Re: Consolidating projects

In article <217CBFA4-B9FD-4937-90B3-0D4292E538A4@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
GT <GT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

PS
I reloaded my old project 4.0 program and opened a 4.0 consolidated file.
They used to allow using "workgroup" files to share resources and view
multiple projects. The projects were also dynamically linked to their source
projects but the dates of one project did not affect those of the others.
Anyway this can be done in Project 2003?

Thanks
GT

GT,
It sounds like you may be talking about a shared resource pool file
which is a little different than a consolidated master.

A shared resource pool is a file with no tasks but does have resources
listed on the Resource ***. It is linked to sharer files via
Tools/Resource Sharing/Share Resource. No dates are involved because the
resource pool file has no tasks. You can read more about resource pool
files in the Project help file.

Even with a standard dynamically linked master file dates or constraints
on tasks in one subproject have no effect on other subprojects UNLESS
there are external links between those subproject files.

So to answer your question, yes, you can have a separate resource pool
file, and dates of subproject files in a master remain independent
unless they are separately linked.

John
Project MVP

"GT" wrote:

Thanks

What I meant by independent is that if two or more projects are
consolidated
and some tasks have a "as late as possible" constraint, then other projects
added to the master file do not have their end dates affected (changed) to
the latest date of all the projects. Is there a way to have the projects
dynamically linked but no-interactive except for sharing and management of
resources?


"John" wrote:

In article <D168966B-8CAE-4A95-A37B-5210E2E28D18@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
GT <GT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I used Project back in 98 and am now using 2003. I remember being able
to
consolidate projects and keeping them independent. i.e. dates are not
affected. Is this possible in 2003?

GT,
There are two types of consolidation - dynamic and static. The default
is for a dynamically consolidated master file.

The difference is that in a dynamically consolidated file the
subprojects are not actually part of the master, rather they are linked
into the master via pointers to the subproject files. If changes are
made in the master they are reflected in the subprojects and vice versa
- provided the master and/or subprojects are saved after the edits are
made.

In a statically consolidated master, the subprojects are actually
concatenated together to form one single large master file. The master
is a wholly independent file and has no further links with the
subprojects that created it. To create a static master, go to
Insert/Project and then uncheck the "link to project" option in the
lower right corner of the Insert Project window.

I'm not real sure what you mean by, "...keeping them independent",
because a dynamic master can be independent as long as changes are not
saved to the subprojects. And, a static master is by definition
independent as described above.

Regardless, the answer is "yes".

John
Project MVP

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