Asta Powerproject version 15.0.02 release notes

This topic lists the new features that have been introduced, and the issues that have been addressed, in the Asta Powerproject version 15.0.02 release.

Issue	N/A
Category	General
Summary	User interface improvements.
Description	The Asta Powerproject user interface has been improved so that it looks better when viewed on high-DPI monitors. In addition, some of Asta Powerproject’s icons have been updated to improve their visibility. You will notice that the Backstage view now looks different, as do the Ribbon and view tabs.

 

Issue	N/A
Category	Asta Vision
Summary	Use quality checks to determine whether Asta Vision programmes can be submitted.
Description	You can now upload quality check metrics to Asta Vision, apply these to programmes and use the results of the quality checks to determine whether programmes can be submitted.   If a quality check has been applied to a programme type in Asta Vision, the quality check is executed automatically on the programme when you attempt to submit it. If the programme passes the quality check, the Check-In Programme and Submit dialog appears. If the programme fails the quality check, one of the following things happens, depending on the way in which you configure Asta Vision: You are warned that the programme has failed the quality check and asked if you want to continue with the submission. You are warned that the programme has failed the quality check and that you cannot submit the programme, although you can check it in. The submission goes ahead regardless.

 

Issue	N/A
Category	Asta Vision/Asta Enterprise
Summary	Check out Asta Vision programmes to an Asta Enterprise server.
Description	Before this release, you could only check out Asta Vision programmes as individual .PP files. Now, you can check them out to an Asta Enterprise server, for use in a multi-user environment. This enables you to view and edit a programme at the same time as other users who have access to the same Asta Powerproject Enterprise server.

 

Issue	23894
Category	RBS/CBS
Summary	Filtered RBS views do not group together resource allocations by resource name.
Description	Before this release, if you filtered the allocations in an RBS view, allocations were not correctly grouped together by resource name, resulting in resources appearing multiple times in the RBS view.
Resolution	The default sort/group for filtered RBS views was incorrectly sorting/grouping resources by name, then by date. Resources are now sorted/grouped by name, then by skill, then by date, which prevents resources from appearing multiple times in filtered RBS views.

 

Issue	24736
Category	Powerdraw
Summary	The position of objects in a border alters slightly after each save in Powerdraw.
Description	Before this release, each time you saved a border in Powerdraw then closed and reopened the border, the position of objects in the border changed by about 0.2mm. Multiple saves, closes and reopens would make the positioning of objects progressively worse.
Resolution	It is now possible to save, close and reopen border files in Powerdraw without the positioning of border objects being altered.

 

Issue	25207
Category	Progress
Summary	Specify the measure of progress against relevant fields in formulae and when they are displayed in the bar chart.
Description	Before this release, it was not possible to specify which measure of progress (duration, overall or cost) to use when displaying progress-related fields in formulae or the bar chart.
Resolution	You can now specify which measure of progress to use when displaying progress-related fields in formulae, using the new Measure of progress field that has been added to the Select Object dialog; you can specify which measure of progress to use when displaying progress-related fields in the bar chart, using the new Measure of progress field that has been added to the Attributes dialog. In addition, you can now select "Live Project" in the Baseline field on this dialog when specifying the attributes of any fields that normally refer to baseline information but can also be used to refer to data in the live project.

 

Issue	25616
Category	Import and export
Summary	Implied links between tasks on the same bar included in exported projects when tasks can overlap on the bar.
Description	Normally, if a bar contains more than one task, "implied" links exist between the tasks on the bar and these are treated as if they were real links when you export the project to a different file format. If a bar is configured to allow tasks to overlap, there are no such implied links between its tasks. Before this release, Asta Powerproject incorrectly assumed that there were implied links between tasks on bars on which tasks can overlap and these links were included when you exported the project, resulting in the tasks in the exported project being linked incorrectly.
Resolution	When you export a project, Asta Powerproject no longer assumes that there are implied links between tasks on bars on which tasks can overlap, so these tasks are no longer linked incorrectly in the exported project.

 

Issue	25735
Category	Calendars
Summary	Alert does not appear when changing calendars.
Description	Before this release, if you changed a task's calendar, the alert that asks whether you want to maintain the dates and change the task's duration did not appear.
Resolution	Before this release, the alert appeared only if you changed a task's calendar to a calendar that used a different work pattern. The alert now appears whenever you change a task's calendar, regardless of which work pattern is used by the new calendar.

 

Issue	25943
Category	Spreadsheet/Sorting
Summary	Sorting columns that display the Project Manager field does not work.
Description	Before this release, if you displayed the Project Manager field in a spreadsheet column and attempted to sort the column, bars would be sorted incorrectly: they would be sorted by the internal object IDs of the project manager permanent resources.
Resolution	It is now possible to sort spreadsheet columns that display the Project Manager field alphabetically. In addition to this, you can now select "Project Manager" as a sort/group attribute when creating or editing sort/groups.

 

Issue	26178
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Reschedule takes much longer than expected.
Description	Before this release, if you rescheduled a project that contained a large number of work patterns, the reschedule would take much longer than expected for the size of project.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now determines whether calendars have changed before recalculating them during the reschedule, and if a calendar has not changed, it is no longer recalculated. This means that rescheduling projects that contain a large number of work patterns is now much quicker.

 

Issue	27302
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Unable to open IFC model in Asta Powerproject 4D.
Description	A customer reported that when they attempted to open an IFC model in Asta Powerproject 4D, they received a number of "The reference to entity #<number> is invalid. No such entity in file" errors.
Resolution	A number of IFC lines were missing from the IFC model in question. Asta Powerproject 4D is now able to open IFC models from which IFC lines are missing.

 

Issue	28052
Category	Histograms
Summary	Histogram group scope excludes data from other charts.
Description	Before this release, histograms that were configured to use "group scope" incorrectly excluded data from tasks in other charts.
Resolution	Histogram group scope now includes data from all relevant tasks.

 

Issue	28145
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	IFC Model pane is not resized correctly when it displayed as a separate window after the Asta Powerproject window is minimised.
Description	Before this release, if you displayed the IFC Model pane - or any other BIM-specific pane - as a separate window, displayed outside the main Asta Powerproject window, minimised the Asta Powerproject window, then restored it to its previous size by clicking the Asta Powerproject icon in the Windows task bar, the IFC Model pane would not be restored to its previous size.
Resolution	BIM-specific panes now behave normally when displayed as separate windows, when they or the Asta Powerproject window are maximised, minimised and restored.

 

Issue	28728
Category	RBS/CBS
Summary	Cost centre rollups in CBS views include data from allocations in task pools.
Description	Before this release, cost centre rollups in CBS views included data from allocations in task pools, although such tasks were correctly excluded from the bar chart.
Resolution	Cost centre rollups in CBS views no longer include data from allocations in task pools.

 

Issue	28801
Category	General
Summary	Possible to select the Not available for new assignments check box by clicking far to the right of it.
Description	Before this release, it was possible to select the Not available for new assignments check box, on the Details tab of the Permanent Resource Properties dialog, by clicking far to the right of it. This could lead to customers selecting the check box accidentally.
Resolution	To select the Not available for new assignments check box, you now have to click exactly on the check box itself.

 

Issue	28931
Category	Import and export
Summary	Cannot open projects with calendar names longer than 52 characters in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject.
Description	Before this release, if a project contained any calendars with names longer than 52 characters, it was not possible to open it in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject. Microsoft Project has a calendar name limit of 52 characters.
Resolution	If a project contains any calendars with names longer than 52 characters, their names are now truncated during the Microsoft Project export process.

 

Issue	28933
Category	Import and export
Summary	Cannot open projects with consumable resources with a measurement unit of "Days" in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject.
Description	Before this release, if a project contained any consumable resources with a measurement unit set to "Days", it was not possible to open it in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject. "Days" is not a valid measurement unit for consumable resources in Microsoft Project.
Resolution	If a project contains any such invalid settings, a full-stop is added to the setting name during the Microsoft Project export process. For example, "Days" would become "Days.". This enables you to open the project in Microsoft Project.

 

Issue	29014
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	IFC model not linking correctly.
Description	A customer reported that items in the IFC Categories pane were not being displayed and hidden correctly when objects were selected and deselected in the IFC Model pane.
Resolution	This issue was caused by the IFC model containing a number of invalid splits and merges, which Asta Powerproject 4D was unable to handle. Asta Powerproject 4D is now able to handle problems like this.

 

Issue	29129
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Add an 'IFC simulation profile' control to the Object Edit toolbar.
Description	A customer requested the ability to assign IFC simulation profiles to tasks using a control on the Object Edit toolbar, in the same way as you can assign IFC task types to tasks.
Resolution	You can now add an IFC simulation profile control to the Object Edit toolbar. You can add this control to the Object Edit toolbar by customising the toolbar and selecting the control from either the 'All Commands' or 'Object Edit' command category. You may want to add this control to the Object Edit toolbar if you use IFC simulation profiles to specify the way in which objects are "built": having this control available on the Object Edit toolbar gives you another way of assigning an IFC simulation profile to a task.

 

Issue	29203
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Not possible to move a column to the far left or right of the spreadsheet directly using the Table Definition Properties dialog.
Description	Before this release, it was not possible to move a column to the far left or right of the spreadsheet by selecting it in the Table Definition Properties dialog and clicking Up or Down; to achieve this, you had to select the left-most or right-most column in the dialog and move this using the Up or Down buttons, thereby making another field the left-most or right-most field.
Resolution	It is now possible to move a column to the far left or right of the spreadsheet by selecting it in the Table Definition Properties dialog and clicking Up or Down.

 

Issue	29227
Category	Line of Balance
Summary	Display labels to identify stages, gangs or trades in Line of Balance graphs.
Description	A customer requested the ability to display labels in Line of Balance graphs that identify the different stages, gangs or trades that are represented in the graphs, and for these labels to be included in printouts.
Resolution	You can now choose to display labels that identify stages, gangs or trades in Line of Balance graphs. You can choose to colour labels according to the fill colour of the corresponding 'stages' code library entry, or to apply the same colouring to all labels. If you choose to colour labels according to the fill colour of code library entries, the foreground fill colour is used unless this is set to white, in which case the background fill colour is used.

 

Issue	29400/31666
Category	Asta Enterprise
Summary	Poor performance when expanding the project hierarchy to all levels.
Description	Before this release, when the Display hierarchy banding when not sorting check box, on the General tab of the Format Bar Chart dialog, was cleared, Asta Powerproject took an unusually long amount of time to expand the project hierarchy to all levels. In addition, expanding the project hierarchy to all levels took an unusually long time when a sort/group was applied.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject no longer takes an unusually long amount of time to expand the project hierarchy when the Display hierarchy banding when not sorting check box is cleared, or when a sort/group is applied.

 

Issue	29411
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Able to assign IFC products only once per session.
Description	Before this release, it was possible to assign IFC products only once per session: if you wanted to assign IFC products again in a project, you had to first save, close and reopen the project.
Resolution	It is now possible to assign IFC products more than once without having to save, close and reopen the project.

 

Issue	29527
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Problem copying and pasting multiple tasks on a bar.
Description	Before this release, if you SHIFT-selected a number of tasks on the same bar, right-clicked them and selected Copy, then selected a task on a different bar, right-clicked it and selected Paste, the copied tasks would be pasted onto the second bar, but would appear in a different order and with the wrong dates.
Resolution	It is now possible to copy and paste tasks in this way without the task ordering being changed.

 

Issue	29541
Category	Resource usage view
Summary	Problems displaying zeroes in the resource usage view.
Description	Before this release, the Zero as blank check box, on the Appearance tab of the Resource Usage Properties dialog, had no effect. In addition, while zeroes were displayed in the resource usage view against tasks, they did not appear against summaries.
Resolution	These problems were caused inadvertently by the introduction of other functionality. The Zero as blank check box now works as intended and zeroes now appear against summaries where appropriate.

 

Issue	29544
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	IFC product build ordering selection is not remembered.
Description	Before this release, Asta Powerproject 4D did not remember the IFC product build ordering type that you selected on the Set Product Build Orders dialog; if you clicked the Sequential build orders from radio button in this dialog when editing the build orders of split products, the Identical build orders equal to radio button was selected the next time you accessed the dialog.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject 4D now remembers which radio button you select on the Set Product Build Orders dialog, so the same radio button is selected the next time you access the dialog.

 

Issue	29549
Category	Printing
Summary	Print preview orientation controls not working.
Description	A customer reported that when displaying a full print preview of their projects, the Portrait Orientation and Landscape Orientation controls on the Print Preview toolbar did not work properly; they changed the layout of the elements of the Asta Powerproject screen without changing the orientation of the page.
Resolution	This problem was caused by an issue with a particular printer driver and has now been resolved.

 

Issue	29622
Category	Printing
Summary	Background colour of priority indicator spreadsheet cells does not print.
Description	Before this release, if you applied a background colour to spreadsheet cells displaying the priority indicator, this background colour was not included in printouts.
Resolution	The background colour of priority indicator spreadsheet cells is now included in printouts.

 

Issue	29645/30518
Category	Unique task IDs
Summary	Prevent Asta Powerproject from assigning unexpectedly high unique task IDs.
Description	Two users reported that in certain circumstances, Asta Powerproject was assigning unexpectedly high unique task IDs to tasks.
Resolution	In some circumstances, for example if you are working with a project that has been created by copying a different project then deleting tasks from within it, Asta Powerproject may assign unique task IDs with unexpectedly high values. This is because Asta Powerproject stores the unique task IDs that have been assigned in a cache, which it refers to when necessary to ascertain what the next unique task ID should be. You can now resolve this problem if it happens by clicking Reset Cache on the Unique Task ID Numbering dialog. This clears the cache of unique task IDs.

 

Issue	29671
Category	Sorting
Summary	Chart boundaries ignore summaries displayed in sort/group subheadings.
Description	Before this release, any closed summary tasks that were displayed in sort/group subheadings were ignored by the chart boundaries, meaning that they appeared outside the boundaries of the view.
Resolution	Chart boundaries now respect closed summary tasks that appear in sort/group subheadings.

 

Issue	29705
Category	Printing
Summary	Printed legend incorrect when printing a view in "jagged progress" mode.
Description	Before this release, if you printed a view when in "jagged progress" mode, the printed legend stated that the colour applied to live tasks was the baseline colour.
Resolution	The printed legend now correctly identifies the colour that is applied to live tasks when you print a view in "jagged progress" mode.

 

Issue	29718
Category	Keyboard shortcuts
Summary	Keyboard shortcuts not working.
Description	The following keyboard shortcuts did not work: F2 to edit spreadsheet data; and CTRL Z to undo.
Resolution	These keyboard shortcuts now work.

 

Issue	29792
Category	VBA
Summary	"ProgressPeriodForStraightening" user property produces an "AOT object not found" exception when configured to use the progress entry period in VBA.
Description	Before this release, if you configured the "ProgressPeriodForStraightening" user property to use the progress entry period in VBA, it would produce an "AOT object not found" exception.
Resolution	If you configure the "ProgressPeriodForStraightening" user property to use the progress entry period in VBA, it now uses the correct progress period.

 

Issue	29808
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Bar chart shading disappears if you save a copy of a project over the original file.
Description	Before this release, if you shaded the bar chart between two dates, the shading would disappear if you saved a copy of the project over the original file (File – Save As, then overwrite the original file).
Resolution	Bar chart shading is now retained if you save a copy of a project over the original file.

 

Issue	29828
Category	Import and export
Summary	Problems with user-defined field names when exporting projects to Microsoft Project.
Description	Before this release, if a project contained any user-defined fields with names that were disallowed in Microsoft Project (because these names were reserved for other items in Microsoft Project), the user-defined fields would not appear correctly when the project was opened in Microsoft Project.
Resolution	If a project contains any user-defined fields with names that are reserved for other items in Microsoft Project, their names are now prefixed with an underscore during the Microsoft Project export process. For example, "Text1" would become "_Text1".

 

Issue	29858
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Wrong start date displayed in spreadsheet for bars containing more than one task.
Description	Before this release, if you configured a column in the spreadsheet to display the Start field, then configured the column to display information about tasks with a particular code library and selected the Rollup values where more than one task matches check box on the Specific Task Data dialog, the column would display the start date of the last task on the bar if the bar contained a number of tasks to which the specified code library was assigned.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now displays the start date of the first task on the bar in these circumstances, rather than the start date of the last task on the bar.

 

Issue	29866
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Non-English characters changed when entered into fields in the IFC Properties pane.
Description	Before this release, if you entered certain non-English characters into fields in the IFC Properties pane, the characters changed when you next opened the project and accessed the pane. In one example, the word "Støttemur" changed to "StÃttemur".
Resolution	The fields in the IFC Properties pane now handle non-English characters correctly.

 

Issue	29885
Category	Asta Site Progress
Summary	Disconnect exported jobs from projects.
Description	A customer requested the ability to make a copy of a project from which jobs have already been exported to Asta Site Progress, and to export jobs from the copy project. If you attempted to do this before this release, you were warned that the project already existed when you tried to export from the copy project. This is because when you make a copy of a project from which jobs have been exported, details of the Site Progress Mobile publish data are copied along with the project.
Resolution	You can now disconnect exported jobs from a project, by opening the project in Asta Powerproject and clicking the Reset Site Progress Publish Data button, on the Progress tab of the Options dialog. This enables you to make a copy of a project from which jobs have already been exported, disconnect the exported jobs from the copy project and export jobs from the copy project.

 

Issue	29952
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch automatically.
Description	Before this release, you could configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule either the current view or the whole project automatically. A customer requested the ability to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch automatically.
Resolution	You can now configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch of the project automatically. You may find this particularly useful if you are working in a multi-project Asta Enterprise environment: if you are the only person working in a particular branch of the programme, configuring Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch automatically will reschedule the branch in which you are working without affecting the other branches of the programme.

 

Issue	29980
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Cannot select the Apply view filter check box for certain spreadsheet fields when they refer to a baseline.
Description	Before this release, you could not select the Apply view filter check box, on the Table Definition Properties dialog, for the Start, Finish and Duration spreadsheet fields when they were configured to refer to a baseline. This led to the fields displaying information that did not match up with the filtered view of the bar chart.
Resolution	You can now select the Apply view filter check box for the Start, Finish and Duration spreadsheet fields when they are configured to refer to a baseline. This means that the fields display information that matches the filtered view of the bar chart.

 

Issue	29988
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Start variance field displays a negative value if you configure the column to use an elapsed time unit.
Description	Before this release, the Start variance field would display a negative value if you configured the spreadsheet column to use an elapsed time unit rather than a working time unit.
Resolution	The Start variance field now displays the correct value regardless of whether its time unit is working or elapsed.

 

Issue	29997
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Timeline simulation freezes then jumps straight to the end when the IFC Properties pane is displayed and the Track selection control is selected.
Description	A customer reported that when they ran a timeline simulation on a large IFC model with the IFC Properties pane displayed and the Track selection control in the Tracking group on the BIM Ribbon tab selected, the timeline simulation froze, then jumped straight to the end.
Resolution	The slowdown was caused by the timeline simulation recalculating quantities for display in the IFC Properties pane. Asta Powerproject no longer displays quantities in the IFC Properties pane when timeline simulations are running, which resolves this problem.

 

Issue	30003/30488
Category	Ribbon
Summary	Thread error when using the Ribbon's Close command.
Description	Before this release, if you added the Close command to a tab of the Ribbon and clicked it, a thread error would result. In addition, icons were missing from a number of commands when they were added to the Ribbon.
Resolution	A thread error no longer occurs if you add the Close command to a tab of the Ribbon and click it. Commands now appear correctly against commands when they are added to the Ribbon.

 

Issue	30026
Category	Spreadsheet/Bar chart
Summary	+/- controls that open and close certain summary tasks disappear when one-task-per-line mode is turned on or off.
Description	A customer reported that if they clicked the +/- controls in the left-most column of the spreadsheet to turn one-task-per-line mode on or off, the +/- controls that can be used to open and close summary tasks disappeared from some, but not all, summary tasks.
Resolution	The bar chart was configured to display only uncompleted tasks. The summaries in question contained only milestones and this confused the bar chart. This problem is now resolved.

 

Issue	30127
Category	Hammocks
Summary	Percentage progress and actual finish date are displayed incorrectly for hammocks if the latest task in a hammock is a milestone.
Description	Before this release, if the latest task in a hammock was a milestone and all tasks in the hammock except the milestone were 100% complete, Asta Powerproject showed the hammock to be 100% complete and to have an actual finish date.
Resolution	Hammocks now work in the same way as summary and expanded tasks in this situation: they are shown to be 100% complete but they do not have an actual finish date until the final milestone is complete.

 

Issue	30130
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Date inconsistencies in the spreadsheet.
Description	Before this release, if you configured Asta Powerproject to display times with dates in the spreadsheet by selecting the Spreadsheet check box on the Format tab of the Options dialog, but configured a particular spreadsheet column to display dates only, selecting a date in that column using the date picker could result in a different date being displayed.
Resolution	This inconsistency has been addressed, so selecting a date using the date picker now always results in the selected date appearing in the spreadsheet cell.

 

Issue	30244
Category	General
Summary	Project is slow to scroll in certain views and hangs occasionally.
Description	A customer reported that the vertical scroll bar was very slow to use in certain views that contained a large number of links and that using the scroll bar caused the project to hang occasionally.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject’s horizontal and vertical scrolling has been optimised to increase the scrolling speed in projects that contain many links.

 

Issue	30295
Category	Calendars
Summary	Problems when constraining tasks to complete within a single time period, shift or work pattern.
Description	Before this release, if you constrained a task to complete within a single time period, shift or work pattern - using the Must complete within check box on the Bar and Task Properties dialog - the task could be positioned incorrectly as the setting did not take exceptions or irregular work patterns into account.
Resolution	The Must complete within setting now positions tasks correctly, as it now takes exceptions and irregular work patterns into account.

 

Issue	30306
Category	Milestones
Summary	Milestones displayed as critical when they are not.
Description	Before this release, if you configured Asta Powerproject to display tasks as critical if they appear on the longest path by clicking the On longest path radio button on the Schedule tab of the Format Bar Chart dialog, Asta Powerproject incorrectly displayed some milestones as critical even though they were not located on the longest path.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now treats milestones in the same way as other tasks when considering whether they are on the longest path, which has resolved this problem.

 

Issue	30309
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Unable to disassociate IFC product searches or IFC product selections from tasks using the Bar and Task Properties dialog.
Description	Before this release, selecting "None" in the IFC product field on the Task tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog failed to disassociate the task from any IFC product searches or IFC product selections with which it has been associated.
Resolution	Selecting "None" in the IFC product field on the Task tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog now successfully disassociates the task from any IFC product searches or IFC product selections with which it has been associated.

 

Issue	30315
Category	Resource usage view
Summary	Resource usage view columns display the internal object IDs of code library entries rather than their names.
Description	Before this release, if you displayed code library entries in resource usage view columns, the internal objects IDs of the codes were displayed rather than the code names.
Resolution	Resource usage view columns now display the names of code library entries rather than their internal object IDs.

 

Issue	30327
Category	Reschedule
Summary	"Insufficient rights" error message when attempting to reschedule.
Description	Before this release, if you constructed a project so that each "Is a project" summary task shares a bar with an interruptible task, with tasks allowed to overlap on the bar, Asta Powerproject could report an "Insufficient rights" error message when you tried to reschedule, even if you had sufficient rights.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject no longer reports this error message in this situation.

 

Issue	30349/31135
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Lines sticking out of an IFC model.
Description	Before this release, two customers reported that Asta Powerproject 4D was displaying IFC models with lines sticking out of the sides of the model.
Resolution	This problem has been resolved and Asta Powerproject 4D now displays the IFC models correctly.

 

Issue	30372
Category	VBA
Summary	"AmountandCurrency" object becomes invalid when changing the "Currency Unit" property in VBA.
Description	Before this release, if you created an "AmountandCurrency" object in VBA then changed the "Currency Unit" property, the "AmountandCurrency" object would become invalid.
Resolution	This problem was caused by Asta Powerproject not knowing which project owned the currency unit in question. There is now a link between the project and the currency unit which resolves this problem.

 

Issue	30374
Category	Baselines
Summary	API function "GetCostFromCostCentre" returns zero when applied to a baseline task.
Description	Before this release, the "GetCostFromCostCentre" API function returned the correct value when applied to a task in the live data, but returned zero when applied to a baseline task.
Resolution	The "GetCostFromCostCentre" API function now returns the correct value when applied to a baseline task.

 

Issue	30386
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Korean text for "AM" and "PM" is invalid in a number of fields.
Description	Before this release, if you entered the Korean text for "AM" or "PM" into a number of fields, Asta Powerproject reported that you had entered invalid values.
Resolution	It is now possible to enter the Korean text for "AM" and "PM" in all appropriate Asta Powerproject fields.

 

Issue	30404
Category	Copying between projects
Summary	Permanent resources lose their foreground fill colour when copied from one project to another.
Description	Before this release, if you copied a permanent resource from one project to another, its foreground fill colour would revert to "tan", regardless of which colour it was set to.
Resolution	The foreground fill colour of permanent resources is now retained when you copy them from one project to another.

 

Issue	30406
Category	Filters
Summary	TQL filter reports an error if it encounters a task that includes a single quotation mark in its name.
Description	Before this release, if you created a filter by writing a TQL statement, an error would be reported if the filter encountered a task with a single quotation mark in its name.
Resolution	TQL filters now handle tasks that have single quotation marks in their names.

 

Issue	30448
Category	EVA Reporter
Summary	EVA Reporter reports an error when a single quotation mark is used in the name of an object.
Description	Before this release, EVA Reporter would report an "Unexpected error conversion from dtring "'" to Type 'Boolean' is not valid" error if it encountered an object in a project with a single quotation mark in its name.
Resolution	EVA Reporter no longer reports an error if it encounters an object with a single quotation mark in its name.

 

Issue	30597
Category	Import and export
Summary	Cannot open projects that contain tabs and line breaks in code library entry names in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject.
Description	Before this release, if a project contained any code library entries with names that included tabs or line breaks, it was not possible to open it in Microsoft Project after export from Asta Powerproject.
Resolution	If a project contains any code library entries with names that include tabs or line breaks, these characters are now removed during the Microsoft Project export process.

 

Issue	30610
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Predecessors field displays no information for progressed tasks when displayed in the bar chart.
Description	Before this release, if you displayed the Predecessors field in the bar chart, it would display nothing for tasks against which progress had been entered; similarly, the Successors field would display nothing for tasks that were 100% complete when displayed in the bar chart.
Resolution	The Predecessors and Successors fields now display information when displayed in the bar chart regardless of whether a task has been progressed.

 

Issue	30648
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Reschedule reports now give details of delivery dates.
Description	Since the release of Asta Powerproject version 15.0.01, you have been able to specify a delivery date for each project and use the delivery dates as deadlines when rescheduling. However, Asta Powerproject’s reschedule reports did not include any information about delivery dates and whether they were being used as deadlines.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject’s reschedule reports now indicate whether you have configured the reschedule to use delivery dates as deadlines. If delivery dates are used as deadlines, details of the delivery dates that have been specified within the scope of the reschedule are given in the "Deadlines" section.

 

Issue	30689
Category	Milestones/Overlapping tasks
Summary	Milestone changes position on bars that allow overlapping tasks.
Description	A customer reported that milestones could sometimes change position on bars that allow overlapping tasks.
Resolution	Milestones and tasks that start on the same date are now ordered in a consistent way, so milestones no longer change position on bars that allow overlapping tasks.

 

Issue	30707
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Asta Powerproject 4D displays mirror images of some elements in an IFC model incorrectly.
Description	Before this release, Asta Powerproject 4D displayed mirror images of some elements of a specific IFC model. For example, a mirror image of one window pane appeared sticking out of the bottom of the model.
Resolution	This problem has been resolved and Asta Powerproject 4D now displays the IFC model correctly.

 

Issue	30761
Category	Sorting
Summary	Group tasks or allocations by day, week, month, quarter or year in duration-based sorts/groups.
Description	Before this release, if you created a sort/group that sorted tasks or allocations according to a duration-based criteria - for example Duration, Slip, Free Float or Total Float - an unhelpfully large number of sort bands could be displayed, depending on the granularity of durations. For example, if you sorted tasks according to total float, hundreds of sort bands could be displayed because of variations in float of a few seconds or minutes.
Resolution	You can now group tasks or allocations by day, week, month, quarter or year in duration-based sorts/groups. This enables you to reduce the number of sort bands that are displayed in the sorted/grouped view to a sensible number.

 

Issue	30762
Category	Asta Site Progress
Summary	Site Progress Mobile Approve Progress dialog indicates when notes have been recorded against tasks.
Description	A customer requested that progress approvers be able to see when notes had been recorded against tasks in Asta Site Progress.
Resolution	The Site Progress Mobile Approve Progress dialog now displays a notes indicator next to any tasks against which notes have been recorded in Asta Site Progress.

 

Issue	30764
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Subheadings appear in the wrong position when copied and pasted.
Description	Before this release, if you copied a selection of bars that included one or more subheadings then pasted them anywhere other than below the last bar in a view, the subheadings could be pasted into the wrong position.
Resolution	It is now possible to copy and paste a selection of bars that include one or more subheadings without the subheadings being moved to the wrong position.

 

Issue	30789
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Check the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling.
Description	Since the release of Asta Powerproject version 15.0.01, you have been able to check the integrity of the critical path when checking the quality of a schedule, by including the "Critical path test" quality metric in a schedule quality check. A customer requested the ability to check the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling a project.
Resolution	You can now check the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling, by selecting the new Critical path integrity check box on the Reschedule dialog. If you do this, you can identify any tasks that break the integrity of the critical path by displaying the new "Breaks critical path integrity" field in the spreadsheet, or by viewing the new Breaks critical path integrity field on the Task tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog.

 

Issue	30808/31846
Category	RBS/CBS
Summary	View error when closing an RBS or CBS view.
Description	Before this release, if you opened an RBS or CBS view by right-clicking a resource or cost centre and selecting Open RBS or Open CBS, a "View error – had to close" error, followed by a "Pane update error had to close view" error, appeared when you right-clicked an allocation in the RBS or CBS view and selected Close RBS or Close CBS to close the view.
Resolution	These errors no longer appear when you close RBS or CBS views.

 

Issue	30813
Category	Security groups
Summary	Possible to create a mirrored clone of a security group when copying and pasting.
Description	Before this release, if you right-clicked and dragged a security group then selected Copy here in Library Explorer, a mirrored clone of the security group would be created: any changes you made to one of the security groups were applied automatically to the other.
Resolution	If you attempt to copy a security group using the above method, a simple copy of the security group is now created.

 

Issue	30819
Category	Import and export
Summary	"Object not found" error when importing an XML file using a template in which the default calendar does not have a dominant work pattern defined.
Description	Before this release, if you attempted to import an XML file using a template in which the default calendar does not have a dominant work pattern defined, an "Object not found" error would result.
Resolution	If you attempt to import an XML file using a template in which the default calendar does not have a dominant work pattern defined, the calendar’s first work pattern is now assumed to be the dominant one, so this error no longer occurs.

 

Issue	30847
Category	Costs
Summary	Upper limit on cost values.
Description	Before this release, there was an upper limit on cost values of 596,523.
Resolution	Costs are no longer limited to this amount.

 

Issue	30903
Category	Quality checks
Summary	Apply weighting to quality metrics that result in a ratio rather than a percentage.
Description	Before this release, when checking the quality of a schedule, you could not change the impact that the 'link logic density', 'critical path length index' and 'baseline execution index' metrics had on the weighted total result of a quality check. A customer requested the ability to do this.
Resolution	You can now change the impact that these metrics have on the weighted total result of a quality check by applying a weighting factor to them. Unlike other quality metrics, the weighting factor for these three metrics defaults to zero, which means that by default they have no impact on the weighted total result. If you specify a weighting factor for these metrics, their resulting ratio values are turned into percentages for weighting purposes as follows: The 'link logic density' metric is a pass or fail ratio: if the metric is passed, it is given a percentage of 100%; if the metric is failed, it is given a percentage of 0%. The 'critical path length index' and 'baseline execution index' metrics result in a ratio whereby any ratio greater than 1 is a desirable result; the closer the ratio approaches zero, the worse the result. The ratio is multiplied by 100 to achieve a percentage; any resulting percentages greater than 100% are reduced to 100%. The percentage values that result from these calculations are multiplied by the weighting factor you specify for each metric.

 

Issue	30981
Category	Date zone
Summary	Custom time units displayed incorrectly in the date zone.
Description	Before this release, if you configured a line in the date zone to display custom time units, they would display incorrectly, with numbers missing.
Resolution	Custom time units are now displayed correctly in the date zone.

 

Issue	30996
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Unable to edit resource effort in the spreadsheet.
Description	Before this release, if you configured a permanent resource with "Effort on allocation" modelling, with a calculated parameter of "Duration" and a balancing parameter of "None", although you could edit the resource's effort using the Permanent Allocation Properties dialog it was not possible to edit the effort using the Effort field in the spreadsheet.
Resolution	It is now possible to edit the Effort field in the spreadsheet for resources that are configured in this way.

 

Issue	31003
Category	Quality checks
Summary	New quality metric to check that no Finish to Start links have lead/lag; configure the link logic quality metric to allow for a single start and finish activity.
Description	The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) standard states that Finish to Start links must not have lead/lag. A customer requested that a new quality metric be added to check for this.   The 'link logic' quality metric checks the proportion of tasks that have at least one predecessor task and at least one successor task: a high proportion of poorly-linked tasks can indicate that a schedule's link logic is faulty. A customer requested that this metric exclude the start and finish tasks in a project: the start task will have no predecessor tasks and the finish task will have no successor tasks, so it can make sense to exclude these tasks from this quality metric.
Resolution	You can now check your projects to ensure that no Finish to Start links have lead/lag, using the new 'Finish to Start links lead / lag' quality metric. By default, the pass and fail boundaries for this metric are set to 100%, so a project will pass this quality metric only if none of its Finish to Start links have lead/lag.   You can now choose to exclude the start and finish tasks from the 'link logic' quality metric, by selecting the Start / finish activities check box that has been added to this quality metric's settings. If you select this check box, if there is a single task in the scope of the quality check that has no incoming links and if there is a single task in the scope that has no outgoing links, these tasks will be assumed to be the start and finish tasks and will pass the metric. If you select this check box and there are multiple tasks with only incoming or outgoing links, all such tasks will fail the metric, just as they will fail if you clear the check box.

 

Issue	31006
Category	Task work
Summary	Specify 'None' in the task work Work unit and Time unit fields when setting the amount of task work on a task to zero.
Description	Before this release, if you wanted to set the amount of task work on a task to zero, although you could enter '0.00' in the Task work and Task work rate fields, you could not specify 'None' in the related Work unit and Time unit fields. A customer requested the ability to do this, to indicate that there is no task work on a task, rather than - for example - zero m2 per hour task work.
Resolution	You can now select 'None' in the task work Work unit and Time unit fields, to indicate that there is absolutely no task work on a task - and that there never has been and never will be task work. This is useful when analysing task work remaining because without being able to set the work unit to 'None', there is no difference in the spreadsheet between a task that has never had task work and one that Is 100% complete (the remaining task work would then be zero too). This applies to the fields on the Effort and Modelling section of the Task tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog; the fields on the corresponding tab of the properties view; and the task work fields that you can display in the spreadsheet.

 

Issue	31015
Category	Reschedule/Baselines
Summary	Turn off critical marking for baseline tasks.
Description	A customer requested the ability to turn off critical marking for baseline tasks, showing them as non-critical regardless of whether they appear on the critical path in the baseline.
Resolution	You can now choose to turn off critical marking for all baseline tasks, using the new Show as non-critical check box that has been added to the Baselines tab of the Format Bar Chart dialog. If you select this check box, all baseline tasks are displayed without critical marking, regardless of whether they are on the critical path in the baseline. If you clear this check box, tasks that are on the critical path in the baseline are displayed as critical, provided that the Critical path check box has been selected on the Schedule tab of the Format Bar Chart dialog.

 

Issue	31017
Category	Task work
Summary	Adjust the task work rate automatically to ensure that task durations are in whole time units.
Description	Before this release, changing the task work rate of a task could result in fractional task durations. For example, if a 10d task had 100 units of task work with a work rate of 10 units per day and you changed the work rate to 8 units per day, the task duration would change to 12d 4h. If you like to work in whole time units - for example, in whole days rather than in part days - this behaviour is undesirable. A customer requested the ability to adjust the task work rate automatically when it is changed to produce a non-fractional task duration.
Resolution	You can now configure Asta Powerproject to round down the task work rate automatically if necessary when it is changed to produce a non-fractional task duration - one with a whole number of time units. If you do this, changing the work rate of the task in the above example to 8 units per day would result in the task work rate being adjusted automatically to 7.69 units per day and a task duration of 13d. You specify whether you want Asta Powerproject to round down the task work rate using the new Round work rate down to retain whole time units check box that has been added to the Edit tab of the Options dialog.

 

Issue	31045
Category	Ribbon
Summary	Changing the display order of a macro in the Ribbon replaces the macro’s name with "Macro".
Description	Before this release, if you customised the Ribbon and changed the display order of a macro by selecting it and clicking the Up and Down buttons in the Ribbon Customisation dialog, the name of the macro would be replaced with "Macro".
Resolution	You can now change the display order of a macro without its name being replaced with "Macro".

 

Issue	31051
Category	General
Summary	Differences between saving using "This PC" and saving using the "Browse" method.
Description	Before this release, if you saved a project via File - Save As - This PC, as opposed to File - Save As - Browse, the following differences were apparent: If you attempted to save using a file name that finished with a full-stop and any two characters and did not include a file extension, the last two characters would be replaced with the "pp" file extension. For example, "Project1.99" would be saved as "Project1.pp" rather than as "Project1.99.pp". Hidden folders were not visible, even if Windows Explorer was configured to display them.
Resolution	The above differences no longer occur.

 

Issue	31064
Category	Filters
Summary	Include children check box on the RBS/CBS Scope dialog does not work for summary groups.
Description	Before this release, if you edited the properties of an RBS/CBS filter and clicked View Scope on the Filter Properties dialog to display the RBS/CBS Scope dialog, the Include children check box on this dialog added any subordinate charts to the filter scope, but did not add any subordinate summary groups.
Resolution	The Include children check box now adds charts and summary groups that are subordinate to those selected in the RBS/CBS Scope dialog, not just subordinate charts.

 

Issue	31125
Category	Import and export
Summary	The wrong calendar is assigned to summary tasks in projects that are exported to Primavera software then reimported back into Asta Powerproject.
Description	Before this release, if you exported a project to Primavera software then reimported it back into Asta Powerproject, the wrong calendar was sometimes assigned to summary tasks.
Resolution	A number of improvements have been made to the export and import routines to ensure that the correct calendars are always assigned to tasks when they are exported and imported.

 

Issue	31133
Category	Import and export
Summary	Improvements to import and export dialogs.
Description	A customer requested that it be easier to specify the file type when importing and exporting.
Resolution	A number of improvements have been made to some of Asta Powerproject's import and export dialogs. On the Primavera XML & XER Import Options dialog, the three radio buttons that used to appear in an Import type group (XML, XER and STX/DIR) have been removed. You now specify the type of file that you want to import by specifying a file location, name and extension in the File field, which you can now type in directly, or by using the Files of type field in the dialog that appears when you click Browse. On the Primavera XML & XER Export Options dialog, you can now specify the type of file that you want to create during an export by specifying a file location, name and extension in the File field, which you can now type in directly, by clicking the XML or XER radio button, or by using the Save as type field in the dialog that appears when you click Browse. On the Microsoft Project Import Options dialog, you can now type directly into the File field to specify a file location, name and extension. Previously you had to click Browse to select the file you wanted to import. On the Export to HTML dialog, you can now type directly into the File field to specify a file location, name and extension. Previously you had to click Browse to specify the file that you wanted to create during an export.

 

Issue	31140
Category	Baselines
Summary	Inappropriate error message displayed when attempting to import a project as a baseline.
Description	Before this release, if you attempted to import a project as a baseline, mapping tasks using unique task IDs, an "Unable to save - due to disk is full" message appeared if there was a problem matching using unique task IDs.
Resolution	This error message has been replaced with an "Error inserting object into the data source" error message. Before this release, this error could appear as the import routine incorrectly attempted to import items without unique task IDs twice. The import routine has been improved so that this no longer happens; instead, items with no unique task ID are now ignored.

 

Issue	31142
Category	Baselines
Summary	Open embedded baselines as projects without having to export them first.
Description	Before this release, if you wanted to open an embedded baseline as a project you first had to export it to a separate file. A customer requested the ability to open embedded baselines as projects without having to do this.
Resolution	You can now open any baseline as a separate project by right-clicking the baseline in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog and selecting Open as Project. You can use this right-click menu command for baselines that are stored as separate files, embedded baselines and baselines of Asta Enterprise projects. This makes it much easier to open baselines from any source.

 

Issue	31145
Category	Keyboard shortcuts
Summary	Pressing F12 as a shortcut for "Save As" defaults to the wrong file format.
Description	Before this release, if you pressed F12 as a shortcut for "Save As", Asta Powerproject would default to saving projects in the Asta Easyplan file format.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now defaults to saving projects in the Asta Powerproject file format when you press F12.

 

Issue	31147
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Unexpected float on a task constrained to complete within a single week.
Description	A customer reported that a task that was constrained to complete within a single week - using the Must complete within check box on the Bar and Task Properties dialog - had float that could not be explained by the logic of the project.
Resolution	The calendar of the task in question had a shift that finished at midnight and Asta Powerproject incorrectly shifted the task backwards to the previous week rather than forwards to the following week. This error has now been fixed.

 

Issue	31161
Category	Transfer progress
Summary	Errors when transferring progress from one project to another.
Description	A customer reported that they received "Internal error: STL AOT object not found" and "Internal error: TN duplicate link cancelled" errors when they attempted to transfer the progress from one project to another.
Resolution	The project in question had two links between the same tasks, with one of the links finishing at the completed section of a task. The progress transfer routine removed the completed section of the task and thereby created a duplicate link. The routine no longer creates duplicate links in situations like this.

 

Issue	31171
Category	Printing
Summary	Sort/group subheading summaries do not print when printing a selection.
Description	Before this release, if you printed a selection of data, sort/group subheading summaries did not print when printing from a full print preview.
Resolution	Sort/group subheadings now print correctly regardless of the way in which you print.

 

Issue	31176
Category	Asta Vision
Summary	Filter Asta Vision programmes by their status when opening them.
Description	A customer requested the ability to filter the Asta Vision programmes that appear on the Open tab of the Backstage view by status, which would make it possible to prevent programmes with specific statuses from appearing on the tab.
Resolution	You can now filter the Asta Vision programmes that appear on the Open tab of the Backstage view by status, by clicking the new Status button. This enables you to reduce the number of programmes that appear on the tab by filtering out programmes with statuses in which you are not interested. For example, you may want to filter out all programmes with a status of 'Archived'.

 

Issue	31179
Category	Calendar view
Summary	Use the calendar view's date picker to move instantly to more dates.
Description	A customer requested the ability to use the date picker in the calendar view to move instantly to dates such as the project start date, the report date of the progress entry period and the project finish date.
Resolution	The Today button that used to appear at the bottom of the calendar view's date picker has been replaced by a Go to button. If you click this button a menu appears, from which you can select from a wide variety of different dates, including the project start date, the report date of the progress entry period and the project finish date.

 

Issue	31185
Category	Grid lines
Summary	Date zero grid line appears on the imposed start date.
Description	Before this release, if you configured a grid line to appear on the "date zero" date, if an imposed start date had been set for the project the grid line appeared on the imposed start date instead.
Resolution	Grid lines that are configured to appear on the "date zero" date now appear on the correct date, regardless of whether a project has an imposed start date set.

 

Issue	31189
Category	Quick Access toolbar
Summary	"Mark for hiding" command displays as text rather than as an icon when added to the Quick Access toolbar.
Description	Before this release, if you added the "Mark for hiding" command to the Quick Access toolbar, it appeared as text rather than as an icon.
Resolution	The "Mark for hiding" command is now displayed as an icon when it is added to the Quick Access toolbar.

 

Issue	31191
Category	Constraints
Summary	Possible to specify start and finish constraint dates against tasks without a constraint flag being applied.
Description	Before this release, it was possible to specify start and finish constraint dates against tasks - using the Start constraint date and Finish constraint date fields on the Bar and Task Properties dialog and properties view - without a constraint flag being applied. Without a constraint flag, these constraint dates had no purpose.
Resolution	The Start constraint date and Finish constraint date fields are now available only when an appropriate constraint flag has been applied to a task.

 

Issue	31195
Category	Progress
Summary	User percent complete field can be set to an amount greater than 100%.
Description	Before this release, it was possible specify a percentage value greater than 100% in the User percent complete field.
Resolution	You can now only specify a percentage value between 0% and 100% in the User percent complete field.

 

Issue	31206
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Cannot change the number of decimal places for the Planned actual quantity and Planned quantity remaining fields.
Description	Before this release, it was not possible to change the number of decimal places for the Planned actual quantity and Planned quantity remaining fields when they were displayed in the spreadsheet; these fields always displayed two decimal places regardless of your cell formatting selections.
Resolution	It is now possible to change the number of decimal places for the Planned actual quantity and Planned quantity remaining fields.

 

Issue	31220
Category	Powerdraw
Summary	The Powerdraw <PDB-FILENAME> field displays information when used with Asta Powerproject Enterprise projects.
Description	Before this release, if the <PDB-FILENAME> field was included in a border that was used to print a Asta Powerproject standalone project, it would display the path and file name of the project, but would display nothing if the border was used to print an Asta Enterprise project. A customer requested that this field display information when used with Asta Enterprise projects.
Resolution	Now, if you use a border that contains the <PDB-FILENAME> field to print an Asta Enterprise project, the field displays the server name and project name.

 

Issue	31223
Category	Transfer progress
Summary	Lag added to the end of a link when transferring progress from one project to another.
Description	A customer reported that when they transferred progress from one project to another, lag was added to the end of a particular link.
Resolution	The progress transfer routine incorrectly added lag to a link when moving a link from the completed section of a task. The routine no longer adds lag to links in situations like this.

 

Issue	31229
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Improvements to the appearance of "necked" summary tasks and hammocks.
Description	A customer requested that the appearance of "necked" summary tasks and hammocks be improved, to make it easier to identify precisely the date and time at which subordinate tasks start and finish. Before this release, the "necking" was shown using diagonal lines, which could make the start finish date and time of subordinate tasks difficult to identify.
Resolution	The points at which the "necking" occurs are now shown using vertical lines, which makes the start and finish of subordinate tasks more apparent.

 

Issue	31231
Category	Import and export
Summary	Work patterns imported incorrectly from Primavera P6, resulting in incorrect task durations.
Description	Before this release, some work patterns were imported incorrectly from Primavera P6 when using a template during the import process, resulting in incorrect task durations.
Resolution	A fix to an earlier bug prevented time unit overrides in templates from being overwritten, which resulted in incorrect task durations. This problem has been resolved.

 

Issue	31256
Category	Convert
Summary	Asta Powerproject closes when attempting to open version 14 projects in version 15.
Description	A customer reported that Asta Powerproject closed when they attempted to open two Asta Powerproject version 14 projects in Asta Powerproject version 15.
Resolution	The project view was not displayed in these two projects, which caused problems during the conversion to version 15 format. Asta Powerproject is now able to convert projects in which the project view is not displayed from version 14 to version 15.

 

Issue	31262
Category	Asta Enterprise
Summary	Poor Asta Enterprise performance when working in a project in which many progress lines are displayed.
Description	Before this release, Asta Powerproject displayed poor performance in a project in which a large number of progress lines were displayed in a view, as it refreshed each progress line each time a new task was created. This meant that if thirty tasks were copied and pasted, the progress lines were refreshed thirty times.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now refreshes progress lines only once per transaction. In the example above, the progress lines would now be refreshed once rather than thirty times.

 

Issue	31269
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Display dated text notes in popups in the bar chart.
Description	Before this release, although you could record dated text notes against tasks, it was not possible to display them in popups in the bar chart. A customer requested the ability to do this.
Resolution	Provided a task has no standard text notes recorded against it, any dated text notes that have been recorded against a task now appear in popups in the bar chart when you hover over the task notes indicator. If a task has standard task notes recorded against it, these notes appear in the popup and any dated text notes do not.

 

Issue	31300
Category	Resource usage view
Summary	Resource usage view does not calculate resource availability correctly when rolling up the availability of more than one resource.
Description	Before this release, the resource usage view displayed incorrect resource availability when rolling up the availability of more than one resource.
Resolution	The resource usage view now calculates resource availability correctly when rolling up the availability of more than one resource.

 

Issue	31306
Category	Import and export
Summary	Problem when dragging and dropping HTML files into the Include header or Include footer fields in the Export to HTML dialog.
Description	Before this release, if you dragged and dropped an HTML file into the Include header or Include footer fields on the Export to HTML dialog, either Chinese characters would appear or it would be impossible to export the project to HTML format.
Resolution	It is now possible to drag and drop an HTML file into these fields when exporting a project to HTML format. You may want to do this if you have a pre-prepared HTML file for use as a header or footer.

 

Issue	31389
Category	Sorting
Summary	Sort/group subheadings displayed even when all of the tasks in the sort/group band are hidden.
Description	Before this release, if you marked all of the tasks in a sort/group band for hiding and then hid the tasks, the sort/group subheading was still displayed, even though all its tasks were hidden.
Resolution	Sort/group subheadings are no longer displayed if all the tasks in the sort/group band are hidden.

 

Issue	31463
Category	Logical paths
Summary	Changes to the way in which logical paths are calculated.
Description	Before this release, a number of customers noted that there were some differences between the way in which Asta Powerproject and Primavera software assigned logical paths to tasks.
Resolution	Changes have been made to the way in which Asta Powerproject calculates logical paths, to match more closely the way in which this is calculated in Primavera software. Note that some differences may still be apparent, due to links that are allowed in Asta Powerproject but not in Primavera software; but these differences will be less than before.

 

Issue	31477
Category	Import and export
Summary	Truncate long names when exporting to Primavera software so that projects can be opened in Primavera P6.
Description	The Primavera P6 file format imposes restrictions on the length of the names that are used within projects. The Asta Powerproject file format allows much longer names to be used. Before this release, if you exported an Asta Powerproject project that contained names that were too long for the Primavera P6 file format, it was not possible to open the project in Primavera P6. A customer requested that any over-long names in Asta Powerproject be truncated during the export process to enable projects to be opened in Primavera P6.
Resolution	If a project contains any names that are too long for the Primavera P6 file format, these names are truncated during the XML or XER export process, so you can now open the project in Primavera P6. If name truncation is necessary during the export process, details are given in the export log file.

 

Issue	31478
Category	Asta Powerproject 4D
Summary	Make the start and end of timeline simulations match the selected timeline simulation scope.
Description	Before this release, timeline simulations would run from the start date of the programme of projects to the finish date of the programme of projects, regardless of the simulation scope that was selected on the Timeline Settings dialog. A customer requested that the time period of timeline simulations match the selected simulation scope, rather than for them to always run from the start to the finish of the programme of projects.
Resolution	The time period of timeline simulations now matches the selected simulation scope: If you specify a simulation scope of 'All tasks', a timeline simulation will run from the start date of the programme of projects to the finish date of the programme of projects. If you specify a simulation scope of 'Current project', a timeline simulation will run from the start date of the earliest task in the project of which the current chart is a part to the finish date of the latest task in the project. If you specify a simulation scope of 'Current chart(s)', a timeline simulation will run from the start date of the earliest task in the selected chart(s) to the finish date of the latest task in the selected chart(s). If you specify a simulation scope of 'Current view', a timeline simulation will run from the start date of the earliest task in the view to the finish date of the latest task in the view. Note that the timeline slider control always runs from the start date of the programme of projects to the finish date of the programme of projects, regardless of the selected scope.

 

Issue	31507
Category	Filters
Summary	"A" disappears from Start column for actual start dates when a filter is applied.
Description	Before this release, the "A" that can be displayed in the Start column to denote actual start dates disappeared if you applied a filter to the view.
Resolution	The "A" that can be displayed in the Start column to denote actual start dates no longer disappears if you apply a filter to the view.

 

Issue	31514
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Duration variance reported incorrectly.
Description	Before this release, Asta Powerproject reported duration variance for bars that included one or more tasks with completed sections incorrectly; when viewed in one-task-per-line mode, the duration variance was reported correctly.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now reports duration variance for bars that include one or more tasks with completed sections correctly.

 

Issue	31515
Category	Baselines
Summary	Identify embedded baselines in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog.
Description	A customer requested that embedded baselines be identified in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog: without right-clicking on a baseline to see what menu commands are available for it, there is no easy way to identify which baselines are embedded and which are not.
Resolution	If a baseline is embedded, a graphical indicator is now displayed to the left of the baseline name in the Name column on the Baseline/What If Manager dialog. No indicator is displayed against baselines that are not embedded.

 

Issue	31522
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Thread error occurs when adding links to completed milestones by entering or pasting information into the Predecessor or Successor spreadsheet columns.
Description	Before this release, if you attempted to add links to completed milestones by entering or pasting information into the Predecessor or Successor spreadsheet columns, a thread error occurred.
Resolution	You are now able to add links to completed milestones by entering or pasting information into the Predecessor or Successor spreadsheet columns.

 

Issue	31526
Category	Import and export
Summary	Unable to export a project to XER format and create a WBS based on the natural order hierarchy.
Description	A customer reported that they could not export a project to XER format and create a work breakdown structure in the exported project using the natural order hierarchy of charts and summary groups.
Resolution	The project contained an invalid link from the main project into a task pool, which prevented the export from working. The export routine no longer attempts to follow such invalid links, so they do not prevent the export from taking place.

 

Issue	31527
Category	Asta Enterprise
Summary	Omit user names from view tabs.
Description	A customer requested the ability to omit user names from the tabs that appear at the top of views: user names can be quite long, and the longer a user name, the less information about what the view displays can be displayed in the tab.
Resolution	You can now choose to omit user names from view tabs, using the new Hide username in view titles check box on the View tab of the Options dialog. If you select this check box, your user name does not appear in the tabs that appear at the top of views and you can see more information about what each view displays.

 

Issue	31562
Category	Interruptible tasks
Summary	Interruptible task with ALAP placement is moved to an ASAP position due to a Start-to-Start link with an ASAP task.
Description	A customer reported an issue in which an interruptible task with ALAP placement was moved into an ASAP position when the project was rescheduled, because of a Start-to-Start link with an ASAP task.
Resolution	Configuring interruptible tasks to be ALAP does not make logical sense, as two conflicting constraints are applied to the same task. It is now therefore no longer possible to configure interruptible tasks to have ALAP placement; you can no longer change ALAP tasks into interruptible tasks using the Bar and Task Properties dialog or spreadsheet; if you change an ALAP task into an interruptible task by right-clicking and selecting Make Into - Interruptible, the task is set automatically to be ASAP.

 

Issue	31568
Category	Import and export
Summary	Work pattern time units not exported correctly to Primavera P6.
Description	Before this release, if you worked with calendars with different numbers of hours in a working day, Asta Powerproject did not always export work pattern time units correctly, resulting in tasks having different duration when the export file was opened in Primavera software.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject now exports work pattern time units correctly, so tasks have correct durations when you open the export file in Primavera software.

 

Issue	31569
Category	Links
Summary	Show the number of links in a project.
Description	A customer requested that Asta Powerproject display the number of links in a project, in addition to the number of tasks.
Resolution	A Number of links field has been added to the Properties tab of the Backstage view, and to the Properties tab of the Properties dialog, which you can access by clicking Advanced Properties on the Properties tab of the Backstage view.

 

Issue	31577
Category	Links
Summary	Specify how the Critical, Ghosted and Selected link categories override the appearance of links.
Description	The Critical, Ghosted and Selected link categories are assigned to links automatically (and temporarily) in certain circumstances. When one of these categories is assigned to a link, it alters the appearance of the link from its normal link category to the appearance of the Critical, Ghosted or Selected link category. For example, if the Critical link category has a red appearance, links that become critical are displayed in red for as long as they are on the critical path. A customer requested the ability to specify whether the Critical, Ghosted and Selected link categories override both the colour and the line style of links, or the colour only.
Resolution	You can now specify whether the Critical, Ghosted and Selected link categories override both the colour and the line style of links, or the colour only, using the Override just the display colour of a link's category check box that has been added to the Link Category Properties dialog. If you select this check box, only the colour of links is overridden when they become critical, ghosted or selected; if you clear this check box, both the colour and line style of links are overridden. This new check box appears on the Link Category Properties dialog only when you edit the properties of the Critical, Ghosted or Selected link categories.

 

Issue	31585
Category	Quality checks
Summary	Create and delete schedule quality checks and import quality metric settings from within the Quality Checks pane.
Description	Before this release, if you wanted to create a schedule quality check you had to open Library Explorer and create one within the Quality Check library. A customer requested the ability to create schedule quality checks from within the Quality Checks pane.
Resolution	You can now create schedule quality checks and import quality metric settings by right-clicking a blank part of the Quality Checks pane and selecting the appropriate command from the menu that appears. You can also now delete schedule quality checks by right-clicking them in the Quality Checks pane and selecting Delete from the menu that appears.

 

Issue	31592
Category	Import and export
Summary	Exporting a project to Primavera software in XML format produces an "AOT object not found" exception when a baseline is specified.
Description	Before this release, if you exported a project to Primavera software in XML format and specified a baseline, Asta Powerproject would produce an "AOT object not found" exception.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject was incorrectly looking up baseline objects in the live data and could not locate them. Asta Powerproject now looks for baseline objects in the baseline itself, which has resolved this problem.

 

Issue	31629
Category	Quality checks
Summary	"ASAP force critical" quality metric incorrectly considers milestones to have "ASAP force critical" placement.
Description	Before this release, if you included the "ASAP force critical" quality metric in a quality check and selected the Include milestones check box on the Scope tab of the Quality Check Properties dialog, Asta Powerproject would incorrectly consider milestones to have "ASAP force critical" placement, resulting in an inaccurate result.
Resolution	The "ASAP force critical" quality metric now deals with milestone placement correctly.

 

Issue	31635
Category	Quality checks
Summary	New quality metric to check for Start to Start and Finish to Finish links; new quality metric to check for variance against the current baseline.
Description	A customer requested the addition of a new quality metric to check for Start to Start and Finish to Finish links and a new quality metric to check for variance against the current baseline.
Resolution	You can now check your projects to ensure that they do not contain too high a proportion of Start to Start and Finish to Finish links, using the new 'Logic type' quality metric. By default, the pass and fail boundaries for this metric are set to 10%, so a project will pass this quality metric only if 10% or less of its links are Start to Start or Finish to Finish links.   You can now check your projects for variances between dates in the live data and dates in the current baseline, using the new 'Baseline variance' quality metric. With this metric, you specify a duration. The start and finish dates of tasks are compared against the dates of the corresponding tasks in the current baseline. If the difference between a task's start or finish date in the live data and its start or finish date in the baseline is greater than or equal to the given duration, the task fails the metric. If a task is progressed, its actual start date is compared against the start date in the baseline. By default, the duration is set to 5d and the pass and fail boundaries are set to 100%, which means that a project will fail this metric if the start or finish date of any task differs from the corresponding date in the baseline by 5d or more.

 

Issue	31652
Category	Library Explorer
Summary	Best Fit right-click command does not work properly when used on Library Explorer data columns.
Description	Before this release, right-clicking a column in Library Explorer and selecting Best Fit did not adjust the column width to the best possible fit; some text in the column was truncated.
Resolution	The Best Fit right-click menu command now works properly when used on Library Explorer data columns.

 

Issue	31660
Category	Spreadsheet
Summary	Specify 'from' and 'to' dates for spreadsheet columns that display dated notes.
Description	Since the release of Asta Powerproject version 15.0.01, you have been able to enter three types of dated note against tasks: text notes, file notes and URL notes. These are notes against which a date and time is recorded. A customer requested the ability to specify 'from' and 'to' dates when displaying these dated notes in the spreadsheet, which would restrict the notes that are displayed to those that were recorded within a particular time frame.
Resolution	You can now use the Table Definition Properties dialog to specify 'from' and 'to' dates for spreadsheet columns that display the following fields: Text notes. Photo, file notes. Attachments. If you specify 'from' and 'to' dates, only notes from within the specified date range are displayed. As well as being able to enter specific 'from' and 'to' dates, you can specify variable dates. This might be particularly useful if you use Asta Site Progress to record progress against tasks and build stages in Asta Powerproject projects. For example, if remote progress is submitted weekly, you could use variable 'from' and 'to' dates to configure four spreadsheet columns to display dated notes from the past four weeks: one displaying notes from last week; another displaying notes from two weeks ago; and so on.

 

Issue	31668
Category	Sorting
Summary	Sort/group by logical path duration.
Description	A customer requested the ability to sort/group tasks according to the duration of the logical path on which they are located.
Resolution	You can now sort/group tasks and allocations by the duration of the logical path on which the tasks are located. Logical path duration can be seen as a measure of the importance of logical paths: longer logical paths have a broader scope of activities than shorter logical paths and therefore have much scope to affect the project finish date. In addition, if you sort/group tasks or allocations according to logical path, the logical path and logical path duration columns now display information in sort/group subheadings; before this release they displayed nothing.

 

Issue	31682
Category	Import and export
Summary	Produce a log file that details any changes that have been made to a project when exporting to Primavera software.
Description	When you export a project to Primavera software in XML or XER format, it can be necessary to make changes to the project due to the file format differences. A customer requested that a log file be produced when you export a project to Primavera software, detailing any changes that have been made to the project.
Resolution	If changes need to be made to a project when you export it to Primavera software, a log file that details any changes that have been made to the project is now produced and saved in the same location as the output file. If a log file is produced, a popup appears to inform you. If no changes need to be made to a project during the export, no log file is produced.

 

Issue	31696
Category	Import and export
Summary	Unable to open an XML file produced by Asta Powerproject in Primavera P6.
Description	A customer reported that when they exported an Asta Powerproject project to Primavera P6 in XML format, they were unable to open the XML file in Primavera P6, even though it could be opened in Asta Powerproject.
Resolution	The export routine was unable to cope with multi-skilled resources that were located at the root of the permanent resource hierarchy. The export routine now skips any multi-skilled resources at the root of the hierarchy, as it did before the release of version 15.0.01.

 

Issue	31706
Category	Import and export
Summary	WBS levels in Primavera P6 with a name but no data are imported into Asta Powerproject as summary tasks with no duration.
Description	Before this release, WBS levels in Primavera P6 that have a name but no data were imported into Asta Powerproject as summary tasks with no duration, with a start date matching either the project start date or the progress period report date. Higher-level summary tasks extended their duration to accommodate these unwanted summary tasks.
Resolution	WBS levels in Primavera P6 that have a name but no data are no longer imported into Asta Powerproject as summary tasks; an entry in the WBS hierarchy is still created for them.

 

Issue	31708
Category	Formulae
Summary	The "Current progress period date" variable date is not updated in formulae when the progress entry period is changed.
Description	Before this release, the "Current progress period date" variable date was not updated in formulae when the progress entry period was changed.
Resolution	The "Current progress period date" variable date is now updated in formulae when the progress entry period is changed.

 

Issue	31724
Category	Printing
Summary	Printing a specific number of lines per page not working properly.
Description	A customer reported that their projects were not being printed correctly when they configured Asta Powerproject version 15.0.01 to print a specific number of lines per page. For example, if they configured Asta Powerproject to print 60 lines per page, the first two pages contained 60 lines but subsequent pages contained more than 60.
Resolution	A maximum number of pages was applied to printouts in version 15.0.01 - 128 x 128. This was assumed to be sufficient for customers' needs, but in this instance, the customer's printout required more pages than this. The maximum number of pages has been increased to 128 x 256.

 

Issue	31730
Category	Bar chart
Summary	Problem moving tasks in the bar chart when Split progressed sections check box is selected.
Description	Before this release, if a task was selected in the bar chart, clicking another task and dragging it to a different position would result in both tasks being moved if the Split progressed sections check box, on the Progress tab of the Format Bar Chart dialog, was selected.
Resolution	The previously-selected task was incorrectly being added to the new selection of tasks if this check box was selected. This is no longer the case.

 

Issue	31768
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Setting an imposed finish date can cause incorrect float to be applied to tasks.
Description	Before this release, if you set an imposed finish date in a project, rescheduling the project resulted in incorrect float being applied to tasks.
Resolution	The reschedule routine calculated dates incorrectly when an imposed finish date was applied to a project; it no longer does this.

 

Issue	31785
Category	Asta Site Progress
Summary	"Encountered an improper argument" error when importing data from Asta Site Progress.
Description	A customer reported that an "Encountered an improper argument" error occurred when they attempted to import data from Asta Site Progress.
Resolution	The error that caused this has been addressed.

 

Issue	31795
Category	Reschedule
Summary	Project not rescheduled automatically after the imposed start date is changed via the Properties dialog.
Description	Before this release, if you changed the imposed start date of a project that was configured to reschedule automatically, using the Imposed start field on the Properties tab of the Properties dialog, the project was not rescheduled. If you changed the imposed start date using the Imposed start field on the Properties tab of the Backstage view, the project was rescheduled correctly.
Resolution	Automatic rescheduling is now triggered correctly when this field is edited - and when the Imposed finish and Delivery date fields are edited.

 

Issue	31819
Category	EVA Reporter
Summary	EVA Reporter displays no ALAP curve for a particular project.
Description	A customer reported that EVA Reporter did not display an ALAP curve when used with a particular project, despite the project having a baseline that included items with float.
Resolution	If you used EVA Reporter more than once, the baseline selector on the Baselines screen failed to recognise the baseline that you had previously selected unless you specifically chose a baseline in the selector each time. EVA Reporter now recognises your baseline selections and remembers them each time you use EVA Reporter.

 

Issue	31824
Category	Import and export
Summary	Exported file contains no tasks when a project is exported to Primavera software in XML or XER format.
Description	A customer reported that when they attempted to export a project to Primavera software in XML or XER format, the resulting file contained no tasks when opened in Primavera software.
Resolution	The export process did not work for projects in which no summary or expanded tasks had been flagged as "Is a project". The export process now copes with such projects and exports them correctly.

 

Issue	31847
Category	Annotations
Summary	Asta Powerproject crashes when attempting to move tasks that have allocations with filtered annotations.
Description	A customer reported that Asta Powerproject would crash if they attempted to drag tasks in a particular project.
Resolution	Investigation showed that the tasks in question had allocations with filtered annotations attached to them, and Asta Powerproject was unable to drag such tasks. It is now possible to drag tasks that have allocations with filtered annotations attached to them.

 

Issue	31849
Category	Filters
Summary	Filter prompt dialog appears multiple times when a time slice filter is applied to an RBS view.
Description	Before this release, if you applied a time slice filter that requires criteria to be specified to an RBS view, the filter prompt dialog appeared multiple times.
Resolution	The filter prompt dialog now appears only once when you apply a time slice filter that requires criteria to be specified to an RBS view.

 

Issue	31854
Category	Filters
Summary	Error when executing a TQL query when applying a TQL filter to a view.
Description	A customer reported that since the release of version 15.0.01, a warning appeared when they attempted to apply a TQL filter to a view, stating that there was an error executing the TQL query.
Resolution	During the upgrade to version 15.0.01, the TQL query in the filter was converted incorrectly and was missing a bracket. The TQL query will now work in version 15.0.02.

 

Issue	31863
Category	Asta Enterprise
Summary	"ClientTracePath" Enterprise server command does not produce ETL logs.
Description	Before this release, the "ClientTracePath" Enterprise server command did not produce ETL logs as it was supposed to; it reported insufficient disk space.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject was connecting to the Enterprise server using memory that it should not have used; the client trace path was then corrupted. This error has now been addressed.

 

Issue	31882
Category	Baselines
Summary	Cost allocations excluded when a baseline is imported; "Error inserting object into the data source" error when a baseline is imported.
Description	A customer reported that if they imported baselines without choosing to embed them, cost allocations were missing from the imported files. In addition to this, an "Error inserting object into the data source" error occurred if they attempted to import and embed a baseline when matching according to unique task ID.
Resolution	Asta Powerproject's baseline importing routine now imports cost allocations correctly. In addition to this, its task matching has been improved when you choose to match according to unique task ID.

 

Issue	31898
Category	Quality checks
Summary	Trailing spaces and other special formatting characters, and capitalisation, in task names prevent the 'Unique names' quality metric from recognising that names are the same.
Description	Before this release, trailing spaces and other special formatting characters that could be present at the start or end of task names (usually as a result of copying task names from another application and pasting them into Asta Powerproject) could prevent the 'Unique names' quality metric from recognising that names are the same. The quality metric would also deem tasks to be different if their capitalisation differed. For example, "TASK 1" and "task 1 " would be deemed to be different.
Resolution	The 'Unique names' quality metric now disregards trailing spaces and other special formatting characters, and capitalisation, when examining task names. For example, "TASK 1" and "task 1 " are now deemed to be the same.

 

Issue	31899
Category	Quality checks
Summary	Configure the 'Unique names' quality metric to ignore the path name of tasks.
Description	Before this release, the 'Unique names' quality metric considered each task's name and its path name when checking for uniqueness. This meant that the quality metric would not consider two tasks with identical names but in different charts or summary groups to be unique. For example, "Programme\Plot 1\Groundworks" would be considered different to "Programme\Plot 2\Groundworks" as the path name differed.
Resolution	You can now configure the 'Unique names' quality metric to disregard the path name when checking for uniqueness, using the new Ignore path name check box that has been added to the metric. With this check box cleared, the metric works as it did previously; with the check box selected, the path name of tasks is disregarded when checking for uniqueness, so "Programme\Plot 1\Groundworks" would be considered to be identical to "Programme\Plot 2\Groundworks".

 

Issue	31916
Category	Asta Vision
Summary	Delete Asta Vision users that are currently assigned to projects.
Description	A customer requested the ability to delete Asta Vision users when they are assigned to one or more projects. Before this release, it was not possible to do this; if you wanted to delete such users, you had to first unassign them from all projects to which they were assigned. In some cases, where users were assigned to many projects, this could be difficult to do.
Resolution	You can now delete Asta Vision users that are assigned to one or more projects. If you attempt to delete a user that is assigned to a project, you are warned and asked if you want to continue. If you continue with the deletion, the user is unassigned automatically from any projects to which they are currently assigned, then deleted.   You can now view the projects to which a user is assigned by clicking Project Assignments on the Edit User page. You cannot delete a user if they are assigned to any programmes that are currently checked out.   You can now view the checked out programmes to which a user is assigned by clicking Checked Out Programmes on the Edit User page. This is useful as it shows you which programmes must be checked back in before you can delete a user.