Cobra 8.3 Help System

Using the Help Search
Using the Help Search
  • Phrase:Returns all topics that contain the exact phrase in the search criteria. Use quotation marks around the phrase.
    Ex."system administration"
  • And:Returns all topics that contain all the words in the search criteria, in any combination. Insert a plus sign between all words in the search criteria.
    Ex.system + administration
  • Or:Returns all topics with any combination of words in the search criteria. This is the default.
    Ex.system administration
For more information:Searching Online Help

Import Files for Budget and Forecast Information

The import file must contain the required columns when importing data from a CSV file or Excel spreadsheet.

Field Type Required for
Baseline Forecast
CA1 * Character Y Y
CA2 * Character Y Y
CA3 * Character Y Y
WP * Character Y Y
Milestone Character
Milestone Weight Numeric
Description Character
ID Character
Resource
Individual <Results>
Baseline Start Date Date Y
Baseline Finish Date Date Y
Forecast Start Date Date Y
Forecast Finish Date Date Y
Early Start Date Date
Early Finish Date Date
Late Start Date Date
Late Finish Date Date
Progress Technique Character
Units to do Numeric
CAM Character
Code 1 * Character
Code 2 * Character
Code 3 * Character
Code 4 * Character
Code 5 * Character
Code 6 * Character
Code 7 * Character
Code 8 * Character
Code 9 * Character
Budget Class Character
Forecast Class Character
  • Fields marked by * are displayed as the prompt defined on the Project Properties dialog box.
  • Only the key fields defined on the Project Properties dialog box are required.
  • On the Integration tab of the Application Preferences dialog box, there is an option to save temporary integration tables. By saving the temporary tables, you can examine how the CSV or XLS file is interpreted during the import.
  • When you select to import resource assignments, you must use theID field to correlate the activity file to the resource file. When importing from a scheduling system, this field is usually the activity ID. However, you can concatenate the WBS, OBS, and work package to generate a link between the two files.
  • When importing control account-level codes such as the CAM, the WP code must be blank to indicate a control account-level data.
  • When importing from a single activity and resource assignment file, take note of the following:

    CA1 and CA2 depend on what has been defined in the project.

    HOURS is generally the base result, but you can also select multiple columns with different results (for example, HOURS, DIRECT, OVERHEAD, GANDA). The Individual <Results> column displays the results as HOURS, DIRECT, OVERHEAD, or GANDA depending on what is defined in the resource calculation file. Only one Result column is required.

  • The Apportioned progress technique is not supported for the integration process. If you want to use this progress technique for integration, you must manually select it on the  General tab of the Project view.
  • When importing progress techniques, use the corresponding progress technique letter code.
Field Type Required for
Baseline Forecast
ID Character Y Y
Resource Character Y Y
Amount Numeric Y Y
From Date Date
To Date Date
Class Character
Curve Character

The following options identify how resources are spread across the activity dates:

  • Using the From Date and To Date fields, you can specify the exact value to place in each period. The resource value is spread across these dates. For example, if the From Date andTo Date for a resource are in the middle of the month, the amount specified is placed in a single period. If the From Date and To Date span several months, the amount is spread over those periods instead.
  • On the Resource Assignments page of the Integration wizard, there is an option to spread a resource across activity dates. This spreads the amount linearly across the activity dates.  

    There is also an option to use curves for resource spreads. The curve name entered in the resource file must match the curve name on the Spread Curves tab of the Application Preferences dialog box.

  • Resources with multiple records are summed up based on the key fields and the From Date and To Date. If there are multiple records with different From Date and To Date, Cobra will load each amount over each period specified.