The Oracle | Primavera Risk (Pertmaster) format menu contains options to edit the look and feel of the the Gantt chart and other visual items such as resource graphs and sheets.
Video Walkthrough of the Oracle | Primavera Risk (Pertmaster) Format Menu (Duration: 6 min: 1 sec)
Format Menu Item: Timescale…
This option allows Pertmaster users to change the timescale ribbon above the Gantt chart as well as certain items on the Gantt chart such as how the data date appears. The format timescale is useful for viewing activities on screen. If a user has a 10 year project plan and the timescale is set to days, then the user will probably not be able to see the logic and durations on the Gantt chart. This menu can also be loaded by right-clicking on the timescale above the Gantt chart and clicking the Format Timescale… option.
Format Menu Item: Columns…
The Columns… menu item allows user to add and remove columns within the Primavera Risk Gantt chart view. Users can add columns to the right and left side of the Gantt chart and create calculated value fields as well. Double-clicking on the column headers in the main window will also launch the pop-up to manipulate the columns. Many Pertmaster users choose to add columns instead of working from the navigation pane at the bottom of the screen because data can be quickly copied and pasted to (and from) Microsoft Excel.
Format Menu Item: Lines…,Gantt Chart…, Bars…, Custom Task Bars…, Individual Task Styles…
The menu items above have been grouped together as they all impact the viewable area in Pertmaster, however they are not necessary to run a risk analysis. The layout and view can be changed much like in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project, however because users generally spend much more time in the scheduling tool than the risk tool, these options may not be considered critical for usability.
- Lines… option allows users to setup horizontal lines to separate the spreadsheet data. This function is similar to creating borders in Microsoft Excel. Users can choose to view a horizontal line after every activity or after a certain number of activities.
- Gantt Chart… menu item launches a pop-up with multiple tabs to control the visual aspect of task styles, baseline activity bars, link, and risk data. Most of the options in this section are fairly intuitive and will not require a great deal of explanation. The number of tabs and options is very high as the look of the tool can be highly customized.
- Bars… option controls the color, fonts, special characters, backgrounds, and other items on the Gantt chart. This option can be useful for analysts who would like to change the view for printing or interactive risk and planning sessions.
- Custom Tasks Bars… allows users to add bars and overlays to the Gantt chart based on any date column whether it is standard or user-defined. A user could overlay actual date or probability start and finish date bars.
- Individual Task Styles… popup has multiple tabs and allow users to globally change areas of the Gantt chart at once. If a user wanted to change all of the bars pink for Valentine’s Day or green for Earth Day, then this is where they would go.
Format Menu Item: Outline Colors…
The Outline Colors… menu option allows users to change the shading color and font color for the outline levels, or work breakdown structure, in Primavera Risk. All items at level 10 or higher in the WBS will be coded to use the same outline format.
Format Menu Item: Resource Graph…,Resource Sheet…, Graph & Sheet Attributes
The above options will be grayed out in the menu unless the resource graph or resource sheet view is loaded in an active worksheet. The resource graph and resource sheet do not have quite as many customization options as the Gantt chart, however it allows users to change colors and edit what information is shown such as remaining units, budgeted units, over-demand, etc.
Format Menu Item: Precedence Network Styles…, Precedence Network Fonts…, Layout Now (Shift+F4)
The above options will be grayed out in the menu unless the PERT network view is loaded in Pertmaster. Users have similar options to edit the PERT chart as they would in the Gantt chart.