User guide ProjectWork

ProjectWork online project management software shows all project information from left to right in separate panels. Each panel has its own menu.

panels : Capacity | Resources | ProjectWork | Tasks | Gantt

• The Capacity panel contains a bar chart showing the allocation of resources over time.
• The Resources panel contains a table with the resources of the project.
• The ProjectWork panel contains general information, a dialog of a function or detailed information from a selected task or resource.
• The Tasks panel contains a table with the tasks of the project.
• The Gantt panel contains a bar chart showing the tasks over time.

Tasks, resources and task/resource assignments are visible in the panels and editable at the same time. The screen view can scroll to different combinations of panels.

The ProjectWork panel is the central panel that contains on top the filename and below the default dialog or temporary dialogs of various functions. After closing a temporary dialog the default dialog returns. When the filename is clicked the Properties dialog appears where you can change the file name in Google Drive. Beneath the filename is room for a status message regarding automatic storage in Google Drive.

The ProjectWork panel with default dialog:

file name
status message

Google account and the option to sign out
trial status and license ordering with PayPal

shortcuts to menu functions, like Properties and Settings
option to mark rows that change when you or someone else make a change in the schedule

help like manual, video tutorial and helpdesk
demo functions to see the scrolling of the panels and the tooltip locations

The Tasks and Resources tables can be edited per cell by clicking the cell. An outline appears around the cell and the row gets selected. The text can now be entered.

The Enter key advances the selection to the cell below, the Shift + Enter to the cell above.
The Tab key advances the selection to the cell on the right, Shift + Tab to the cell on the left.

Copying a cell to multiple cells with the same text at once starts by selecting a cell with the left mouse key followed by selecting this cell and adjacent cells above or below with the Shift key pressed. After releasing the mouse the cells get the same text as the first selected cell, see example below.

With copy (Ctrl-C) and paste (Ctrl-V) you can copy text quickly from a spreadsheet or document into ProjectWork. Multiple cells from a column of the spreadsheet or multiple rows of text from the document will paste in a ProjectWork column in subsequent rows. When copying for new tasks, start with the Task description column. When copying dates, make sure that the date format setting in ProjectWork matches the date format of what you copy.

When a single task/resource row is selected a task/resource dialog appears to see and edit the details. Hidden columns are also visible here. Next to the dialog the quantity column shows the assigned quantity which can be edited as well.

Some menu items work in combination with one or more selected rows in the Tasks or Resources table. If no row is selected, these items are grayed out and cannot be used. Selected rows have a dark background color.

Rows can be selected by selecting a row and with left mouse key pressed selecting neighboring rows.

Another way of selecting consecutive rows is by selecting the first row an with Shift pressed the last row.

De-selecting is done with the ESC key.

The width of a column can be resized by dragging the border in the column header. By clicking the border the column width is automatically resized to its contents.

Columns can be arranged in a dialog by clicking on the column headers or from the panel's menu. A checked column is visible. The order can be re-arranged by dragging a column and dropping it at the requested position. Adding a custom column is done by giving it a title and type. The column appears as last and can be repositioned by dragging it to the requested position. One column at a time can be added with Apply. A custom column can be removed by deleting its title.

Keyboard and mouse can perform some functions directly, see list.

The context menu appears by first selecting one or more rows and then right mouse-click (Mac: Ctrl + mouse click) the rows. The selected function affects the selected row(s).

New project

Starts a new project with an adjustable title. The file is put in Google Drive in the same folder(s) as the original. Sharing permissions are not copied from the original file, but they are copied from the common folder(s).

Open project...

Shows a list from Google Drive with previously saved ProjectWork files. Opens the selected file.

Make a copy...

Opens a dialog to copy the schedule to a new file that opens in a browser tab. The name can be changed in the copy after copying. There are also template options to copy the published spreadsheet and dashboard selection. This means that changes made to the spreadsheet are carried over to the copy.

Overwrite file...

Opens a list from Google Drive with previously saved ProjectWork files. Overwrites the selected file with current project.

Google Drive

Opens new tab with Google Drive.

Share file... (in Team)

Opens Google Drive dialog to share file with others for editing or viewing. They can open to file in their Google Drive in folder Shared with me and edit or view the schedule in ProjectWork depending on how the file is shared. Edits are processed real-time to all shared schedules which are open, allowing for simultaneous collaboration.

Import > Microsoft Project XML file

Imports an MS Project XML-file from the PC and converts it to an ProjectWork schedule.

Import > ProjectWork schedule from PC (in Team)

Loads a JSON file with ProjectWork schedule from the PC.

Import > mindmap from PC

Loads a JSON file created with MindMup from the PC to start a schedule.
See From idea to schedule with mindmap for more details.

Project properties...

Opens a dialog with properties of the current project.

Publish > schedule as HTML (in Team)

Opens a dialog to publish the displayed schedule as preview or as HTML code. You can save the HTML code to a new file or overwrite an existing file.
See Publish schedule as HTML for more details.

Publish > schedule in Google Sheets (in Team)

Opens a dialog to publish the schedule tasks and resources to a new or existing Google spreadsheet.
See Publish schedule in Google Sheets for more details.

Publish > milestones in Google Calendar (in Team)

Opens a dialog to create, update and remove milestones in Google Calendar.
See Publish milestones in Google Calendar for more details.

Publish > sites in Google Maps (in Team)

Opens a dialog to publish all Resources with Site filled-in in a .html file in Google Drive. This file can be viewed from Google Drive in Google Maps.
See Publish sites in Google Maps for more details.

Export > ProjectWork schedule to PC (in Team)

Saves a ProjectWork schedule in a JSON file on the PC.

Export > Microsoft Project XML file (in Team)

Exports the ProjectWork as MS Project XML-file to the PC.

Report > Project Status...

Opens a Google Document with progress information.

Report > Dashboard... (in Team)

Opens a dialog to add the project to a new or a selected dashboard or to update the project in the selected dashboard. See Report in dashboard for more details.

Print

Prints the tasks table and the Gantt chart via the browser as you see them. Adjust the mutual width of the panels and other viewing preferences, like hiding columns and collapsing tasks, before you print them. In Chrome print preview you can adjust the scale so that the entire planning is printed, possibly over several pages. In some browsers you can print to a PDF file.

New resource manager (in Team)

Opens a new browser tab called ProjectWork-Resources. In this version of ProjectWork a resource manager can share its resources with multiple projects. Per project he can see to which tasks his resources are assigned to. Use Reload to see the last status since the schedule was opened.
See also Resource Management using ProjectWork.

Shared resources... (in Team)

Shows which resource managers share resources with this project. The shared resources are grouped in the Resources sheet.

Reload

Reloads the schedule to show any changes in the shared resources since the schedule was opened.

Settings...

Opens a dialog with settings.

Working hours... (in Team)

Opens a dialog to change the working hours for the project. A day can have 5 non-overlapping working periods. Default working hours: Monday-Friday (5 days) from 8:00-12:00 AM and 01:00-05:00 PM (2 periods). This accounts for 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
- Adding working periods is by setting the start and finish time of a period, checking 'new period' on the day(s) where you like to add the period and clicking Apply.
- Removing working periods is by leaving the period times empty, checking the period(s) you like to remove and clicking Apply.
- Changing working periods is by entering the new period times, checking the period(s) you like to change and clicking Apply.

Non-working periods... (in Team)

Opens a dialog to add or delete non-working periods to the project. A non-working period has a start date and a finish date. During the period the project is not executed for all resources and the schedule delays.

In-app purchase

After registration and selecting license type and period you can purchase the license with PayPal.

Manual

Opens manual in new tab.

Helpdesk...

Opens contact form.

Tasks are the basis of the project schedule. They are the rows in a table with columns that contain properties of the tasks.
Tasks can be edited in the table or by functions in the Tasks menu.

Coming to a complete schedule of tasks is best achieved in following steps:

• Work Breakdown structure - the subdivision of a complete project into products and activities
• Task order - the order in which tasks are depending on each other by linking them
• Phases - groups of tasks that have a specific function like design, construction, delivery
• Milestones - important decision moments concluding phases (in ProjectWork a task with duration 0)
• Resources - people and means to complete the task
• Work - the hours needed to complete a task
• Start date - results with work, resources and available working hours in a finish date per task
• Critical path - the linked tasks that result in the shortest project finish date
• Documentation - information on design and progress

Each task has the following fields with information.

ID

Row sequence

WBS

Code indicating how the task fits in the breakdown. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of a project shows how a project is build from products and activities.

Task description

Description of the task based on the product and/or activity needed to be delivered.

Start date

Starting date and time of the task, according format from settings. Click to use the pop-up calendar to pick a date or enter date and/or time directly. Fast date entry is possible by skipping month and year giving the first date from today.

Finish date

Finishing date and time of the task, according format from settings. Click to use the pop-up calendar to pick a date or enter date and/or time directly. Fast date entry is possible by skipping month and year giving the first date from today or start date.

Duration

The time a task takes in days (d) and hours (h), for example '2d 4h' corresponds to 20 hours. The default duration without unit is in days.
A duration of 0 turns a task into a milestone.

Slack

The time a task can start later before becoming part of the critical path. The time is in days (d) and hours (h), for example '2d 4h' corresponds to 20 hours.

Progress

Percentage indicating the completion of the task. In combination with progress indication at Settings the progress results in a color.

Predecessors

The ID's of preceding tasks, see Link tasks.

Resources (in Team)

The abbreviation or name of assigned resources, see Assign resources to a task.

Work (in Team)

The total number of hours the assigned resources work to this task.

Cost (in Team)

Cost per task or the total cost of the assigned resources.

Condition

ASAP = As Soon As Possible (empty is ASAP)
ALAP = As Late As Possible
Start = start on Start date
Finish = finish on Finish date

Constant (in Team)

Columns Resources, Work and Duration relate according: Work = Resources x Duration
Resources is the sum of the Resources of type Work: 3 for R1;R2[2]
When changing a column, one of the other two columns will change its value, depending on the Constant setting according to the table below.

You can select the default setting for new tasks in Settings > Default constant.

Extra

Additional custom columns, see Arrange columns.

The tasks menu is at the top of the tasks panel and opens when clicked. It has the following functions.

Collapse

Collapses the selected summary tasks.

Expand

Expands the selected summary tasks.

Collapse level

Collapses all summary tasks with a WBS level equal to the selected task.

Collapse all

Collapses all summary tasks.

Show all tasks

Expands all summary tasks and shows all hidden tasks.

Show > critical tasks

Only shows tasks on the critical path.

Show > unfinished tasks

Only shows tasks which are not 100% completed.

Show linked tasks

Shows selected task and all its preceding and succeeding tasks.

Sort down > on column

Sorts selected tasks downwards based on column.

Sort up > on column

Sorts selected tasks upwards based on column.

Increase indent

Increases the WBS level of the selected tasks if possible, e.g. 1.2 becomes 1.1.4.

Decrease indent

Decreases the WBS level of the selected tasks if possible, e.g. 1.3.1 becomes 1.4.

Insert rows above

Inserts above the selected rows as many empty rows as selected.

Insert rows below

Inserts below the selected rows as many empty rows as selected.

Erase rows

Erases the selected rows.

Delete rows

Deletes the selected rows.

Copy rows

Copies the selected rows for further pasting once or multiple times.

Cut rows

Deletes and copies the selected rows for further pasting once or more.

Paste rows

Inserts the cut or copied rows at the selected row.

Undo

Undoes the last change

Redo

Redoes the last change

Clear leveling selection

Clears all shifts of the selected task(s) due to assignment leveling.

Chain

Link the selected tasks sequentially.

Remove links

Remove all links from the selected tasks.

Columns...

Opens a temporary panel, see Arrange columns.

Tasks may depend on each other for their execution order. This can be indicated by dependencies between tasks. There are different types of dependency, see table below.

Tasks can be linked with the control key (Mac: meta key) and mouse click. Select the rows of one or more predecessors and then with Ctrl + mouse click the successor. The selected tasks are now FS linked with the successor. The result is visible in the Predecessors column where the link type can be altered. Unlinking is done in the same way as linking. The existing link will now be removed.

Each dependency can be adjusted by adding lag or lead time. Lag time introduces delay between the linked tasks, lead time introduces overlap between linked tasks. The lag/lead time is put after the dependency, where positive time is lag and negative time is lead.

Examples of dependencies:

Resources are the people and the means necessary to perform a task. They are the rows in a table with columns that contain properties of the resources. and they can be grouped into teams or clusters that summarize their properties.
Resources can be edited in the table or by functions in the Resources menu.

Each resource has the following fields with information.

ID

Row sequence

RBS

Code indicating how the resource fits in the breakdown of teams and clusters.

Abbr

Abbreviation of this resource. If present, this abbreviation is used in column Resources in the Task table.

Resource name

Name of the person or description of the resource.

Type

List with possible types, see Resource types.

Unit

Per hour, per piece, per meter, etc.

Progress

Percentage indicating the completion by the resource.

Capacity

Maximum quantity of a resource above which the resource diagram shows red.

Rate

Cost per resource unit.

Quantity

The total amount of units assigned of this resource.

Cost

Total cost of the resource.

Account

E-mail, Google account or code of a resource.

Site

Resource location. A tool-tip can show the location on a map.

Extra

Additional custom columns, see Arrange columns

The resources menu is at the top of the resources panel and opens when clicked. It has the following functions.

Collapse

Collapses the selected summary resource.

Expand

Expands the selected summary resources.

Collapse level

Collapses all summary resources with a WBS level equal to the selected resource.

Collapse all

Collapses all summary resources.

Show all resources

Expands all summary resources and shows all hidden resources.

Sort down > on column

Sorts selected resources downwards based on column.

Sort up > on column

Sorts selected resources upwards based on column.

Increase indent

Increases the WBS level of the selected resources if possible, e.g. 1.2 becomes 1.1.4.

Decrease indent

Decreases the WBS level of the selected resources if possible, e.g. 1.3.1 becomes 1.4.

Insert rows above

Inserts above the selected rows as many empty rows as selected.

Insert rows below

Inserts below the selected rows as many empty rows as selected.

Erase rows

Erases the selected rows.

Delete rows

Deletes the selected rows.

Copy rows

Copies the selected rows for further pasting once or multiple times.

Cut rows

Deletes and copies the selected rows for further pasting once or more.

Paste rows

Inserts the cut or copied rows at the selected row.

Level all assignments

Ensures that all assigned resources stay below their capacity by shifting forward tasks. Already shifted tasks will not be shifted back if they could. In ProjectWork menu, item Settings under Resource leveling you can select what should be included in the leveling and where the result should be visible.

Clear all leveling

Shifts back all shifted tasks due to assignment leveling. As a result resources may exceed their capacity, what can be seen as red in the Capacity chart.

Level selection

Ensures that selected resources stay below their capacity by shifting out tasks.

Clear leveling selection

Clears shifts of tasks assigned to selected resource(s) due to assignment leveling.

Undo

Undoes the last change

Redo

Redoes the last change

Show assigned tasks only

Shows in the Tasks table from the selected resource(s) only the assigned tasks.

Columns...

Opens a temporary panel, see Arrange columns.

Column Resources in the Tasks table shows per task the resources from the Resources table assigned to this task. Resource names are divided with a semicolon (;). The assigned quantity per resource is mentioned between square brackets ([ ]).

For example: R1;R2[2] means
1x R1
2x R2

If a resource has an abbreviation it will be used. If a resource is not in to the Resources table yet, it will be added.

Assigning resources is done easier by selecting one or more resources in the Resources table and by clicking with Ctrl pressed on the task in the Tasks table. The assignment of a work type resource is done with a quantity equal to the capacity, otherwise with a quantity of one. The quantity can be changed afterwards in the Resources column of the Tasks table.

In the Resources table every resource has a type indication in the Type column.

The Gantt chart shows the schedule per task as a bar. The position of the bar depends on the timescale at the top. The timescale can zoom-in (+) and zoom-out (-) and the start date can be adjusted in a calendar.

The Gantt menu is at the top of the Gantt panel and opens when clicked. It has the following functions.

Select task and scale

Sets the timescale of the Gantt chart to match the earliest start date and the latest finish date of the selected task(s).
Tip: Select a summary task to see all its subtasks.

To today

Sets the start date of the Gantt-chart equal to today.

To project start

Sets the start date of the Gantt-chart equal to the project start.

Complete project

Shows the project from start to finish date.

Scale same as Capacity

Makes the Gantt scale equal to the Capacity scale.

Show Capacity chart

Changes panel view to show Capacity chart.

Show Capacity with scale as Gantt

Changes panel view to show Capacity chart with scale equal to Gantt chart.

The Capacity chart shows with an indication in time when a resource is active. For work resources the indication is a color relative to the set capacity:

• blue if less than 50%,
• red if more than 100%,
• green in between.

Other type of resources will be shown grey. The position of the indication depends on the timescale at the top. The timescale can zoom-in (+) and zoom-out (-) and the start date can be adjusted in a calendar.

The capacity menu is at the top of the capacity panel and opens when clicked. It has the following functions.

To today

Sets the start date of the Capacity-chart equal to today.

To project start

Sets the start date of the Capacity-chart equal to the project start.

Complete project

Shows the project from start to finish date.

Scale same as Gantt

Makes the Capacity scale equal to the Gantt scale.

Show Gantt chart

Changes panel view to show Gantt chart.

Show Gantt with scale as Capacity

Changes panel view to show Gantt chart with scale equal to Capacity chart.

Language

English | Nederlands

Number format

Thousands and decimal separator in number:
1,000.00 | 1.000,00 | 1 000,00

Currency

Selected currency symbol is shown where applicable.

Currency position

Position relative to amount.

Date format

Order and separator for day (dd), month (mm), year (yyyy):
dd-mm-yyyy | dd.mm.yyyy | dd/mm/yyyy | mm/dd/yyyy | yyyy-mm-dd | yyyy.mm.dd | yyyy/mm/dd

Time format

24 hours or 12 hours:
hh:mm | am/pm

Show time

Show only date or also time in table.

First day of week

Selection is visible in Gantt - and Capacity Diagram

Project summary (ID=0)

• Show project summary in Tasks table and Gantt chart.
• Show project summary in Resources table and Capacity chart.

Critical path indication

• Indicate tasks in critical path in Tasks table.
• Indicate tasks in critical path in Gantt chart.

Progress indication

• Indicate progress color in column Progress in Tasks table.
• Indicate progress color in bar in Gantt chart.

Resource leveling

• Include/exclude tasks from the past in the leveling.
• Include/exclude completed tasks in the leveling.
• Indicate shifted task in the Tasks table.
• Indicate shifted task in the Gantt chart.

Default condition

Default condition for new task:
As soon as possible | As late as possible | Start on date | Finish on date

Default constant

Default constant for new task:
Resource | Work | Duration

With ProjectWork a team can collaborate alternately or in real-time on the same project schedule. With real-time collaboration a modification made by one participant is immediately shown on the screen of the others. To know where the modification took place there is the option to mark this per row in the WBS column. This option is default on.

Both real-time and alternate collaboration on a schedule can start after following steps:

1. Start a new schedule in ProjectWork or use an existing file
2. In ProjectWork go to Project properties by clicking on the file name
3. Click on the sharing icon  to open the 'Share with others' dialog
4. Click on 'Advanced' and add the accounts you want to collaborate with and choose 'can edit' or 'can view'
5. The participating accounts open the file in their 'Shared with me' folder in Google Drive

Sharing the file is also possible via Google Drive. To view a schedule no trial or license is required, only a Google account and permission to read files from Google Drive.

ProjectWork saves its ProjectWork files automatically in Google Drive after every change. Google Drive is an online storage service by Google. Next to storage also documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings can be made, useful for projects. Each file can be shared in different ways with others. Stored ProjectWork files can be opened from ProjectWork or from Google Drive itself.

Google Apps can be used to publish the schedule, see Publications with ProjectWork.

A new ProjectWork file can be created and opened by pressing the Create button in Google Drive and selecting ProjectWork as application.

An existing file can be opened in ProjectWork with right-click on a file and selecting Open with... ProjectWork.

Setting ProjectWork as the standard application for .json files can be achieved in the settings menu (gear icon) under Manage apps.

The ProjectWork icon appears in front of the file name and ProjectWork opens with this file.

The published HTML code exactly matches the task table and the Gantt diagram: collapsed tasks and hidden columns are not published. The Gantt diagram is shown in its entirety, from the beginning to the end of the project. The HTML code is visible as a preview in the browser and as code to be inserted into a website, for example in Google Sites. The HTML code can also be stored in Google Drive.

See example.

The schedule can be published as a new spreadsheet or as an update to a previously published spreadsheet. The spreadsheet consists of two worksheets: Tasks and Resources. The Tasks worksheet features a Gantt chart on the right side.

The order of columns can be changed and columns can be hidden or deleted. Deleted columns are not added again with an update. Custom columns can be inserted containing information or cell formulas that use the planning data. You can also add custom worksheets with diagrams that use the planning data.

An update synchronizes the spreadsheet data with the tasks in the schedule. Added formatting to the spreadsheet, such as colors, and added comments are retained. The Gantt chart, dependent columns, calculations and charts are updated. For example, the update enables reporting on the current schedule, such as a comparison with the baseline schedule, see Frequently asked questions.

A milestone is a task in the schedule with a duration of 0. Published milestones (ProjectWork menu > Publish > Milestones in Google Calendar) appear in private calendar 'ProjectWork' of the signed in Google account. This calendar may contain milestones of other published ProjectWork schedules of the same account.

Resource(s) assigned to a milestone which have their Account filled-in in the Resources table will get this milestone in their Google calendar(s).

Changes to milestones in the schedule are updated in the 'ProjectWork' calendar and in the calendars of resources with a Google account when your re-publish.

See example.

A published HTML file with site locations of resources (Project menu > Publish > Sites in Maps) can be attached to an email, downloaded to a PC or hosted as a web page.

See example.

The dashboard is a common spreadsheet to track all projects. The projects are listed row by row with information and status per column. For each project there is a bar on the right of the same row from start to end date with the progress. You can insert joint columns for additional information and statistics. Each project updates the information itself. You can insert this spreadsheet into a Google site.

You start reporting by selecting a spreadsheet that has already been created as a dashboard using the Select button or you first create a new dashboard with the New button. In both cases, the dashboard is saved and shown as a link. With the link you open the spreadsheet with the dashboard. With the Update button you update the dashboard with the latest information. The account that updates the project and the moment when is listed with the project.

Selecting a dashboard is only possible if the dashboard is shared with your account. A project added to a selected dashboard is added below the present projects. You can change the order by dragging a row with a project. A project that no longer needs to be in a dashboard can be removed from the spreadsheet.

The dashboard spreadsheet can be adjusted to your liking. Columns can be removed without coming back after updating. Column headers can be adjusted, the order of columns can be changed. Formatting is retained after updating the data.