Displaying unassigned tasks in RBS and CBS views

When a RBS or CBS view is displayed, you can display an 'unassigned tasks' pane that shows all tasks that currently have no resource allocations (in the case of RBS views) or cost allocations (in the case of CBS views) - either no allocations at all, or no allocations of the resources or cost centres that are currently included in the RBS or CBS view. You can then drag tasks from the unassigned tasks pane onto a line that relates to a resource or cost centre in the RBS or CBS view, to assign the resource or cost centre to the task.

To display the unassigned tasks pane within an RBS or CBS view, on the View tab, in the Graph group, click the More Graphs dropdown and select New Unassigned. The unassigned tasks pane appears underneath the spreadsheet and bar chart:

The unassigned tasks pane appears underneath the spreadsheet and bar chart

The pane displays either all tasks that have no resource or cost allocations of the type displayed in the RBS or CBS view, or all tasks that have no allocations of the resources or cost centres that are currently included in the RBS or CBS view. You can specify which tasks are included in the unassigned tasks pane by right-clicking the unassigned tasks pane spreadsheet and selecting Use RBS/CBS Scope from the menu that appears:

  • When the command is checked, the pane displays all tasks that have no allocations of the specific resources or cost centres that are currently included in the RBS or CBS view. For example, if you display an RBS view for one permanent resource and check the Use RBS/CBS Scope command, the pane displays all tasks that have no allocations of that specific permanent resource; the tasks may have allocations from other permanent resources.
  • When the command is cleared, the pane displays all tasks that have no resource or cost allocations at all of the type displayed in the RBS or CBS view. For example, if you display an RBS view for one permanent resource and clear the Use RBS/CBS Scope command, the pane displays all tasks that have no allocations from any permanent resource; the tasks may have consumable resource allocations or cost allocations.

Note that if you have restricted the RBS or CBS view to one or more branches of the project hierarchy by displaying the RBS or CBS view then holding down CTRL and clicking the relevant branch, or branches, in the project hierarchy that is displayed in the project view, the unassigned tasks pane displays only tasks from the branch(es) of the hierarchy that you have selected.

To assign a resource or cost centre to an unassigned task:

  1. In the unassigned tasks pane, click the mouse pointer over the task to which you want to assign a resource or cost centre and - holding the mouse button down - drag the task either onto the bar containing the summary task that relates to the resource or cost centre that you want to assign to the task, or onto one of the bars that contains one of the resource or cost centre's other allocations. In the illustration below, the Plot 6 task is being dragged onto the Alex Lee resource's summary task:

    The Plot 6 task is being dragged onto the Alex Lee resource's summary task

    You can drag the task to any point on the bar; as you do so, the popup displays the start and finish dates that would be applied to the task if it were dropped in that particular place, and whether over-allocation would result. This enables you to drag and drop the task at a point at which the resource or cost centre is available.
  2. Release the mouse button. The task is dropped into the RBS or CBS of the resource or cost centre that you have assigned to it, where a corresponding allocation appears on a new line (unless the resource or cost centre's allocations are currently contracted):

    A corresponding allocation appears on a new line

    The task is removed from the unassigned tasks pane.
  • If you drag and drop and task from the unassigned tasks pane onto an individual resource or cost centre, a scheduled allocation results; if you drag and drop a task onto a resource or cost centre folder, a demand allocation results.
  • If you right-click and drag a task from the unassigned tasks pane onto a resource or cost centre, a menu appears that enables you to specify whether you want to create a demand allocation or a scheduled allocation, and in both cases whether you want the task to retain its original dates:

    A menu that enables you to specify whether you want to create a demand allocation or a scheduled allocation
  • If you want to assign a resource or cost centre that currently has no existing assignments to a task in the unassigned tasks pane, you can do this by choosing to display resources or cost centres with no assignments in RBS and CBS views, then dragging and dropping a task from the unassigned tasks pane to the empty row of the resource or cost centre.

The spreadsheet in the unassigned tasks pane helps you to identify the tasks that are displayed in the pane. You can work with the spreadsheet as follows:

  • Configure the information that is displayed in a column by right-clicking the column heading, selecting Field from the menu that appears, then selecting the information that you want to display in the column.
  • Add a column to the spreadsheet by right-clicking the column heading, selecting Add Column from the menu that appears, then selecting the information that you want to display in the new column.
  • Remove a column from the spreadsheet by right-clicking the column heading then selecting Remove Column from the menu that appears.
  • Sort the tasks in the unassigned tasks pane according to the contents of a column by right-clicking the column heading and selecting either Sort Ascending, Sort Descending or No Sort from the menu that appears.
  • Change the width of a column so that its contents fit as well as possible into the width available by right-clicking a column and selecting Best Fit from the menu that appears.
  • Search for tasks that include a specific alphanumeric string in one of their fields by right-clicking the unassigned tasks pane spreadsheet, selecting Find from the menu that appears, then entering a string into the Find dialog that appears. For example, to narrow down the list of tasks that appears in the pane to those that contain the word 'Site' in their name, enter Site into the Find dialog. The list of tasks in the unassigned tasks pane is narrowed down as you type.
  • Clear the results of a previous Find operation by right-clicking the unassigned tasks pane spreadsheet and selecting Clear Find from the menu that appears.

You can specify the types of task that are displayed in the unassigned tasks pane using the unassigned tasks formatting tools. For example, you may want to display normal tasks and summary tasks, but to exclude expanded tasks, milestones and hammocks. To do this:

  1. Click the unassigned tasks pane.
  2. Click Unassigned Task Tools that appears above the Format tab on the Ribbon.
  3. In the Show group, select the types of task that you want to include, and clear the types of task that you do not want to include.

To close the unassigned tasks pane, on the View tab, in the Graph group, click the More Graphs dropdown and select Delete Unassigned.

As an alternative to closing the unassigned tasks pane, you can toggle it on and off once it has been displayed initially by clicking Show or Hide the Unassigned Tasks View, either on the status bar or in the Show/Hide group on the Format tab.

Related Topics:

Introduction to resource and cost breakdown structures

Specifying whether to display summary tasks for resources and cost centres in RBS and CBS views

Expanding and contracting allocations in RBS and CBS views

Displaying resources or cost centres with no assignments in RBS and CBS views

Reassigning allocations in RBS and CBS views by dragging