Contents of the Preferences Page

Use the fields and options to configure the New File Wizard Preferences page.

Contents

Field	Description
Name	This is the name of the file as entered on the New File dialog box. You can change the information in this field on any page of the wizard.
Owner	This field displays your user ID. Because you are creating the file, Open Plan identifies you as its owner. Only you or the security administrator can assign access rights to the file to other users. Access rights are assigned on the Access Control tab of the file’s Properties dialog box.
Description	This field displays the description of the file. While this description may have been entered on the New File dialog box, it may also be entered or changed on any page of the wizard.
Default Date Format	This option controls the default format Open Plan uses for dates. For new projects, the default format is 31Dec07. However, you can select from many other formats as well. If you later enter a date in a different format, Open Plan attempts to convert it to the format you selected as the default. For example, if your default date format is 31Dec01, Open Plan makes the following conversions: If you enter 31dec and 2007 is the current year, Open Plan interprets the date as 31Dec07. Open Plan always interprets 13/12/07 as December 13, 2007, because 13 cannot be interpreted as a month. If the date you enter is all numeric (for example, 10/01/07), Open Plan uses the order of month and year from your Windows system.
Default Activity Type	You can use this field to select one of the following default activity types for the project: ASAP Start Milestone Discontinuous Hammock External Subproject ALAP Finish Milestone Subproject Effort Driven
Def. Activity Calendar	This is the default calendar to be used for all new activities within the project. Using a default activity calendar makes it easier to share one calendar file over all projects.
Default Res. Curve	The Default Res. Curve field displays the following options: All valid Spread Curves defined within the Spread Curves dialog box for which the user has at least read-only access A blank curve type By default, Default Res. Curve is blank. The Default Res. Curve value is used for all new resource assignments within the project. The Default Res. Curve option is available when using Backup or Save As.
Startup View	You can select the view that Open Plan should display by default when opening the project.
Def. Relationship Calendar	This is the default calendar Open Plan should use for all new relationships within the project.
Default Res. Level	The Default Res. Level field contains the following options: none: Forces the user to enter a value before the assignment can be saved 1: Resource availability value of 1 First availability: Uses the first available record By default, Default Res. Level is set to First Availability. The Default Res. Level value will be used for all new resource assignments within the project. If a user attempts to save the assignment before entering a value (although 0 is a valid value and will be allowed if explicitly entered), the following warning message will display:  "Save assignment with Level of zero?" This warning message will display only once when a user attempts to save the multiple assignments to multiple activities before entering a value. The Default Res. Level option is included in Backup and Save As.
Conversions	Because Open Plan stores all durations internally in minutes, conversion factors are required when a duration is entered in a format other than minutes or hours.
	Three settings control the way in which Open Plan converts durations into minutes from different time units: per Day: This setting controls the number of hours and minutes per day that are used in the conversion. The default setting is 8 hours and 0 minutes. per Week: This setting controls the number of hours and minutes per week that are used in the conversion. Typically, this would be the number of hours per day multiplied by the number of work days in a week. The default setting is 40 hours and 0 minutes. per Month: This setting controls the number of hours and minutes per month that are used in the conversion. Typically, this would be the number of hours per day multiplied by the number of work days in a month. The default setting is 160 hours and 0 minutes.
Durations	Default Units: By specifying a default duration unit, you can enter durations in the project without specifying a unit. You can specify any of the following units: Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months. Min Calculated Duration: You can use this field to specify the minimum duration unit that Open Plan should use in calculations for the project. Calculated durations include those generated while stretching a bar in the barchart view. Default Activity Duration: Specify the default activity duration for new activities in the selected project. When the project is created, this field is populated with the value in the Default Duration field on the Options dialog box Project tab. When you enter a value, all activities created after the value is entered default to the new value. To set the default activity duration for the selected project, see Set the Default Activity Duration at the Project Level. You can enter a number with or without a unit (for example, 1w for 1 week). If you enter a value without a unit in the Default Activity Duration field and at the same time you change the value in the Default Duration Units field, the default duration unit that is used is the one prior to the latest change. This field sets the default only for the selected project. To set the default activity duration at the system level for all new projects, enter a value in the Default Duration field on the Options dialog box Project tab.
Default Access Modes	Using the Default Access Mode fields, you can set separate default access modes for the project and for its ancillary files. Open Plan Professional features the following access modes: Exclusive: A project or ancillary file opened in Exclusive mode can be opened by other users only in Read Only mode. When you have a file open in Exclusive mode, you can save any changes you make. You can also close the file without saving your changes. Shared: This mode enables two or more users to access a file and work with the data at the same time. When you have a file open in Shared mode, any changes that you make to the file are automatically saved as soon as they are made. This provides all users who have the file open with the latest information. Read Only: This mode enables you to view the project or ancillary file. You cannot, however, make any changes to the file while you have it open in this mode.