Sam Huffman showed how easy it is to use the new view tab in Microsoft Project 2010. First he demonstrated how easy it is to access some newer views, such as tracking Gantt view and task entry view. He modeled taking a pre-existing view, like the original Gantt chart, adding custom fields to it, and saving it as a completely different view. This is very helpful, because it means that users do not have to keep adding fields whenever they use the program; instead, they can click on the view that they created and saved.
Sam then turned to using some of the more powerful resource views in Microsoft Project 2010. He explained grouping and how it can be used to see certain resources and their information. An example of this, grouped by department, showed resources based on a department field as well as the tasks that each resource is assigned to in the project.
He also discussed filtering, which is not the same as grouping. It should be thought of as a way to screen certain items out of the project. To see only critical tasks, he noted, set the filter to show only critical tasks. Filtering helps with data management by permitting viewing of only selected items.
In Microsoft Project, sorting is a way to list data based on dates or other criteria. Sam pointed out that users should make sure that the checkbox titled “permanently renumber tasks” is unchecked in the sorting dialogue box so that tasks are not renumbered based on the sort. Sam then explained how to create a view and customize a ribbon. These are very helpful topics in enabling users to customize Microsoft Project 2010 to their own needs.
