Asta Powerproject version 17.3 release notes

Before this release, you could configure Asta Powerproject to check the availability of resources when creating new resource allocations. Now, you can also configure Asta Powerproject to check the availability of resources when you change the details of a task's resource allocations. You do this by selecting the Show overallocation when allocations change check box that has been added to the Assign tab of the Options dialog.

If you select this check box, the popup that appears if you select 'Assignment only' or 'Show alternatives' in the Overallocation check field also appears in the following circumstances:

• When you create new resource allocations.
• When the start or finish date of a resource allocation is changed.
• When a resource's calendar is changed.
• When a resource's quantity or allocation amount is changed.
• When a resource's nonlinear type or resource curve is changed.
• When a resource is reassigned to an allocation.

You can now configure Asta Powerproject to show the availability of permanent resources in the right-click Assign, Reassign and Specialise menus that you can use to assign permanent resources to tasks. You do this by selecting the Show availability in resource assignment menus check box that has been added to the Assign tab of the Options dialog.

If you select this check box, the availability of each individual permanent resource for the duration of the relevant task is displayed, in percentage terms, to the right of the resource name on the assignment menus. This can help you to identify which resources are available to work on tasks, given their current start and finish dates.

Before this release, although you could specify whether users could edit specific permanent resources, consumable resources and cost centres, it was not possible to specify whether they could edit the allocations of specific resources or cost centres. The only way you could specify whether users could edit allocations was by setting chart access rights, which applied to all allocations in a chart, regardless of their resource or cost centre.

You can now specify whether users can edit the allocations of specific permanent resources, consumable resources, or cost centres, using the new Edit Assignments check box that has been added to the Library Access Rights tab of the Security Group Properties dialog.

You can use this check box to prevent members of a security group from being able to edit the allocations of specific permanent resources, consumable resources or cost centres, even if they are able to edit the resources or cost centres themselves. If the members of the security group do not have 'Modify' rights over a type of allocation in a particular chart or summary group (as specified on the Chart Access Rights tab of the dialog), they cannot edit an allocation in that chart or summary group, even if the Edit Assignments check box is selected for the resource or cost centre in question.

If you clear the Edit Assignments check box, members of the security group cannot edit allocations of the selected resource or cost centre, even if they have been given 'Modify' rights over allocations in one or more charts or summary groups. With the check box cleared, users can still delete or reassign allocations, or switch the allocation type between 'demand' and 'scheduled' - these actions are covered by the Unassign check box the Library Access Rights tab of the Security Group Properties dialog.

Before this release, it was not possible to edit permanent resource allocations in a chart or summary group unless you also had 'Modify' permissions over the chart or summary group's bars and tasks. This restriction had been put in place because changing the finish date of an allocation could cause the finish date of the task to change.

This restriction was felt to be too severe, as there are many allocation edits you can make that do not impact the finish date of the task.

Now, you no longer need 'Modify' permissions over a chart or summary group's bars and tasks to edit permanent resource allocations - or any other allocations in that chart or summary group. The ability to edit allocations is now determined by allocation 'Modify' permissions for the chart or summary group, and by the new Edit Assignments check box that has been added to the Library Access Rights tab of the Security Group Properties dialog.

However, if you edit an allocation in such a way that would cause the finish date of the task to change, your edit will fail if you do not have 'Modify' permissions over the chart or summary group's bars and tasks. This includes edits such as:

• Dragging and resizing allocations in the bar chart.
• Editing allocation properties such as duration, effort, the 'may be shorter than task' setting and modelling parameters.
• Editing allocations using the spreadsheet and Object Edit toolbar.

Before this release, if you worked with demand and scheduled resources, it was only possible to satisfy a demand allocation with a scheduled allocation of a resource with the correct skill - ie with an allocation of a resource that belongs to the resource folder specified by the demand allocation. For example, if you had two resource folders - 'Carpenters' and 'Electricians' - and you created a demand allocation by assigning the 'Carpenters' resource folder to a task, you could only satisfy that demand allocation with one of the resources in the 'Carpenters' resource folder.

It is now possible to satisfy demand allocations with scheduled allocations of resources with any skill - ie with allocations of resources that belong in any resource folder, not just the one specified by the demand allocation. This means that you can now satisfy a demand allocation for a 'Carpenters' resource with a scheduled allocation from any other folder - for example, from the 'Electricians' resource folder. Allowing demand allocations to be satisfied with resources of any skill may suit you if you have structured your resources in a such a way that demand allocations originate from one branch of the resource hierarchy, and the resources that satisfy these demand allocations are located in a completely different branch.

To enable this new feature, a new Allow demand allocations to be satisfied with any skill check box has been added to the Assign tab of the Options dialog.

Select this check box to enable the new feature, or clear it to specify that demand allocations can only be satisfied with a scheduled allocation of a resource with the correct skill - ie with an allocation of a resource that belongs to the resource folder specified by the demand allocation.

If you allow demand allocations to be satisfied with resources of any skill, you can only satisfy demand allocations with resources from a different folder by dragging and dropping resources onto the demand allocation, or using the OLE interface: if you right-click the demand allocation and select Satisfy Demand from the menu that appears, only resources from the folder corresponding to the demand allocation are shown.

Before this release, once you applied progress to a nonlinear allocation - ie one to which a resource curve or individual allocation profile had been assigned - although the completed section contained the correct total effort, quantity or cost, the effort, quantity or cost was no longer distributed according to the resource curve or allocation profile; the completed section contained average values, and the profile on the Nonlinear Assignment tab of the Resource Properties dialog displayed zero values for the completed section. This 'flattening' of the resource curve or allocation profile also affected the resource usage view, histograms and time-phased spreadsheet fields.

Also, if you removed progress from a nonlinear allocation to which an individual allocation profile had been assigned, the shape of the allocation profile was lost for the section of the allocation from which progress was being removed, unless the progress was removed using Asta Powerproject's Undo feature. For example, you had progressed an allocation up to 50% complete, then changed the progress to just 20% complete, the shape of the allocation profile would be flattened between 20% and 50%. This proved to be a problem for customers who reuse schedules for multiple projects, and who remove progress from allocations in a schedule when one project is complete before reusing the schedule for another project.

You can now specify how effort, quantity or cost is distributed in completed sections when progress is applied to nonlinear allocations, using the Maintain allocation profiles on progress check box that has been added to the Progress tab of the Options dialog:

• If you select this check box, when you apply progress to a nonlinear allocation, the effort, quantity or cost in the completed section is distributed according to the resource curve or allocation profile that has been assigned to the allocation, and the profile on the Nonlinear Assignment tab of the Resource Properties dialog displays correct values for the completed section.
• If you clear this check box, when you apply progress to a nonlinear allocation, although the completed section contains the correct total planned effort, quantity or cost, the effort, quantity or cost is not distributed according to the resource curve or allocation profile; the completed section contains average values, and the profile on the Nonlinear Assignment tab of the Resource Properties dialog displays zero values for the completed section.

If you now remove progress from a nonlinear allocation to which an individual allocation profile had been assigned, the shape of the allocation profile is now retained for the section of the allocation from which progress was being removed - unless the progress had been recorded in an earlier version of Asta Powerproject.

You can now specify which foreground colour to apply to baseline tasks and allocations by default, using the Default baseline colour field that has been added to the General tab of the Options dialog.

The colour you select in this field is applied to all baselines that you create or import from that point onwards - including any baselines that are downloaded from Asta Vision when you check out or download an Asta Vision programme.

If you want to change the foreground colour of individual baselines, you can do this by selecting the baseline in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog and selecting a different foreground colour in the Appearance fields.

You can now filter the list of Asta Vision programmes that appears on the Open tab of the Backstage view so that it displays only programmes to which you have been assigned in Asta Vision. You do this using the Assigned to me check box, which now appears immediately above the programme list.

Filtering the list in this way makes it easier to find the programme you want.

Before this release, you could perform Asta Vision workflow actions on Asta Vision programmes using the Programme Actions drop-down, which appears on the Home tab of the Ribbon when you check out a programme or join a collaboration session.

Now, you can also perform Asta Vision workflow actions by right-clicking an Asta Vision programme on the Open tab of the Backstage view and selecting Programme Actions.

If you use Asta Vision Live to manage your programmes and you create a number of different users within individual programmes using Asta Powerproject's Library Explorer, you can choose to collaborate on a programme by signing into the programme as a different user. This enables you to switch between different users when collaborating on Asta Vision Live programmes.

To sign into and collaborate on an Asta Vision Live programme as a different Asta Powerproject user, once a collaboration session has been started on the programme, right-click the programme in the Vision programme list, on the Open tab of the Backstage view, and select Collaborate as New User. You can also right-click the programme in the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, and select Collaborate as New User.

When you do this, a dialog appears, allowing you to sign into the programme as a different Asta Powerproject user, and collaborate on it.

You can specify that a programme or baseline revision should be imported and treated as a baseline automatically each time the current Asta Vision programme is checked out or downloaded. This saves you from having to import the programme or baseline revision manually each time. You do this using the new Always download this baseline check box that has been added to the Import From Vision dialog.

A graphic of a cloud is displayed in the Name column in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog for any baselines that are imported automatically when the current programme is checked out or downloaded.

'defaultcodes' TQL has been added, which can be used to determine the default codes of permanent resource skills, consumable resources and cost centres:

We have also added four new OLE methods relating to permanent resource skills, consumable resources and cost centres:

Note that 'GetNthDefaultCode' is indexed from 0 to be consistent with our newer C#-compatible interface methods.

If you merge data into a baseline twice and create a backup of the baseline each time, the correct 'updated' date and time is now applied to the second backup.

You can now create more than one backup of non-embedded baselines when the Always show new baselines check box is selected without an error occurring.