Re: Keep Task Days Together

John,

Thank you very much again for pointing me in the right direction and for
providing valuable code.
I tried it and had to modify it for a real schedule for the following reasons:

1. It would move ALL the tasks, even those that use the Standard calendar,
as long as they start before the Restart date and have Start+Duration >
Cutoff date. To avoid that I modyfied the IF statement to check for
t.Calendar = "SpringAndFall".

2. The code you wrote puts the “Start Not Earlier Than” constraints in
order to move the tasks. Next time the schedule is adjusted backward (if
construction finished earlier), the tasks would not move back because of the
constraints. To avoid that I put a loop that removes all previously placed
constraints before re-applying them.

Please see the code below. I would appreciate your comments.
--------------------------------------------
Sub Schedule_Gapper2()
Dim Cutoff As Date, Restart As Date
Dim t As Object

'First remove all previously created constraints
For Each t In ActiveProject.Tasks
If Not t Is Nothing Then
Restart = "9/1/" & Year(t.Start)
If t.Summary = False And t.Calendar = "SpringAndFall" Then
If t.ConstraintDate = Restart And t.ConstraintType = pjSNET
Then
t.ConstraintType = pjASAP
End If
End If
End If
Next t

‘Reapply Constraints
For Each t In ActiveProject.Tasks
If Not t Is Nothing Then
Cutoff = "5/31/" & Year(t.Start)
Restart = "9/1/" & Year(t.Start)

‘Removed as it moves regular tasks also
'If t.Summary = False And t.Start < Restart Then
'If Application.DateAdd(t.Start, t.Duration) > _
'Cutoff Then t.Start = Restart
'End If

If t.Summary = False And t.Calendar = "SpringAndFall" Then
If t.Start <= Cutoff And t.Finish >= Restart Then
t.Start = Restart
End If
End If
End If
Next t
End Sub
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MSPuser

"John" wrote:

> MSPuser,
> I understand your special circumstances but I'm still not buying in to
> the idea that a task can be picked up and started immediately after a
> delay of several months - but then that's just my observation and not
> really relevant to your question.
>
> With regard to the VBA approach. I would NOT used a lag. In my opinion
> any lag of greater than 5 days is worthless. A much better approach is
> to simply set a "start-no-earlier-than" constraint. I would still keep
> the link to insure the logic is correct but only if the task indeed has
> a predecessor that must be completed first. The following code will do
> what you need, assuming there is no setup time for a delayed task.
>
> Sub Schedule_Gapper()
> Dim Cutoff As Date, Restart As Date
> Dim t As Object
> For Each t In ActiveProject.Tasks
> If Not t Is Nothing Then
> Cutoff = "5/30/" & Year(t.Start)
> Restart = "9/1/" & Year(t.Start)
> If t.Summary = False And t.Start < Restart Then
> If Application.DateAdd(t.Start, t.Duration) > _
> Cutoff Then t.Start = Restart
> End If
> End If
> Next t
> End Sub
>
> If you want to learn more about Project VBA, go to our MVP website at:
> http://www.mvps.org/project/links.htm
> and look for the link at the bottom of the page, "Project 98 Visual
> Basic Environment Training Materials". Even though it says it is for
> Project 98, it is equally applicable to all current versions of Project.
>
> Hope this helps.
> John
> Project MVP
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> In article <5D67437A-2296-4CB6-8A8A-E670A4A6D8F5@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> "MSPuser" <MSPuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > John,
> >
> > Thank you for your reply and pointing me in the direction of using a macro.
> >
> > Here is a clarification to some of your points:
> > <<You have a very unique scheduling need.>> - Actually it is pretty common
> > in electric industry where many tasks can only be performed in spring or fall
> > when the electric demand is lower.
> >
> > <<whoever is going to do the task will NOT be able to just
> > pick it up and start working on Sept. 1. Very likely there will be some
> > prep work>> - Yes, it will be. In our case the prep work will include some
> > construction that will be done by a different crew and can be done at any
> > time before the electric crew does their work in spring or fall. In fact it
> > is a possible delay in construction in May that could move it successor, the
> > electric work, forward to September 1.
> >
> > << it is possible if a simple VBA macro is used to automatically adjust the
> > schedule.>> - Thank you. How would it work? For example, add a lag of 3
> > months and several days to assure that the electric work starts on September
> > 1 if MS Project initially scheduled it to start in May and end in September?
> > Please note that we have a multiyear project with hundreds of tasks. Then
> > next time there are some schedule changes Project would need to delete all
> > previously added lags, recalculate the new ones and add them back (?) Please
> > advise.
> >
> > Unfortunately I have never tried writing a VBA macro in MS Project. I would
> > appreciate a reference to a good source.
> >
> > Thank you again.
> >
> > MSPuser
>
> >
> >
> > "John" wrote:
> >
> > > In article <A666EFE2-BF17-4BA9-864A-1267985B5977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> > > "MSPuser" <MSPuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi,
> > > >
> > > > I have a project that uses a ⤦Spring & Fall Onlyâ¤ù calendar with
> > > > winter and
> > > > summer designated as none-working time. The challenge is to keep tasks
> > > > from
> > > > being auto-scheduled to start in spring and finished in the fall.
> > > >
> > > > For example, a 5-day task with the predecessor which finishes on 05/29/06
> > > > can be scheduled by MS Project from 05/30/2006 to 09/05/2006. This is not
> > > > acceptable, as the task must be completed within 5 calendar days, i.e. it
> > > > must be moved to 09/04/06 ⤳ 09/08/06.
> > > >
> > > > Putting constraints would not be a good solution as the schedule has
> > > > hundreds of dependent tasks and it may require frequent adjustments back
> > > > and
> > > > forward in the future.
> > > >
> > > > Please suggest a way to auto-move the task forward to assure that it
> > > > would
> > > > be always completed within 5 days no matter when the predecessors
> > > > finishes.
> > > >
> > > > Thank you in advance.
> > >
> > > MSPuser,
> > > You have a very unique scheduling need. Project just isn't set up to
> > > easily shift tasks as in your example but it is possible if a simple VBA
> > > macro is used to automatically adjust the schedule. The macro could be
> > > set up to run on user demand or it could be set up to run automatically
> > > when the file is opened or closed.
> > >
> > > However just a comment. It appears to me that a simple shift of task
> > > duration won't reflect reality. If there is that much delay between
> > > working periods, I would think some "reorientation overhead" would be
> > > needed. For example, let's say a task is 5 days duration and would
> > > ordinarily start on May 28. Because of the end of May cutoff, the task
> > > would need to be re-scheduled to the first of September. However, my
> > > guess is that whoever is going to do the task will NOT be able to just
> > > pick it up and start working on Sept. 1. Very likely there will be some
> > > prep work before the task can actually be started. I could be wrong, but
> > > there aren't too many things that can just be shelved for long periods
> > > of time and then be instantly re-started.
> > >
> > > John
> > > Project MVP
> > >
>
.

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