Customizing the Microsoft Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light

  • Article

This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

Summary

In Microsoft® Project Professional 2002, you can use the Build Team from Enterprise feature to create a team from the enterprise resource pool. As the enterprise resource pool grows in size, however, it may be advantageous to have a faster way available to build a team. This article shows you how to customize the Project Guide to create a "light" version of the Enterprise Team Builder, which offers a faster way to build a team from the enterprise.

Introduction

This article provides you with four sample files and instructions for modifying them to customize the Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light. This feature is particularly useful if the project manager or resource manager already knows the characteristics of the resources to which he or she has access and needs a way to build a project team quickly.

Enterprise Team Builder Light uses the same functionality as the full Build Team from Enterprise feature, but it is much faster because it does not download all the attributes and availability information for resources. The custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light does not include the complex filters, the availability filter, the details, and the graphs that the full Build Team from Enterprise feature does. As a result, you can quickly filter a list of resources by using enterprise resource outline codes.

This article first explains the three main steps for creating, configuring, and setting up a custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light for Microsoft Project Professional. This article then walks you through the process project managers or resource managers can use to build a team from the enterprise with the custom Project Guide you created.

This article assumes you are familiar with extensible markup language (XML), the Project Guide in Microsoft Project, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and JScript.

Customizing the Project Guide

To start using the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light for Microsoft Project Professional, first download and install the custom files to the directory where you want to run them from. If you want to save the files in a different directory, or if you want to deploy the files to an organization, you must follow the procedures in this article to change the hard-coded paths in the PDSResource.htm and PDSResource.xml files. Next, configure Microsoft Project Professional to use the custom Project Guide by choosing either to use a custom page or custom content on the Interface tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu). In addition, you can start using the Project Guide to build your team from the enterprise, and you can also customize the functionality by adding filters to the custom Project Guide. Finally, this section describes how you can apply resource outline code filters to your enterprise resource pool.

Downloading the Custom Files

To install the custom Project Guide files, double-click the self-extracting file etblightpg.exe at the Microsoft Download Center, and then save the files in the default location: C:\CustomPG\TeamBuilderLight. If you want to copy the files to a different directory, or if you want to deploy the files to an organization, you must use the procedures in the following sections to change the hard-coded paths in two of the downloaded files.

Modifying the PDSResource.htm file

The PDSResource.htm file contains the content for the customized Select enterprise resources Project Guide pane. This includes the text, form buttons, and page definitions for the Enterprise Team Builder Light custom Project Guide.

To modify the path to the JScript file in PDSResource.htm:

  1. Open PDSResource.htm in the text editor or HTML editor of your choice.
  1. Find the following code in the <head> section of the HTML file:
    <script src="file://C:\CustomPG\TeamBuilderLight\PDSResource.js" language="JScript"></script>
  1. Change the src attribute of the above script call to the URL where the PDSResource.js file is located.
  1. Save PDSResource.htm.
Modifying the PDSResource.xml file

The PDSResource.xml file contains the Project Guide goal areas and goal area tasks available when you click Next Steps and Related Activities on the Project Guide toolbar.

To modify this XML file for the Project Guide, you can do one of two things. You can simply modify the path to the PDSResource.htm file, or if you have already customized the Project Guide, you can add the GoalAreaTask node to your customized file.

To modify the path to the HTML file in PDSResource.xml:

  1. Open PDSResource.xml in the text editor or XML editor of your choice.

  1. Find the GoalAreaTask element that that contains the path to the PDSResource.htm file by searching for the following section of code:

    3. 



  <GoalAreaTask>



    

    2. 



      <TaskID> 34 </TaskID>



    

    2. 



      <Title> Select enterprise resources </Title>



    

    2. 



      <TaskName> Add enterprise resources to your project from Microsoft Project Server </TaskName>



    

    2. 



      <URL> file://C:\CustomPG\TeamBuilderLight\PDSResource.htm </URL>



    

    2. 



      <RelevantViews>



    

    2. 



          <ViewScreen> 7 </ViewScreen>



    

    2. 



      </RelevantViews>



    

    2. 



  </GoalAreaTask>



11.



    

  1. Modify the URL element to point to the location where your Project Guide files are located, and then save the file.
    2. 




    

  1. To point to an intranet site, type http://servername/foldername/PDSResource.htm.
    2. 



Modifying a Customized XML File


If you have already customized the Project Guide, you can modify your customized XML file to include the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light. The custom XML file defines the standard goal areas and goal area task names of the Project Guide for your projects. The customization involves creating a new task named Add enterprise resources to your project from Microsoft Project Server under the Resources goal area.


To add the new task name to the resources goal area:


    

  1. Open the custom XML file in the text editor or XML editor of your choice.
    2. 




    

  1. Find the highest unique TaskID used; this example will use the next one.
    2. 




    

  1. Copy and paste the following XML code as a child of the Resources goal area.
    2. 

    3. 



  <GoalAreaTask>



    

    2. 



      <TaskID> Highest Unique TaskID </TaskID>



    

    2. 



      <Title> Select enterprise resources </Title>



    

    2. 



      <TaskName> Add enterprise resources to your project from Microsoft Project Server </TaskName>



    

    2. 



      <URL> file://C:\CustomPG\TeamBuilderLight\PDSResource.htm </URL>



    

    2. 



      <RelevantViews>



    

    2. 



          <ViewScreen> 7 </ViewScreen>



    

    2. 



      </RelevantViews>



    

    2. 



  </GoalAreaTask>




    

  • Using this example, we added the
    • 

  • Select enterprise resources
    • 

  • task to the top of the
    • 

  • Resources
    • 

  • menu in the Project Guide. You can select a different location for this goal area task if you prefer another location in the menu.
    • 




    

  1. If necessary, modify the URL element to reflect the path to the PDSResource.htm file, and then save the custom XML file.
    2. 



Adding a URL to the List of Trusted Sites in Microsoft Internet Explorer


The paths you use for PDSResource.htm and PDSResource.xml can refer to a local file, a URL, or a public share. To use a URL or public share, you must first add the URL to the list of trusted sites in Microsoft Internet Explorer.


To add a URL to the list of trusted sites in Internet Explorer:


    

  1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
    2. 




    

  1. On the Security tab, click Trusted sites, and then click Sites.
    2. 




    

  1. Type the URL in the Add this Web site to the zone field.
    2. 




    

  1. Check or clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone box, and then click Add.
    2. 



Using the PDSResource.js File


The PDSResource.js file is the JScript file that makes calls to the Microsoft Project Data Service (PDS). This file calls the PDS and sends XML requests by using simple object access protocol (SOAP). The code in PDSResource.js has been heavily commented to provide details about the XML requests, cookie settings, and other code being executed.


For more information about the PDS, see the Microsoft Project SDK articles The Project Data Service and Microsoft Project Server Security Architecture and the PDS Reference for Microsoft Project Server


Configuring Microsoft Project Professional to Use the Custom Project Guide


Now that you have downloaded and customized the files necessary to use the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light, you need to point Microsoft Project Professional to the location of the edited XML file in the Microsoft Project user interface. This is done through the Interface tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu).


To point Microsoft Project to the custom Project Guide in the user interface:


    

  1. On the Tools menu, point to Options, and then click Interface.
    2. 




    

  1. In the Options dialog box, click the Use custom content option.
    2. 




    

  1. In the XML file for custom content field, browse to the XML file (or PDSResource.xml) that contains the edits.
    2. 




    

  1. Click Set as Default if you want this to be used as the default Project Guide for all projects.
    2. 



You can also configure and set up custom content for the Project Guide programmatically with Microsoft Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA), using the OptionsInterface method (Application object), as well as the DisplayProjectGuide, ProjectGuideContent, and ProjectGuideFunctionalLayoutPage properties (Project object). For more information, type the method or property name in the Microsoft Project VBA Help Answer Wizard.


Building a Team Using the Custom Project Guide


Now that you have customized and set up your Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light, project managers and resource managers can follow the steps below to use the custom Project Guide to build a team using enterprise resources.


The custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light includes a filter for resource outline codes, which you can use if you have defined outline codes in your enterprise global template. Enterprise resource outline codes are the custom fields used to hold information about resources, such as skills, location, resource breakdown structure, and so on. Enterprise resource outline code fields are the only fields available for filtering resources in the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light.


Using this example, you can customize the Project Guide to include any other filters you want to apply to your resource list. The following procedure shows you how to filter a resource list by using outline codes.


To build a team through the Project Guide using enterprise outline codes:


    

  1. Display the Project Guide.
    2. 




    

  1. Click the Resources goal area, and then click Add enterprise resources to your project from Microsoft Project Server.
    2. 




    

  1. In the Select enterprise resources side pane, under Enterprise outline code, select an enterprise resource outline code, and then click Apply Filter.
    2. 




    

  1. Select the resource and click Add.
    2. 




    

  1. Repeat Steps 2 � 4 for each additional team member.
    2. 



Adding More Complex Filters


This article is a starting point for customizing the resource selection process using the custom Project Guide. It is possible to extend the feature by adding more filters. For example, you may want to add filters for multiple outline codes.


To support filters of multiple outline codes with AND statements requires an enhanced user interface of the custom Project Guide. With this enhanced user interface, you can choose the outline codes that you want to filter on and select a value.


If you have defined enterprise resource outline codes in your project, you can do this by creating a filter grid similar to the Open Enterprise Resource Pool dialog box. First, select values from several outline codes and clear values no longer required. Next, click Apply Filter to construct a filter of all the outline codes and values where the filter was applied. The filter is in the form of "OC1 = value1 AND OC2 = value2."


The enterprise resources satisfying the filter are returned, sorted, and the enterprise resources list is populated. You can select a resource from this list and then click Add to add the resource to the project team.


The list is available for all defined enterprise resource outline codes, and labeled with the renamed name. Each list is empty when the pane is initialized or when you click Remove Filter.


Requirements and Tips for Working with Enterprise Team Builder Light


When using the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light, there are several requirements to keep in mind:


    

  • The custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light is only available for Microsoft Project Professional. The custom Project Guide makes PDS calls to an enterprise Microsoft Project Server, and the PDS calls will fail if you are using Microsoft Project Standard.
    • 




    

  • Full functionality is enabled only if you are connected to a valid Microsoft Project Server.
    • 




    

  • Limited functionality exists when working offline if you have specified a valid Microsoft Project Server URL in your project's collaboration options. For example, you can view resource lists and enterprise outline codes, but you cannot add resources when working offline.
    • 




    

  • To specify a valid Microsoft Project Server URL, on the
    • 

  • Tools
    • 

  • menu, click
    • 

  • Options
    • 

  • , and then click the
    • 

  • Collaborate
    • 

  • tab. In the
    • 

  • Collaborate using
    • 

  • list, select
    • 

  • Microsoft Project Server
    • 

  • . In the
    • 

  • Microsoft Project Server URL
    • 

  • field, type the name of the Microsoft Project Server URL.
    • 




    

  • When running the custom Project Guide for Enterprise Team Builder Light, Microsoft Project displays a message box asking whether you want to run ActiveX® controls on the current page. This message is generated when Microsoft Project Server creates the ActiveX SOAP client that is used to communicate with the PDS. Click Yes to use the custom Project Guide; clicking No will generate script errors. If your security settings do not permit you to run ActiveX controls, you cannot use Enterprise Team Builder Light.
    • 




    

  • To populate the enterprise outline code and resource lists, you must first define them in Microsoft Project Server by editing the enterprise global template.
    • 




    

  • You can increase the width of the side pane by resizing the right border. The width of the side pane may be too wide if the buttons, Enterprise resource outline codes, or Enterprise resource names are too wide for the default side pane width.
    • 



Additional Information


Customizing the Microsoft Project Guide


Microsoft Project Developer Center


PDS Reference for Microsoft Project Server


The SOAP Developer Center on MSDN