Checking Out and Checking In Project Plans

To make changes to a project plan, that plan must first be checked out to you. While you have it checked out, other users cannot make changes to the plan. How you check out a plan, however, depends on where in Vantagepoint you access it.

Videos: See related videos below

In Resource View and Project View

In the two resource management views, Resource View and Project View, a plan is automatically checked out to you when you perform any action that could result in a change to a plan, assuming that the plan is not currently checked out to someone else. This enables you to move efficiently from one assignment to another without having to explicitly check out the affected plan each time

For example, if you click on a work breakdown structure (WBS) row for a resource assignment in Resource View, the corresponding project plan is automatically checked out to you. As long as you continue to work on assignments for that plan, it remains checked out to you, but if you move to rows for a different project, the first plan is automatically checked in and the newly selected plan checked out.

A plan that you have checked out in Resource View or Project View is automatically checked in when you navigate away from that plan. For example, the current plan is checked in when you select a different project, go to a different Vantagepoint application, log out of Vantagepoint, navigate to a different URL in the browser, use the browser's Refresh option, or close the browser.

In Projects Hub

When you are working on the Plan form in the Projects hub, you must use the Check Out option on the Actions bar to explicitly check out a plan that you want to update. The primary reason for this approach, rather than automatically checking out the plan as in Resource Management, is to enable you to review a project plan without checking it out and thus locking it so another user cannot update it.

One exception to the above is when you make a change to the project structure. When you edit the structure on the Edit Project Structure form, Vantagepoint automatically checks out the project plan, updates it based on your changes, and checks it back in. You do not have to explicitly check it out or back in yourself.

As in Resource View and Project View, checking in a plan that you have checked out in the Projects hub occurs automatically when you navigate away from that plan. For example, Vantagepoint automatically checks the plan when you leave the Projects hub, select a different project, log out of Vantagepoint, navigate to a different URL, use the browser's Refresh option, or close the browser.

Checking In a Plan Manually

Though a plan is automatically checked in when you switch to a different project or go elsewhere in Vantagepoint, there may be situations in which you need to manually check in a plan. For example, another user could accidentally leave a plan checked out when they leave for the day, and you need to update that plan. Or a power outage could prevent Vantagepoint from automatically checking in plans that were checked out at the time of the outage.

To check in plans in such cases, click Actions > Check In Plans on the Actions bar in Project View or Resource View, or click Other Actions > Check In Plans on the Actions bar on the Plan form in the Projects hub. The Check In Plans dialog box lists all currently checked out plans so you can select the ones you want to check in. You can check in the plans that are checked out to you, and, if your security role is an Administrator role, you can also check in plans that are checked out to others. Be aware, however, that if you check in a plan that is checked out to someone else, they may lose unsaved changed as a result. For that reason, it is recommended that you first try to contact that person before checking in the plan.

Videos

Title	Description
Set Up Resource Planning	Learn how to set up the resource planning module, including selecting options for entering and viewing project, opportunity, and resource plans.
Resource Planning: Reschedule Plan and Assignment Dates	Learn how to change the resource assignment dates or duration for an entire plan or for a specific labor assignment.
Resource Planning: Reassign Resources	Learn how to change resource assignments for a project plan.
Resource Management: Project View	Learn how to use Project View to review and update resource assignment hours, including estimate-to-complete (ETC) hours, for one or more projects.
Resource Management: Resource View	Learn how to use Resource View to review and update resource utilization percentages for employees and generic resources assigned to projects.
Resource Management: Reporting (On-Screen List Report)	Learn how to generate reports in Resource Management. You specify which resources are included, the level of the WBS for which you want to see data, and the columns displayed on the report.
Resource Utilization by Organization Report	Learn how to use the Resource Utilization by Organization report to analyze employee utilization data.