How to create and edit project plans in InLoox PM 7

InLoox PM 7 facilitates editing your project planning in a time-saving way. Find out more about the features on the InLoox PM Ribbon that allow you to create and edit the planning.

In the project, on the Start tab, click Planning  to open the Planning page. On this page you will find the following features:

• Create and edit an activity  To create a new activity, click on the Edit tab in the Edit group New activity. To edit an already existed activity, select an activity from the planning list. On the Edit tab, in the Edit group click Edit.

  For more information on how to create an activity, see Create and edit an activity.

• Create and edit a milestone  To create a new milestone click New Milestone on the Edit tab, in the Edit group. To edit an already existed one, select a milestone from the planning list and click Edit in the Edit group.

  • For more information on how to create a milestone, see Create and edit a milestone.
  • Use the multiselection for simultaneous editing of the planning elements. Click the first planning lement you want to edit and hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard while clicking on all the planning elements you want to edit. Then click Edit on the Edit tab, in the Edit group.
• Remove a planning element  Select the planning element from the planning list you want to remove. On the Edit tab, in the Edit group, click Delete.
• Undo, redo or repeat an action 
   
  • You can undo an action, e.g. if you have accidently deleted one planning element. On the Edit tab, in the Edit group, click Undo.
  • You can repeat the last action. On the Edit tab, in the Edit group, click Redo.
• Create your planning faster  Use the Copy and Paste commands from the Edit group on the Edit tab to copy already existing planning elements and insert them into a new planning. You can edit the newly created elements as you want.
• Mark planning elements as done  Select an activity or milestone from the planning list, which is finished, and click Done in the Highlight group on the Edit tab to mark the planning element as done.
• Highlight a planning element in the planning list  Select one planning element from the planning list and click Flag in the Highlight group on the Edit tab. Choose one color from the drop-down list.
  Now you can see the selected flag in the planning list next to the element.
  Unlike in previous versions, the selected flag color does not have an impact on the color of the element in the Gantt chart in InLoox PM 7.
• Highlight a planning element in the Gantt chart  Select one planning element from the planning list and click Color in the Highlight group on the Edit tab. Click the color circle to select a user-defined color from the color spectrum. Click the arrow to see a compact pre-selection of standard colors. The planning element will be displayed in the Gantt chart in the selected color.
• Synchronize work package with Outlook elements  Select one element from the planning list and click Synchronize with in the Action group on the Edit tab. Select either Outlook Task or Outlook Calendar from the drop-down list.
  For more information, see Quick access panels for tasks and calendar, in the InLoox PM elements in the Outlook task list / the Outlook calendar section.
• Assign a work package  Select a planning element from the planning list and click Add Workpackage in the Action group, on the Edit tab. In the New Work Package dialog box, fill in the needed information:
  • Select the resource that you want to assign the work package to.
  • For more information on how to do this, see Add resources.
  • Additionally, you can select the This task is already completed check box to mark the work package as done.
• Remove the defined constraints of planning elements   Select from the planning list an element with time constraints and click Remove Constraint in the Action group, on the Edit tab.
  For more information about constraints, see Create dependencies between planning elements.
• Remove the dependency between planning elements  Click Remove Dependency in the Actions group on the Edit tab. The defined dependency will be deleted and you can move the elements as you like. 
• Change planning direction  On the Edit tab, in the Settings group, click Direction. Select a planning direction, e.g. Forward Scheduling or Backward Scheduling. Then add the Project Start or End.
  For more information about the planning direction, see Create planning elements dependency.
• Stop sending notifications  On the Edit tab, in the Settings group click No Notification. Notifications with project information or regarding project changes will not be sent to the project resources. 
• Create your planning by using templates  Use a previously saved planning as template. On the Templates tab, in the Action group, click Import Templates or choose a saved one in the InLoox PM Templates group from the gallery view. You can also save the existing planning by clicking Save Template in the Template group, on the Templates tab.
  For more information on templates, see the category Planning templates.
• Send a planning as a template via email  On the Templates tab, in the Action group, click Send Template by Mail. In the opened email, enter the recipient and additional text if you like and click Send. The planning is already attached to the email.

• Create a report  On the Reports tab you find the features to create a report.

  • In the Create Reports group, click Create Report. In the New Report dialog box, on the Report tab, choose a template from the Use this template drop-down list. Filter the data that you want to display in the Planning tab and then click Create.

    For more information on how to issue a report and adjust the data, see Create a report.

  • In the Reports group, select a saved report from the gallery view, e.g. Planning overview.

    For more information on how to add a new budget template to InLoox PM, see Manage report templates.

You can change the layout of an existing planning. There are several features available on the planning page that you can choose from to customize the view.

• Up  / Down     By clicking on these vertical arrows, you can move the selected item up and down in the list. You find these buttons in the Arrange group on the Edit tab.
• Group /    Create a group by using these buttons. In the Arrange group, click   . The selected planning element will be grouped one level below.
  On the Edit tab, in the Arrange group, click   to move the selected planning element one group level up.
  For more information about grouping, see Create and edit a summary activity.
• Expand All / Collapse All    On the View tab, in the Common group, click Collapse All to minimize a group in the planning. Click Expand All to display it in the detail. Use this feature to get a better overview of your planning.
• Choose fields  This feature sorts and organizes the project planning by selected data.
  • On the Choose Fields dialog box, click one field, e.g. Customer, and drag it into the column headers.
  • Reset the field per Drag and Drop back into the dialog box.
• Show critical path  On the View tab, in the Details group, click Show critical path. 
  For more information, see Show critical path.
• Display slack  On the View tab, in the Details group, click Display slack. Now you can see for how many days you can postpone the regarding planning element until it affects the overall duration of the project.
• Today  Click Today in the Change to group to switch to the today's view. The plan is positioned so that the red day line is on the left side of the Gantt chart.
• Display All  Click Display All in the Zoom group to adjust the date interval of the Gantt chart to the project end or start - first and last element.
• Display the selected planning element only  Select a planning element from the planning list. On the Zoom tab, in the View group click Display Selected.
• Zoom  /    On the View tab, in the Zoom group click Zoom in or Zoom out to change the Gantt chart view. The following time intervals are available: years, quarters, months, weeks, days, hours, quarter-hours, and minutes.
• Sort  You can define the view of the project list by sorting it by criteria such as Name, Start date, End date or Progress. On the View tab, in the Arrange group, click Sort by. Select a criteria from the drop-down list, e.g. Is critical. 
• Group  On the View tab, in the View group, click Group by. In the drop-down list click on the field you want to group by. The project list will be grouped by the criteria you have chosen.
  You can remove the grouping by clicking None in the Group by drop-down list.
• Filter  On the View tab, in the Arrange group, click Filter by. Select the filter criteria from the drop-down list. Only those planning elements will be displayed in the planning list, which contain the selected criteria.
• Define outline level  Click Outline Level in the Arrange group, on the View tab. Select an outline level from the drop-down list to collapse or expand groups in the planning view.