Projects

From the Task List, click the Add Project button at the top left. Add a name for the new project (this is the only required field for a project). If in the ALL WORKSPACES view, select the workspace where this project should be stored.

If you would like to be alerted if the actual project schedule extends beyond a target end date for the project, enter a target end date. This target end date will be displayed below the project name in the Task List. If the actual project schedule is later than the target end date, Projects will change the color of the target end date text on the Task List to bold red and will put a red caution symbol in the Status column for the project. This will indicate that there is a problem with the project schedule that needs to be addressed. The notifications will remain until the actual project schedule is brought back in line with the target end date.

A number of other optional information about the project may be added now or edited later by clicking on Add additional information. The following optional fields are available:

• Project Number: by default this is a manual entry (and can be edited from the Task List), but you can switch to automatic project numbering, whereby Projects will assign a unique five digit number to each new project (detailed instructions)
• Project Budget (if Expense Tracking is enabled): a total expense budget for the project, which can be compared to actual expenses you enter for individual tasks.
• Category
• Responsible
• Description
• Notes
• Locked: if access to the project should be restricted to certain users of the workspace

Add tasks to project: there are a number of ways to add tasks to a project. Review the options.

Project templates are an extremely useful way to quickly recreate projects that you do frequently. Templates can be used to create a new project or insert tasks into an existing project. When an existing template is reused, its tasks and associated fields (duration, category, etc.) will be copied into the indicated project.

Administrators can access and edit existing project templates clicking Project Templates at the top of the Task List.

To create a new project template from an existing project, hover the cursor over the name of the project in the Task List, click the TOOLS menu to the right, and choose Save project as template.

Enter a name for the new template. By default, saved templates do not remember the responsible parties for tasks within the template, on the assumption that you will assign the responsible parties each time you utilize the template. If you would like the saved template to remember the responsible parties from the original project, click the checkbox next to Save responsible parties with template. Click Save Template.

When you save a project template, the following items (if used) will be saved:

• Project name
• Task names in the proper order, with indentations
• Task descriptions
• Task categories
• Task durations
• Task work
• Task dependencies
• Show on calendar
• The relative position and spacing of all tasks in the project

Templates can be also be created from scratch, edited and deleted from the Project Templates page, in the same way as other projects on the Task List. Only Administrators can view or edit the Project Templates page, though Managers can create new templates from the Project List or use existing templates.

Once saved, dates for project templates are shown only for their relative spacing of tasks; specific dates for new projects will be determined based on start/end date when the template is used to create a new set of tasks.

Edits made to templates only affect new projects created using the revised template (previously created projects are not affected).

If you have previously saved project templates, these can be used to insert tasks into a new project (via the “Add Project” page) or to add tasks to an existing project (via the triangle on the right of the “Add Task” button on the Task List). Once on the respective page (Add Tasks or Add Project), to copy all the tasks from an existing project template, select the template from the drop-down list. To schedule the project forwards from a start date, select “starts on” from the drop-down menu and then specify the start date for the first task in the template, if you would like a date other than Today. To schedule the project backwards from an end date, select “ends on” from the drop-down menu and then specify the end date for the last task in the template.

To repeat the tasks in the template on a weekly or monthly basis (contained within a single project), click the “repeats” checkbox below the list of templates and choose the repeat frequency and the end date.

Click Save and Add Tasks.

Workzone will automatically copy the tasks from the template you have selected into the specified project and will return you to the Task List. You can then edit any of the tasks to adjust dates, add/delete tasks, etc.

Some projects have a fixed end date by which they must be completed. Projects can help identify projects that are at risk for ending beyond their target end dates.

When creating or editing a project , you may specify a target end date for the project. This target end date will be displayed below the project name in the Task List. If the actual project schedule extends past the target end date, Projects will change the color of the target end date text on the Task List to bold red and will put a red caution symbol in the Status column for the project. This will indicate that there is a problem with the project schedule that needs to be addressed. The indicators will remain until the actual project schedule is brought back in line with the target end date.

You can lock a Projects project to make the project accessible to certain users and not others. The project will be invisible to those who do not have permission, with the exception of Administrators, who always have permission.

To lock a project, hover the cursor over the name of the project in the Task List, click the TOOLS menu to the right, and click Edit Project button at the top of the page. Click the Locked checkbox and then click Save Changes.

On the next screen, select the users or groups that should have permission to access this project. Click the Continue button. You will be returned to the Task List, and you will see a red lock symbol to the right of the locked project.

To unlock a project, hover the cursor over the name of the project in the Task List, click the TOOLS menu to the right, and click Edit Project. Click the Locked checkbox to uncheck the box and then click Save Changes. You will be returned to the Task List. All users with access to the Projects for this workspace will now be able to access this project.

If you no longer need to retain a project and would like to permanently delete it and all its tasks, from the Task List or Project List, click the checkbox to the left of the project(s) you would like to delete and then click the Delete button at the top. Click OK to confirm.

As an alternative to deletion, a project’s state can be from Active to either Completed or Inactive to remove it from circulation, yet still have it be retrievable at a later time.

When a project is deleted, it is be recoverable by an Administrator in the Recycling Bin (found in the Project List of the Projects) for 14 days. To permanently delete a project, an Administrator can also force a project out of the Recycling Bin at any time.

The Task List (and Gantt chart if enabled) shows only projects that are active (and that have tasks). Rather than deleting a project, you can make a project inactive, which will hide it until you are ready to reactivate it.

From the Task List of Projects, click the title of the project you would like to deactivate. At the top of the page, click the Edit Project button. On the next screen, change the STATE field from “Active” to “Inactive” and then click the Save Changes button.

To make an inactive project active again, from the Project list, click the circle next to Inactive in the View Options section at the top right of the screen. Click the checkbox to the left of the project you would like to activate. At the top of the page, click the Edit Project button. On the next screen, click on the drop-down menu for the STATE field and change the value from “Inactive” to “Active” and then click the Save Changes button.

For tracking purposes, a project can be marked as Complete, which removes it from being displayed as an active project, while still allowing use of the project for filtering and reporting.