Getting Started with Project

Core Training for Microsoft Office Project 2003

Starting Project Standard

1	To start Project Standard 2003, on the Windows taskbar, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Project 2003.
2	To begin by searching Microsoft Office Online for help, on the menu bar, click in the Type a question for help text box.
3	To search for help about templates, for the purposes of this exercise, in the Type a question for help text box, press SPACEBAR, wait as the text is typed for you, and then press ENTER.
4	To view a file in the online Microsoft Project Help window, in the Search Results pane, click Available templates.
5	To close the Microsoft Project Help window and to open the offline help files, in the Microsoft Project Help window, click the Close button.
6	To open the offline Microsoft Project Help window, at the bottom of the Search Results pane, click the Search arrow, click Offline Help, and then click the Start Searching button (green arrow).
7	To turn off the Microsoft Office Online service, click the Help menu, and then click Microsoft Project Help.
8	To open Online Content Settings in the Project Help pane, under See also, click Online Content Settings.
9	To continue, in the Service Options dialog box, clear the Show Microsoft Office Online featured links check box and the Search online content when connected check box.
10	To accept these changes and close the Service Options dialog box, click OK.
11	To open a new project, click the File menu, and then click New.
12	To open a Project template, in the New Project pane, click On my computer.
13	To view the available templates, in the Templates dialog box, click the Project Templates tab.
14	To select a new template, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar, click Residential Construction, and then click OK.
15	To close the Residential Construction project, click the Close button, and in the message box that asks if you want to save your changes, click No.

Exploring Views and Reports

1	To open a new blank project in Microsoft Project, click File on the menu bar, and then click New.
2	To continue, in the New Project pane, click Blank Project.
3	To get a better view of the Gantt Chart, on the Project Guide toolbar, click the indicated Show/Hide Project Guide button.
4	To return to the default Gantt Chart view, click again on the Show/Hide Project Guide button.
5	To open a project file from a template and view the graphical representation of each task in the Gantt Chart view, click File on the menu bar, and then click New.
6	To continue, in the New Project pane, click On my computer.
7	To select the New Business template, in the Templates dialog box, note that the Project Templates tab is clicked, click below the scroll box on the scroll bar, click New Business, and then click OK.
8	To switch to another view, click View on the menu bar, and then click Resource Sheet.
9	The Resource Sheet view displays activities specific to resources and details about those resources. To view resource usage, click View on the menu bar, and then click Resource Usage.
10	The Resource Usage view groups the tasks to which each resource is assigned. To switch to the Task Usage view, click View on the menu bar, and then click Task Usage.
11	To view the scheduled work values for a task, in the Task Name field, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar, and then click Evaluate Business Approach.
12	To continue, on the Standard toolbar, click the indicated Go To Selected Task button.
13	The scheduled work values, for example 8h, for the task are displayed. To switch to a simpler view, click View on the menu bar, and then click Calendar.
14	The Calendar view shows a simple month-at-a-glance view without any chart elements. To switch to the Network Diagram view, click View on the menu bar, and then click Network Diagram.
15	Each box or node in this view displays details about a task, and lines between boxes indicate task relationships. To look at a combination view, on the menu bar, click View, and then click More Views.
16	To continue, in the More Views dialog box, click below the scroll box on the scroll bar until Task Entry appears, click Task Entry, and then click Apply.
17	To close the Project Guide and see the full width of this view, click the Show/Hide Project Guide button on the Project Guide toolbar.
18	To see the task details in the Task Form portion of this view, in the Task Name field, in the Gantt Chart portion of the view, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar, and click Define new entity requirements.
19	To remove the split and revert to the normal Gantt Chart view, on the menu bar, click Window, and then click Remove Split.
20	To continue, click View on the menu bar, and then click Resource Usage.
21	To view a report in the Print Preview window, on the menu bar, click View, and then click Reports.
22	To continue, in the Reports dialog box, click Custom, and then click the Select button.
23	To select a custom report, in the Custom Reports dialog box, drag the scroll box down until Task is displayed, select Task, and then click Preview.
24	To zoom in on a portion of the report, click the indicated Zoom button on the Print Preview toolbar.
25	To close the print preview, on the Print Preview toolbar, click Close.
26	To close the Custom Reports dialog box, in the Custom Reports dialog box, click Close.
27	To close the Reports dialog box, in the Reports dialog box, click Close.
28	To close the New Business project without saving, click the Close button, and in the message that asks if you want to save changes, click No.
29	To close the Blank Project without saving, click the Close button, and in the message that asks if you want to save changes, click No.

Creating a New Project Plan

1	To create a new project plan using the Project Guide, on the menu bar, click File, and then click New.
2	To open a blank project, in the New Project pane, click Blank Project.
3	To set a start date to your project, in the Tasks pane, click Set a date to schedule from.
4	To set a date, in the Set a date to schedule from pane, click the Date drop-down arrow, as indicated.
5	To change the project start date (to January 3, 2005), for the purposes of this exercise, click the right arrow until the January, 2005 calendar displays, and then in this calendar, click 3.
6	To confirm the project date and save the project, in the Set a date to schedule from pane, click Done, and then, on the Standard toolbar, click Save.
7	To save the project in a new folder in My Documents, in the Save As dialog box, note that My Documents appears in the Save in box, and then click on the Create New Folder button.
8	To create a new folder, in the New Folder dialog box, for the purposes of this exercise, press SPACEBAR, wait as the text is typed for you, and then press OK.
9	To name the project file, press SPACEBAR and wait as the text is typed for you in the File name box. Note that Project is indicated in the Save as type box, and then click Save.
10	To automatically save the active project plan at predefined intervals, on the menu bar, click Tools, and then click Options.
11	To specify a time interval for Project to automatically save the file, in the Options dialog box, click the Save tab.
12	To complete the auto save setting, select the Save every check box under Auto Save and in the minutes box, click the Down arrow until you reach 1, and then, to close the Options dialog box, click OK.
13	To set nonworking days, in the Tasks pane, click Define general working times.
14	To continue, at the bottom of the Project Working Times pane, click the Save and go to Step 2 link.
15	To proceed to step 3, in the Project Working Times pane, note that the I'll use the hours shown in the preview on the right option is selected, and then click Save and go to Step 3.
16	To set nonworking days for the project calendar, click the Change Working Time link.
17	To select a project month in the calendar, in the Change Working Time dialog box, in the Select Date(s) label, click below the scroll box on the scroll bar until January 2005 displays.
18	To specify January 28, 2005 as a nonworking day, select 28 in the January 2005 calendar, and in the Set selected date(s) to area, click the Nonworking time option.
19	To close the Change Working Time dialog box, click OK.
20	To save and go to Step 4, in the Project Working Times pane, click the Save and go to Step 4 link.
21	To accept the default time units and go to Step 5, in the Project Working Times pane, note the default time units, and then click the Save and go to Step 5 link.
22	To complete the Project Working Times activity, click Save and Finish.
23	To enter project properties that might help you later in a file search, on the menu bar, click File, and then click Properties.
24	To enter subject properties, in the Wingtip Toys Commercial 1.mpp Properties dialog box, click in the Subject box, press SPACEBAR, and wait as the text is typed for you.
25	To enter the name of the author, click in the Author text box, press SPACEBAR, and wait as the text is typed for you.
26	To enter the name of the company, click in the Company text box, press SPACEBAR, and wait as the text is typed for you.
27	To close the Wingtip Toys Commercial 1.mpp Properties dialog box, click OK.