Using Custom Outline Codes in Microsoft Project 2000Copyright © 2001 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Custom outline codes, a new feature in Microsoft Project 2000, are tags you define for tasks or resources that provide a structure for your project that is different from WBS codes or outline numbers. Typically, you apply each outline code to two or more tasks or resources. Unlike WBS codes, more than one set of outline codes can be applied.

Outline codes indicate membership in a category, relationship among members, or both. In Microsoft Project, each set of outline codes is based on a trait you specify, such as cost, department, or phase. By applying outline codes to tasks, you can group those tasks into a hierarchy based on the underlying trait. You're no longer restricted, for instance, to viewing tasks in a hierarchical structure based on task dependencies.

For example, you can create a set of outline codes based on cost codes for resources. You may apply one cost code to executives, another to managers, and a third to team members. As this example implies, outline codes can themselves be part of a hierarchical structure. Then they enable you to not only group resources but to group them hierarchically, like this:

Cost code "Exec"

  • Executive 1
  • Executive 2

Cost code "Mgr"

  • Manager 1
  • Manager 2

Cost code "Team"

  • Team member 1
  • Team member 2

If you define and apply more than one set of outline codes, you can show more than one hierarchical grouping, each based on a different trait. For instance, you may assign a set of cost codes and a set of job codes to resources.

There are three phases in defining a set of outline codes. First, you insert an outline code field into a task sheet view. Next, you define the outline code for each level. Last, you specify the values for each level.

You then specify which characters will represent each level in the hierarchy, using uppercase or lowercase letters, numbers, or characters (any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers) and a symbol to separate the levels of the code. The total length of an outline code can be up to 255 characters. For example, if you specified an outline code with three levels (three uppercase letters in the first level, three numbers in the second level, any number of characters in the third level) and a plus sign as the code separator, you could enter outline codes such as:

  • AAA+111+Design1
  • ABC+123+Manufacturing2
  • BBB+395+QualityCtrl5

Note that the first level of the custom outline code must be all uppercase letters and the second level must be three numbers. The following sample outline codes would not be correct:

  • Aaa+111+Design1
  • ABC+2+Manufacturing2
  • B2+abc+QualityCtrl5

The difference between WBS codes and custom outline codes

WBS codes are alphanumeric codes that can be customized and that reflect a task's place in the outline structure of the project. Microsoft Project calculates the WBS codes after you define a WBS code mask. You can't edit WBS codes directly, but you can move tasks up or down the task list, or indent or outdent them, and then renumber the WBS codes to update them.

Custom outline codes are also alphanumeric codes that can be customized, but they reflect an alternate structure for your tasks or resources to give you more flexibility in working with Microsoft Project data. Microsoft Project does not calculate outline codes because only you know the structure of tasks or resources you want to represent.

Creating a custom outline code

First, you need to create a code mask for the outline code. The code mask defines each level of the outline code, including the sequence of letters or numbers, the number of letters or numbers required for each level, and the symbol separating the levels. To make entering outline codes faster and more accurate, you can also define a lookup table for users to choose from when entering outline codes. You can restrict the outline code to entries from the lookup table or allow other outline codes that conform to the code mask you set. After an outline code is defined, you can display the outline code field in a sheet view and enter outline codes for tasks or resources.

Creating custom outline codes

You can define a set of outline codes on a sheet view, such as the Task Sheet or Resource Sheet view, that contains the tasks or resources you want to organize with an outline code.

  1. For task outline codes, click More Views on the View menu, select Task Sheet, and then click Apply.
    For resource outline codes, click Resource Sheet on the View menu.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Customize, and then click Fields.
  3. In the Type box, click Outline Code.
  4. In the Field box, click the outline code you want to define, such as Outline Code 1.
  5. Click Rename.
  6. In the New name for box, type a name for the custom outline code you want to create.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Click Define Outline Code.
  9. To specify the outline code for first-level tasks, click the first row in the Sequence column, and then select the character type.
  • Click Numbers to show a numerical outline code for this level.
  • Click Uppercase Letters to show uppercase alphabetical outline codes; for example, A, B, and C for the first three summary tasks in the project.
  • Click Lowercase Letters to show lowercase alphabetical outline codes; for example, a, b, and c for the first three summary tasks in the project.
  • Click Characters to show any combination of numbers and uppercase and lowercase letters; for example, Arch1, Const1, and Insp1 for the first three summary tasks in the project. Choosing Characters gives you the most flexibility for entering customized outline codes.

Microsoft Project displays an asterisk (*) in the outline code field until you define a string of characters for this level of the outline code.

  1. In the Length column, click the first row, and then select a number for the number of characters in the first-level outline code. For example, type 3 to make three characters the mandatory number of characters to enter in this level of the outline code. The total length of an outline code can be up to 255 characters.
  2. In the Separator column, click the first row, and then type or select a character to separate the outline code levels. By default, the separator character is a period.

Tips

  • You can have different separator characters between each code level.
  • You can type a character other than a period, minus sign, plus sign, or slash; for example, you can type an ampersand (&) or a number sign (#).
  • You can choose to have no separator character between code levels. In the Length field, click a number. In the Separator field, delete the separator character.
  1. Repeat steps 9 through 11 for each outline code level you want to specify.
  2. To restrict users from entering codes without all levels of the outline code you defined, select the Only allow new codes with values in all levels of mask check box.

Creating a lookup table for a custom outline code

After you create a custom outline code, you can define entries users can choose from when assigning outline codes to tasks or resources by creating a lookup table. A lookup table makes entering outline codes faster and more accurate. Also, you can restrict users from entering outline codes other than those you define in the lookup table.

  1. For task outline codes, click More Views on the View menu, select Task Sheet, and then click Apply.
    For resource outline codes, click Resource Sheet on the View menu.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Customize, and then click Fields.
  3. In the Type box, click Outline Code.
  4. In the Field box, click the outline code for which you want to define a lookup table, such as Outline Code 1.
  5. Click Define Outline Code.
  6. Click Edit Lookup Table.
  7. In the Outline Code column, click the first row, and then type a first-level outline code.

Note: The code you enter must conform to the definition you specified for its level in the Outline Code Definition dialog box. For example, if you specified that a first-level outline code consists of three uppercase letters, then in a first-level row (which has 1 in the Level column), you can type AAA, CVB, or WOL, but not AA, A, AAAA, aaa, aAa, or 123. You can have more than one outline code for each level.

  1. In the Description column, briefly describe what the outline code represents.
    For example, if MKTG is the cost code for the marketing department, you may enter "Marketing cost code" in the Description column. If you add a description for an outline code level, Microsoft Project groups tasks or resources by the description ("Marketing cost code") not the code ("MKTG").
  2. Add each remaining outline code to its own row, using the Outdent, Indent, Cut Row, Copy Row, Paste Row, Insert Row, and Delete Row buttons to structure the hierarchy of outline codes the way you want it. To see or hide some or all rows, use the Expand, Collapse, and Expand All buttons.
  3. To restrict users from entering codes other than those you defined in the lookup table, select the Only allow codes listed in the lookup table check box.
  4. Click Close.
  5. Select the field to the right of where you want to insert the outline code field, such as the Task Name field to insert outline codes immediately to the left of task names.
  6. On the Insert menu, click Column.
  7. In the Field name box, click the name of the outline code you defined.
  8. Adjust the format of the outline code field you are adding:
  • In the Align title box, click Left, Center, or Right to align the title in relation to the field margin.
  • In the Align data box, click Left, Center, or Right to align the outline number in relation to the field margin.
  • In the Width box, select a width for the outline code, or click Best Fit to size the width of the column to the title.