WHAT’S NEW VERSION 8.3

Multiple colour bar filterSave Baseline with CPAPrompt to AutosaveRisk Estimate included in Task DurationsBackward compatability to 7.1 version (and 7.2/7.3) & all version 8 releases.Min Float column now shows float for multiple bars on a rowCPA colours bars in solid red option

Improvements include….

Correction to Cost ReportingResource Assignments default changed to Fixed Float is now 0% on all completed tasksExport to Excel/Word/PowerPoint – browse to user location

New Features

Multiple colour bar filter

In all previous versions – Bar colours could only be filtered by one single colour. Now multiple Bar colours can be selected for filtering ..

VIEW menu | DATA | FILTER | BAR SYMBOL

To select more than one colour - hold <Control> key down and click on the bars required.

An unlimited number of colours can be chosen.

Save Baseline with CPA

In all previous versions – you can save the Baseline but Project Commander does not show which are critical. Only critical items could be displayed on the current plan.

Now you can save which bars are critical in any saved Baseline. The Critical Baselines are highlighted in red.

To save a Baseline PROJECT menu | BASELINES | SAVE ….. and click on one of the Baseline option numbers.

To save a Baseline with Critical Path …. Tick SAVE with CPA

Important: You must run CPA before you save a Baseline with CPA. If you fail to do this, then Project Commander will warn you to run CPA. To continue, you must select YES.

Important: You must run CPA by clicking on OK….

This will return you back to the SAVE BASELINE window …

Just the critical bars are show in red …

If subsequent Baselines with CPA are saved, the CPA is highlighted on all Baselines displayed …..

Prompt to Autosave

In all versions – The Autosave is an option which is switched off as a default.

Now, the window below will appear after one minute when you edit a chart in a new session. If you click AUTOSAVE, this file will start to autosave to the file you have saved it to and will continue to overwrite it.

Note: If the file has not been saved, the autosave will save to a file called Autosave.pc (in the installed folder) until you do a FILE menu | SAVE AS.

If you close the current file and open a new or existing file, the above window will appear again.

To prevent the window appearing again in this session – you can click on the DON’T SHOW option.

Important: The Autosave can be switched on before the above window appears FILE menu | OPTIONS | PREFERENCES | General tab.

The Autosave is switched off when you re-open the file.

If the SET DEFAULT button is clicked when the AUTO SAVE option is ticked, then future files will be automatically auto saved and you will not see the Autosave message.

Optionally, you can click on SHOW AUTOSAVING MESSAGE and this will cause an automatic message to appear at the specified time intervals.

The number of minutes can be changed to a minimum of 1 minute up to 1440 minutes.

Risk Estimate included in Task Durations

Project Commander now deals with recording Risk durations in 2 ways..1. Show a value of Risk as part of the Duration of a bar2. Show a value of Risk as extra to the Duration of a bar

New feature

In the Risk View (VIEW | VIEW | VIEWS | RISK) , it displays a Risk Estimate column.

You can enter a duration into the Risk Estimate column as a memo to say how much of the total duration is regarded as risk.

You will see above the Bar does not change after you input the Risk.

Old Feature

In the Risk it used to display a Risk Allowance and Risk Duration column. The columns are still present.. so you can insert it if needed…

If you enter a duration into the Risk Allowance – it adds an extra bar on the ends that represents the risk and updates the Risk Duration

However, any links will be drawn to the Duration value not the Risk Duration.

Note : In the first option, the links would be drawn from the end of the bar as usual and so take into account the Risk in scheduling any bars linked.

Backward compatability

You can now save back to Version 7.1. That means any file saved as a 7.1 file will open in 7.1 – 7.3 and all version 8 releases.

Float column now shows float for multiple bars on a row

Previously there was a column called Min Float that only showed the lesser of the Float values – if there was more than one bar on a line.

The Min Float column has now been deleted and replaced by a column called Float (VIEW | VIEW | VIEWS | MORE VIEWS | FLOAT).

Now Float is shown on all bars on a line …

The Float for each bar is separated by a series of commas.

Note: Float is only calculated when you run CPA (Critical Path Analysis calculation)

CPA colours bars in solid red option

By default the Critical Path is displayed as a red frame around the bars. If you now request CPA (BARCHART | CPA) – there is a box called COLOUR CRITICAL BARS at the bottom of the window.

When you click on OK – the following message appears. This message tells you how to put the CPA back to the default.

I mprovements

Correction to Cost Reporting

There was a bug in the Cost reporting that has been corrected.

Resource Assignments default changed to Fixed

The default for Resource Assignments was previously RESOURCE DRIVEN. The new default of FIXED DURATION – which means that no matter how you assign tasks (more than 1 or less than 100%) – the Duration will remain the same and not be recalculated by the system.

Float is now 0% on all completed tasks

Previously the FLOAT column showed a value when the bars were 100% complete on non critical bars. That has now been corrected below to show 0d (zero) Float when fully completed.

Export to Excel/Word/PowerPoint – browse to user location

Previously, when on exporting to Microsoft Office where Windows cannot find the application – the file was written to the user’s default Appdata profile folder. Now the user is prompted to save the export into any selected folder.