Sort/Group Properties dialog - Bars/Tasks tab

You use the Bars/Tasks tab of the Sort/Group Properties dialog to specify the sort/group criteria with which to sort/group bars and tasks in the project hierarchy when this sort/group is applied. Use the other tabs of the dialog to specify sort/group criteria for RBS and CBS views.

Explanation of the fields and buttons on the dialog

The dialog displays the following fields relating to the sort/group:

Field	Description
Name	Enter a descriptive name to apply to the sort/group.
Category	Select a category to assign to the sort/group. Categorising sorts/groups makes it easier to find the sort/group you are looking for, for example when selecting a sort/group to apply to the current view. Whenever you select a sort/group, they are arranged into their categories, with any sorts/groups that do not belong to a category being displayed below the sort/group categories that do exist. Categorising sorts/groups
Display on menu	Select this check box if you want the sort/group to appear on the Sort/Group dropdown in the View Data group on the View tab, making it easier to apply the sort/group.
Detail	You use this grid to specify the sort/group criteria with which bars and tasks are sorted/grouped when this sort/group is applied. You can specify more than one sort/group criterion, each one of which can be based on a different attribute of the bar or the task, or of the resources or cost centres that are assigned to tasks. For example, you can specify that bars and tasks are sorted/grouped first by the permanent resource that is assigned to them, then by their start date. If you specify more than one criterion, the bars and tasks are sorted/grouped by the primary criterion, then by the secondary criterion, and so on. Use the Type column to specify the type of sorting/grouping you want to carry out for each criterion. Available types of sort/group criteria WBS - select this to sort/group tasks according to their WBS code, WBS name or WBS path. Bar - select this to sort/group bars according to a specific bar attribute, for example the start date or the codes that have been applied to bars from a specific code library. Task - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific task attribute, for example the unique task ID or the amount of progress that has been applied to tasks. Permanent resource - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of the permanent resources that have been assigned to them, for example the resource name or availability. Permanent skill - select this when multi-skilled resources are in use to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of the permanent resource skill, for example the resource role or available from date, or by their position in the permanent resource skill hierarchy. Permanent allocation - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of their permanent resource allocations, for example the allocation start date or actual effort. Cost centre - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of the cost centres that have been assigned to them, for example the cost centre name or cumulative cost, or by their position in the cost centre hierarchy. Cost allocation - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of their cost allocations, for example the actual cost or priority. Consumable resource - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of the consumable resources that have been assigned to them, for example the resource name or available from date, or by their position in the consumable resource hierarchy. Consumable allocation - select this to sort/group tasks according to a specific attribute of their consumable resource allocations, for example the allocation duration or allocation group. Use the Attribute column to select the parameter by which bars or tasks are sorted/grouped under each criterion. The available attributes differ depending on the type of sort/group criterion. You can choose whether to retain the hierarchy of charts and summary groups when you define sort/group criteria. If you retain the hierarchy, bars and tasks are sorted/grouped within the confines of their charts (and optionally their summary groups) so that the hierarchy of the project is preserved. If you ignore the hierarchy, bars and tasks are sorted/grouped purely on a bar-by-bar or task-by-task basis, regardless of the charts or summary groups in which tasks are located. Whether or not the project hierarchy is preserved is determined by whether or not you specify 'Project hierarchy' as the first sort/group criterion. Click a sort/group criterion to select it in the grid. You can then configure the selected criterion using the fields on the right of the dialog.

The dialog displays the following fields and buttons relating to whichever sort/group criterion is currently selected in the Detail field (note that the precise fields that are displayed depends on the type of criterion that is selected):

Field/Button	Description
Direction	Specify whether items should be sorted/grouped according to the sort/group criterion in ascending or descending order.
Insert page breaks	Select this check box to insert a page break each time a sort/group criterion changes. For example, if you are sorting/grouping on calendar and you select this check box, printouts start on a new page for each group of bars or tasks that have a different calendar applied. Inserting automatic page breaks when a sort/group criterion changes
Retain natural order for charts and summaries	Select this check box to maintain the natural order of charts and summary groups and to sort/group only their contents; clear this check box to include the expanded tasks and summary tasks that represent charts and summary groups in the sort/group. Note that this check box only appears for 'project hierarchy' sort/group criteria. Sorts/groups and flattening the project hierarchy
Group by	For criteria that relate to dates or durations, select a time period to group items according to the criterion by day, week, month, quarter or year. If you select a time period in this field and display subheadings for the criterion, the date or duration of each time period appears in the subheadings. If a date or duration-based sort/group displays an undesirably large number of sort bands, grouping items in this way enables you to reduce the number of sort bands that are displayed. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to dates or durations. Grouping tasks or allocations by day, week, month, quarter or year
Show duplicate items for multiple assignments	Select this check box to specify that tasks with multiple code, cost or resource allocations (or bars with multiple code allocations) appear multiple times in a sorted/grouped view: once for each unique allocation value or assigned code; clear this check box to specify that bars and tasks with multiple allocations appear once only in a sorted/grouped view, according to the first relevant allocation that corresponds to the sort/group criteria. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to assignments of one kind or another - for example, code library assignments to tasks or bars, or cost or resource assignments to tasks. Specifying whether to display duplicate items for multiple assignments in sorted/grouped views
Retain hierarchy	Select this check box to retain the code library or WBS hierarchy within a sort/group criterion that is based on a code library or on the WBS, or clear this check box to sort/group bars or tasks by the code - or WBS attribute - only, regardless of its position in the code library hierarchy - or in the WBS. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments or to the WBS, and for sort/group criteria that relate to the resource or cost centre hierarchy (it is permanently selected for the latter type of criteria). Dealing with code library, and WBS, resource and cost centre hierarchies in sorts/groups
Limit hierarchy from... levels	Enter a lower limit to specify the number of levels within the code library or WBS, resource or cost centre hierarchy that you do not want to display as subheadings. For example, enter 2 to omit subheadings for the first level of the hierarchy. Note that this field only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments or to the WBS, and for sort/group criteria that relate to the resource or cost centre hierarchy. Dealing with code library, and WBS, resource and cost centre hierarchies in sorts/groups
Limit hierarchy to... levels	Enter an upper limit to specify the number of levels within the code library or WBS, resource or cost centre hierarchy by which to sort/group items. For example, enter 2 to sort/group items by the initial two levels of the hierarchy only. Note that this field only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments or to the WBS, and for sort/group criteria that relate to the resource or cost centre hierarchy. Dealing with code library, and WBS, resource and cost centre hierarchies in sorts/groups
Ruling line	If you want to display a line between each sorted/grouped group of bars or tasks, select the style of line to display. You may want to display ruling lines rather than subheadings in order to save space on the bar chart.
Sub-heading	Specify the type of subheading to display above each sorted group of bars or tasks. You can display no subheadings, subheadings with all columns or only the name of the sort/group criteria displayed, or subheadings with 'fake' summary tasks displayed. If displayed, the subheadings will display the sort/group criteria in a bar above each sorted group of bars or tasks. For example, if you are sorting/grouping on a code library, it will display the code from within the library that has been assigned to the sorted group of tasks. Displaying subheadings when a sort/group criterion changes
Display banding in the spreadsheet	Select this check box if you want to highlight subheadings by continuing their colouring vertically down the far left hand side of the spreadsheet, or clear the check box to restrict subheading colouring to the horizontal subheading bars themselves. Displaying banding in the spreadsheet in sorts/groups that comprise multiple sort/group criteria makes it easier to identify the sort/group criteria to which sorted/grouped tasks and bars belong. Banding in the spreadsheet
Sort/group band with items at the same level	For 'project hierarchy' sort/group criteria, for criteria that relate to the resource or cost centre hierarchy, and for criteria that are based on code library assignments or the WBS for which the Retain hierarchy check box has been selected, select this check box if you want to sort/group the criterion's subheadings along with other items that appear at the same level in the sorted/grouped view; clear this check box to display the subheadings in order according to the project, resource, cost centre, code library or WBS hierarchy. This applies only to sorts/groups with more than one sort/group criterion. Sorting/grouping bands with items at the same level
Sub-heading colour	Select the colour to apply to the subheading bar, and to its banding, if banding is used. You can specify whether this colouring applies to the spreadsheet and the bar chart, or just to the spreadsheet, using the Show sort bands in the bar chart field on the View tab of the Options dialog.
Sub-heading Font	Click this button to select the font, colour and style to apply to the wording in the subheading.
Use hierarchy appearance	For 'project hierarchy' and 'WBS' sort/group criteria, select this check box to use the hierarchy appearance settings (which affect the font and background colour that is applied to subheadings) that have been defined for either the project hierarchy or the WBS when this sort/group is applied; for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments or to the resource or cost centre hierarchy, select this check box to use the foreground and background colours of individual codes, resources or cost centres when this sort/group is applied; clear this check box to specify sort/group-specific appearance options. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments or to the resource or cost centre hierarchy, and for 'project hierarchy' and 'WBS' sort/group criteria. Note also that the colour and font that you specify using the Sub-heading colour field and the Sub-heading font button are applied to the 'Not applicable' subheadings in sorts/groups that use the hierarchy appearance to group objects to which the specified sort/group criteria does not apply. Applying hierarchy appearance settings when banding
Show path	Select this check box to display the full path of codes or WBS criteria in subheadings; clear this check box to display the criteria name without the path that indicates their position in the hierarchy. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to code library assignments and 'WBS' sort/group criteria.
Prefix with UDF name	Select this check box to prefix subheadings that relate to user-defined field sort/group criteria with the names of the user-defined fields on which the criteria are based; clear this check box to display subheadings without the user-defined field names. Including the user-defined field names in subheadings makes it easier to identify the criteria by which items are sorted/grouped. Note that this check box only appears for sort/group criteria that relate to user-defined fields.

The dialog displays the following buttons:

Button	Description
Up	Click this button to move the selected sort/group criterion up one place in the grid, giving it greater priority in the sort/group.
Down	Click this button to move the selected sort/group criterion down one place in the grid, giving it lower priority in the sort/group.
Add	Click this button to add a new sort/group criterion to the grid.
Remove	Click this button to remove the selected sort/group criterion from the grid.

How do I...

The Sort/Group Properties dialog may or may not display three tabs that you can use to specify how the sort/group sorts tasks in other types of view: Permanent RBS, Consumable RBS and CBS. If these three tabs are not currently displayed, you can click More >> to display them. If they are currently displayed, you can click Less << to hide them from view.