Grouping in the Spreadsheet View
You can define groups for the spreadsheet portion of a barchart view as well as for stand-alone spreadsheet views.
A group consists of a block of data that begins with a subheading. You can group related data for presentation in a single-table spreadsheet view based on the contents of an activity field.
You can display summaries for groups at either the top or the bottom of the group. The type of summarization Open Plan performs for a column depends on the data displayed in the column. For example, if the column displays a numeric value, then the summary represents the total of all the values for that group. On the other hand, a column displaying finish dates will summarize as the latest date in that group. Some columns (for example, activity IDs or descriptions) do not summarize at all.
You can control how calculated fields are summarized by Open Plan in groups.
If you display groups for a view that has a sort order in effect, Open Plan sorts the activities within the defined groups.
You can also display a row showing grand totals for the entire project at the bottom of the view.
You can specify the font, text color, and background color for group headings and summary lines. In addition, you can indicate a field to display for each heading. This allows you, for example, to base your group on a particular activity code and then display the description field for that code in the group heading. You also have the option of forcing a page break each time a new group displays in the view.
You can define groups for the spreadsheet portion of a barchart view as well as for stand-alone spreadsheet views.
If you use groups for a view that has a sort order in effect, Open Plan sorts the rows within the defined groups.
To enable the Grouping tab, select Enable Grouping on the Spreadsheet Preferences dialog box Options tab.
Defining Groups
You can control the groups in a spreadsheet view and define the settings for the groups using the Spreadsheet Preferences dialog box Grouping tab. Click Enable Grouping on the Options tab to enable the Grouping tab.
You define groups using the Break On column in the Grouping tab grid. Each row you enter in the Break On column creates an additional sublevel group.
Wherever you add a “break,” Open Plan adds a heading row in the spreadsheet view to indicate a group. You can add a heading label for the row or leave it blank.
When you assign a hierarchy code file with Break Level = 0 in the Grouping tab grid, Open Plan automatically indents the hierarchy structure in the spreadsheet (up to 40 levels) and color codes the levels as follows:
- Levels 1 through 5 = Blue
- Levels 6 through 10 = Green
- Levels 11 through 15 = Gold
- Levels 16 through 20 = Purple
The colors repeat after level 20.
The advantage of doing it this way is that you don’t have to manually enter each level of the hierarchy into the Grouping tab grid. When you use Break Level = 0, Open Plan automatically aligns and colors each level in the view.
Although you cannot select colors when you use Break Level = 0, you can still manually select colors when you use any other Break Level.