Starting a new project

You can create three types of project:

  • Local projects, which are saved either on your computer, on a network drive.
  • Asta Enterprise projects, which are saved in a data source on an Asta Enterprise server (available only if you use Asta Enterprise).
  • Vision projects, which are stored in the Cloud via Asta Vision (available only if you use Asta Vision).

To create a new local project that will be saved on your computer or on a network drive:

  1. Click the File tab, then click New.
  2. If the New Vision Project control is currently selected, click New Local Project.
  3. Do either of the following:
    • If you want to base the new project on a template, select the template file on which to base the project. The templates that are located in the folder specified against the Template project path on the File Locations tab of the Options dialog are displayed; and optionally those that are located in the \Templates\ folder within the folder in which Asta Powerproject is installed are also displayed.

      If no other templates are available, or if the Show blank template check box is selected on the General tab of the Options dialog, a 'Blank' option appears in the list of templates. If you create a project based on this 'blank' template, your new project will not contain any preset data.
    • If you want to base the new project on an existing project, select 'New from existing'. Basing a new project on an existing project treats the existing project like a template, without you having to save it as a template first.
  4. Enter a file name for the new project, and optionally a path, in the File name field. If you do not specify a path, the project is saved as a local file in the directory specified in the Project path, on the File Locations tab of the Options dialog.
  5. If you want to save the project in a different location, click the arrow to the right of the Browse button and select Local to display a dialog in which you can enter a file name and specify a location; click Create to close this dialog when you have done this.
  6. Enter details in the remaining fields if required. The information you enter into these fields is transferred into fields in the Properties dialog.

    If you leave the For and By fields blank, information is taken from the For and By fields in the selected template and transferred into the project. If you enter information into these fields, this is transferred into the project in place of the template's For and By information.
  7. Click Create. If you have chosen to base the project on a template, the new project opens; if you have chosen to base it on an existing project, the Select Existing Project dialog appears, in which you select the existing project on which to base the new project. Once you have selected the existing project, the new project opens.

If you use a template or existing project that requires a username and password to be entered before its information can be copied into the new project, Asta Powerproject attempts to access the template or existing project using the username and password that you have specified for the new project (if any). If this fails, you are prompted to enter the root username and password for the template or existing project.

You can create multiple subprojects within one project file by creating expanded tasks that lead to subcharts for planning in more detail.

To create a new project or group project that will be saved in a data source on an Asta Enterprise server:

  1. Click the File tab, then click New.
  2. If the New Vision Project control is currently selected, click New Local Project.
  3. If you are creating a group project rather than a new project within an existing group project, do either of the following:
    • If you want to base the new project on a template, select the template file on which to base the project. The templates that are located in the folder specified against the Template project path on the File Locations tab of the Options dialog are displayed; and optionally those that are located in the \Templates\ folder within the folder in which Asta Powerproject is installed are also displayed.

      If no other templates are available, or if the Show blank template check box is selected on the General tab of the Options dialog, a 'Blank' option appears in the list of templates. If you create a project based on this 'blank' template, your new project will not contain any preset data.
    • If you want to base the new project on an existing project, select 'New from existing'. Basing a new project on an existing project treats the existing project like a template, without you having to save it as a template first.
  4. Click the arrow to the right of the Browse button and select Enterprise. The New dialog appears.
  5. To create a project, select the server, data source and group project in which to save the project, then type a name for the new project in the Name field; to create a group project, select the server and data source in which to save the group project, then type a name for the new group project in the Name field.
  6. Click OK. You return to the New tab of the Backstage view. The File name field displays the server, data source and project names (and the group project name if you are creating a subproject).
  7. Enter details in the remaining fields if required. The information you enter into these fields is transferred into fields in the Properties dialog.
  8. Click Create. If you have chosen to base the project on a template, the new project opens; if you have chosen to base it on an existing project, the Select Existing Project dialog appears, in which you select the existing project on which to base the new project. Once you have selected the existing project, the new project opens.

If you use a template or existing project that requires a username and password to be entered before its information can be copied into the new project, Asta Powerproject attempts to access the template or existing project using the username and password that you have specified for the new project (if any). If this fails, you are prompted to enter the root username and password for the template or existing project.

To create a new project that will be stored in the Cloud via Asta Vision:

  1. Click the File tab, then click New.
  2. If the New Local Project control is currently selected, click New Vision Project.
  3. If you are not currently signed into Asta Vision, you are asked to sign in. When you have done so, the Create Project From Template page appears.
  4. Enter details of the new project into the fields on this page.

    More information on the Create Project From Template page.
  5. Click Create. A message appears, informing you that the new project's initial programme will be available in the list of Asta Vision projects on the Open tab of the Backstage view. From there, you can check out the project's initial programme.

When you create a new project - or, in the case of Vision projects, when you check out the project's initial programme - a view opens onto it. The view opens in a new tab - or in a new window, if you have configured Asta Powerproject to display views in distinct windows rather than in tabs. The project name (and the group project name if appropriate) is displayed in the title bar of the program window. The bar chart window displays the bar chart and spreadsheet panes, and may also display the project view and properties view.

Whenever you create a new project using Asta Enterprise, the username you are using on the server is transferred automatically into the project and becomes the first username in the project. By default, this is Admin, unless your System Administrator has set up individual user names for accessing the server.

Once you have created a project, you can set a password for opening the project in the future, and specify the users that have access to the project.

Related Topics:

Opening a project

Configuring how views are displayed in tabs

Working with tabbed views