chapter called "Animating" in the JetStream Roamer book). This option also affects the Animation Export

TimeLiner supports Planned and Actual dates and provides five simulation Views . Each view will playback the schedule depicting Planned and Actual relationships:

• Actual . Choose this view to simulate the Actual schedule only (i.e. only use the Actual start and Actual end dates).

• Actual (Planned Differences) . Choose this view to simulate the Actual schedule against the Planned schedule. This view will only highlight the items attached to the task over the Actual date range (i.e. between Actual Start and Actual End. See diagram below for graphical representation). For time periods where the Actual dates are within the Planned dates (on schedule), the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Start Appearance. For time periods where the Actual dates are early, or late in comparison to the Planned dates (there is a variance), then the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Early or Late Appearance, respectively.

  
  

• Planned . Choose this view to simulate the Planned schedule only (i.e. only use the Planned start and Planned end dates).

• Planned (Actual Differences) . Choose this view to simulate the Actual schedule against the Planned schedule. This view will only highlight the items attached to the task over the Planned date range (i.e. between Planned Start and Planned End. See diagram below for graphical representation). For time periods where the Actual dates are within the Planned dates (on schedule), the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Start Appearance. For time periods where the Actual dates are early, or late in comparison to the Planned dates (there is a variance), then the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Early or Late Appearance, respectively.

  
  

• Actual against Planned . Choose this view to simulate the Actual schedule against the Planned schedule. This will highlight the items attached to the task over the entire Planned and Actual date range (i.e. between the earliest of Actual and Planned start dates and the latest of Actual and Planned End dates. See diagrams below for graphical representation). For time periods where the Actual dates are within the Planned dates (on schedule), the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Start Appearance. For time periods where the Actual dates are early, or late in comparison to the Planned dates (there is a variance), then the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Early or Late Appearance, respectively.

  
  

Overlay Text Dialog

Overlay Text Dialog

You have the option to define the text overlayed on the main window during simulation, by clicking Edit in the Simulation Settings dialog.

By default the date and time are displayed using the format specified in Control Panel, Regional Settings . You can specify the exact format to use by entering text into the text box. Most text will appear as entered, except that words prefixed with a or character act as keywords and are replaced with various values. The Date/Time and Extras buttons can be used to select and insert all possible keywords. The Colors button can be used to define the color of the Overlay Text.

The Font button brings up the standard Microsoft Windows font picker dialog box. Once the correct font, font style and point size have been selected, press Okay to return to the Overlay Text dialog box. The current font selection is shown next to the Font button, and during the TimeLiner simulation, all text on the overlay will be shown using this font.

Exporting a TimeLiner simulation as an AVI

Exporting a TimeLiner simulation as an AVI

You can export a TimeLiner simulation as an AVI or as a sequence of still images, using the File, Export, Animation dialog. See the section called "Exporting an animation" in the chapter called "File Management" in the JetStream Roamer book for more information.

TimeLiner Options

TimeLiner Options

This dialog is used to control the general TimeLiner options.

Setting TimeLiner options

1. Go to Tools, Global Options, TimeLiner

   The TimeLiner dialog is displayed

2. Check the Auto select attached items check box if you want TimeLiner to select any attached items as each Task is selected.

3. Check the Display synchronization errors check box if you want TimeLiner to inform you of errors when synchronizing Tasks from external Links.

4. Click OK to set the options or Cancel to exit the dialog without setting them.