Using variable dates such as 'Today' or 'Tomorrow'

A number of date fields throughout Asta Powerproject allow you to specify variable dates, rather than specific dates such as 09/01/2017. Examples of variable dates that you can specify are 'Today', 'Month start' and 'Year end'. These dates are converted into actual dates each time you open a project, and the date with which they correspond will change according to the current date. For example, if you open a project on 09/01/2017, 'Today' will be 09/01/2017, 'Month start' will be 01/01/2017 and 'Year end' will be 31/12/2017.

You can apply offsets to variable dates, using Asta Powerproject's time units - both working and elapsed. For example, you can specify 'Month start+1ew' (the start date of the current month plus one elapsed week) or 'Today-3d' (three working days before today's date).

Examples of where specifying a variable date rather than a specific date might be useful include:

  • Displaying a vertical grid line in the bar chart that always appears on today's date.
  • Shading the current quarter in the bar chart.
  • Setting up multiple horizontal sections in the date zone that always display the current month in a particular scale.
  • Configuring a spreadsheet column to display dated notes that were entered during the previous week.

You can specify a variable date in any date field whose drop-down date picker control displays the text (click to select variable date) at the bottom. You can also use variable dates when constructing TQL queries.

Descriptive name Abbreviation Converts to
Yesterday ydy Yesterday's date.
Today tdy Today's date.
Tomorrow tmw Tomorrow's date.
Current progress period date cp The report date of the current progress period.
Week start ws The start of the current week as defined by the calendar's work pattern.
Week end we The end of the current week as defined by the calendar's work pattern.
Month start ms The first day of the current month.
Month end me The last day of the current month.
Quarter start qs The first day of the current quarter.
Quarter end qe The last day of the current quarter.
Year start ys The first day of the current year.
Year end ye The last day of the current year.
Project start ps The date on which the project starts.
Project end pe The date on which the latest task in the project ends.
Last week start lws The start of the previous week as defined by the calendar's work pattern.
Last week end lwe The end of the previous week as defined by the calendar's work pattern
Date zero dz

The date on which unit numbering begins in the current view - if a "date zero" has been specified for the view or for the project as a whole.

 

Note that the "date zero" variable date differs from other variable dates, as a different "date zero" can be specified for each view. This means that if you use "date zero" as a variable date, the results of the variable date can differ from view to view.

 

Numbering in the date zone

You can specify a variable date in one of two ways:

  • By typing either the full descriptive name (eg 'Today' or 'Week start') or the abbreviation (eg 'tdy' or 'ws') of the variable date directly into the date field.
  • By clicking (click to select variable date) at the bottom of the date field's date picker control and selecting the variable date you want from the list that appears.

When you specify a variable date, Asta Powerproject assumes the time to be 00:00 (midnight) unless you explicitly define a different time. To specify a time other than midnight for a variable date, click in the date field and type the required time - for example 13:45 - directly after the variable date's descriptive name or abbreviation. You can place a space character between the variable date and the time if you wish, but this is optional.

To apply an offset to a variable date, click in the date field and type the offset - for example +2ew or -5d - directly after the variable date's descriptive name or abbreviation (and after the variable date's time, if one has been specified). You can place a space character between the variable date and the offset if you wish, but this is optional.

When you apply an offset that uses a working time unit (for example d rather than ed), the calendar that is applied to the date zone in the current view is used to calculate the precise duration of the offset.