When P6 Professional is connected to a P6 Professional database, use the Projects window to set up the EPS (Enterprise Project Structure), add new projects, and manage multiple projects.
When P6 Professional is connected to a P6 EPPM database, use the Projects window to work with the EPS (Enterprise Project Structure), add new projects, and manage multiple projects.
You can divide the Projects window into top and bottom layout views, and you can customize these layouts and how projects are displayed.
To display the Projects window, do one of the following:
- Click
on the Project toolbar. - On the Enterprise menu, choose Projects.
Refer to the following sections of this topic for information and links to concepts and tasks about working with projects in the Projects window:
- Working in the Projects window
- Project concepts
- Project tasks
Working in the Projects window:
When working in the Projects window, you can:
- Use the Edit menu on the Menu bar, the Edit toolbar, or shortcut (right-click) menu to add, delete, cut, copy, and paste projects.
- Use the Layout Options bar, View menu on the Menu bar, and Top Layout toolbar to choose the layouts you want to display in the top layout. In the top layout, you can display the Project Table, a project chart view, or a project Gantt Chart.
- Use the Layout Options bar, the View menu on the Menu bar, or the Layout toolbar to customize layouts and how projects are displayed in the window. For example, you can customize columns of the Project Table; group, sort, and filter projects; specify a timescale; customize Gantt Chart bars; and more.
- Use Project Details or the Project Table to define general and detailed information for each activity. To show or hide Project Details, click
on the Bottom Layout toolbar. - Use a shortcut (right-click) menu to summarize projects, and create and work with reflection projects.
Notes
- When connected to a P6 Professional database: The following applies when you filter by a unit or duration field (associated with activity data) from the Projects window: If the Use the assigned calendar to specify the number of work hours for each time period checkbox is cleared (Admin Preferences, Time Periods tab), then filtering applies the unit or duration value based on the Admin Preferences hours per time period settings.
When connected to a P6 EPPM database: The following applies when you filter by a unit or duration field (associated with activity data) from the Projects window: If the Use the assigned calendar to specify the number of work hours for each time period checkbox is cleared (Application Settings in P6), then filtering applies the unit or duration value based on the Application Settings in P6 hours per time period settings.
If the checkbox is marked, then filtering applies the unit or duration values as follows: For open projects, duration or unit values use the project calendar. For closed projects, duration and unit values use the global default calendar.
- When connected to a P6 Professional database: For open projects, values in unit and duration fields are calculated using the project calendar if the Admin Preferences specify to use calendar hours per time period settings to calculate units and durations.
When connected to a P6 EPPM database: For open projects, values in unit and duration fields are calculated using the project calendar if the settings made from the P6 Application Settings specify to use calendar hours per time period settings to calculate units and durations.
- When connected to a P6 Professional database: For closed projects, values in unit and duration fields are calculated using the Admin Preference hours per time period settings if the project's calendar is not a global calendar, even if the Admin Preferences specify to use calendar hours per time period settings to calculate units and durations.
When connected to a P6 EPPM database: For closed projects, values in unit and duration fields are calculated using the Application Settings in P6 hours per time period settings if the project's calendar is not a global calendar, even if the Application Settings in P6 specify to use calendar hours per time period settings to calculate units and durations.
Tips
- After opening the Projects window, the window remains open until you close it; if you open or navigate to another window without closing the Projects window, click the Projects tab to return to the window at any time.
- The Projects window only displays projects contained in the currently selected portfolio.
- To expand or collapse individual elements of the EPS, right-click in the Projects window and choose Expand All or Collapse All.
- A padlock icon
on top of a folder icon indicates a user has the associated project opened in Exclusive access mode.
Project concepts
The following topics describe project-related concepts. These concepts apply to data you define for projects (for example, activities or WBS elements), data you assign to activities (for project codes), and data or features that impact project data (for example, scheduling projects). These concepts do not necessarily apply to the Projects window, but they do apply to projects in general.
- Activities
- Baselines
- Calendars
- Comparison Reporting Overview
- Defining project details
- Earned Value
- Establishing budgets
- Enterprise Project Structure overview
- Expenses
- Importing and exporting projects
- Issues
- Managing projects using the EPS
- Managing remote projects
- Portfolios
- Project codes and values
- Projects
- When connected to a P6 Professional database: Risks
- Rolling up data with the summary service
- Scheduling projects
- Store Period Performance
- Thresholds
- Updating progress
- Updating the schedule
- When connected to a P6 EPPM database: Using Reflection projects and Activity Owner features to collect and review activity status
- Using the data date
- Viewing summary project information
- Work Breakdown Structure
- Work Products and Documents
Project tasks
You can perform all of the following tasks in the Projects window. These tasks do not include project-related tasks that you can perform outside of the Projects window, such as assigning baselines to projects and scheduling projects.
- Add a project to the EPS hierarchy
- Assign funding sources
- Assign project codes and values
- Change a project ID
- Change a project name
- Change a project's status
- Change the data date
- Change the project leveling priority
- Close a project
- Compare budgets and variances
- Copy and paste a project
- Copy an EPS node or project
- Create a project
- Create a Reflection
- Define a what-if project
- Delete a project
- When connected to a P6 Professional database: Delete an EPS node or project
- Enter budget changes
- Enter monthly spending amounts
- Enter project dates
- Establish budgets
- Merging a Reflection with the Source project
- Open a project
- Printing a reflection difference report
- Set a project's summarization options
- Set activity ID options
- Set project resource options
- Set the default price for activities
- Set the default rate type for resource assignments
- Set the float time for identifying critical activities
- Set the project default activity calendar
- Set the project default activity duration type
- Set the project default activity percent complete type
- Set the project default activity type
- Set the project default cost account
- Specify a fiscal start month
- Summarize project data
- View budget and spending plan totals
- View the check-out status of a project