MacPM/

MS Project import – User defined fields

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 12. March 2010

If you have MS Projects containing user defined columns and need to edit them in Merlin, simply save those files in the MS Project XML exchange format. Open the XML file later on in Merlin, click any activity in your project and check the ‘User Defined Fields’ tab. You will find them all listed there displaying their contents.

Please note:

MS Project will not save the custom titles into the XML file, so Merlin displays their column identifier.

MerlinSchnappschuss014

Tip:

  • If you have only one user defined field simply edit its title in the ‘User Defined Fields’ tab
  • If you have imported various user defined fields at once, you may want to display first the columns on the outline to know which column title fits which content.

Isn’t great?  Not only seamless import of MS Project  files but also to this deeper extend.  Merlin never ceases to amaze me :-)

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Merlin on a web browser

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 5. March 2010

The other day we received the following question in support:

We are testing Merlin for project management on the Mac and are very interested to use your solution but there is one functionality which seems to be not covered in the web access; we are not able to add elements (risk, issue, or files)

That’s correct. Merlin in the web module allows users working on other platforms to collaborate on Merlin files using a web browser*. It is not just another implementation of the Merlin Mac OS X application for the web.
While behaving similarly to the native Merlin application, its functionality and graphical user interface  is deliberately minimalized** to insure better usability from web users not having deeper Merlin knowledge.

_

*) Supported web browser: IE7, IE8 in compatibility mode, Safari 4, Firefox 3

**) All differences between Merlin on Mac OS X and in the Web module: here

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Merlin import of EXCEL files

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 2. March 2010

Merlin can import seamlessly lots of file formats, here a list of the currently supported formats:

  • MS Project (.mpx, .mpp, .xml)
  • OmniOutliner (.ooutline, .oo3)
  • OmniPlan (.omniplan)
  • NovaMind (.nmind)
  • MindManager (.mmap)
  • Merlin 1 (.merlin)
  • Merlin 2 (.xml)
  • Text files (.txt, .csv, .tsv)
  • OPML files (.opal)

So you look on the list above, have project WBS saved in MS EXCEL and don’t know how to proceed?

(more…)

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Applescript: Shifting activity starting dates at once

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 26. February 2010

AppleScriptFrom time to time we get asked in support, how to shift all given planned starting dates at once in Merlin projects to a new date while maintaining the slacks.

If the activities are linked together, the user may use the dynamic shifting project setting, and define a new planned starting date for the first activity. The linkages between activities will shift the successor activities as needed.

If the activities are set to specific starting dates, and you want to shift them all by the same amount of time, you may consider writing an AppleScript to read the given planned earliest start dates of the activities, apply the desired time offset, and write the new date back onto the activities of the project.

But why bothering writing a new Applescript from the scratch, when there is already one which we have just written doing so? Spend your time on managing your projects, not on scripting. Be lazy and productive. Just click here to download it :-)

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Merlin: CSV duration units

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 22. February 2010

Duration unitsThere is a new feature in Merlin 2.7.6 and its CSV reading & writting possibilities.

You can now define the unit for the durations and choose one of the following: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Calendarweeks, Months and Years.

This is very practical in case you want to import project information in spreadsheets of MS Excel, Numbers, etc and need further calculations referencing duration data.

In this case simply choose the appropriate unit when exporting. Merlin will recalculate project durations if necessary in the output.

(more…)

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Merlin: PM Templates

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 4. February 2010

It’s so easy starting new projects in Merlin. It comes with a number of PM templates for you to use. Simply call File > New Project… and choose the appropriate one. Do you want to hire a consultant, plan product design, engineering projects, software development, etc? You are all setup with Merlin.

In Merlin’s user forum in Google and in support we find occasionally the question, where one could find more project management templates.
(more…)

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How similar is Merlin to…

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 27. January 2010

One of the questions we get from experienced project managers which have used MS Project on Windows and are looking now for a project management on the Mac, is the following:

How similar is Merlin to that product?

Well, Merlin and MS Project are both programs for project management but for different operating systems and with different concepts. Merlin is designed for Mac OS X only and works perfectly together with the integrated software like Address Book or iCal.

The easiest way to see the differences is to download the demo version from our website and give it a try.

If you prefer doing some reading before testing, here you are. A post of a Merlin user comparing the two software approaches:  Merlin vs MS Project

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Merlin: iCal calendar import

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 11. January 2010

icalDid you know? I had not until now. You can import iCal calendar onto your project or resource calendars and get the entries added as exceptions. Cool, isn’t it?

For those of you, like me, not knowing this functionality until now, here is how to proceed:

  1. You locate the iCal calendar you want to import(*) to your Merlin project.
  2. Open your Merlin project, select the top most entry in the outline, switch to the calendar tab on the inspector and call ‘Import…’. (more…)

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MerlinDayliteLink update available

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 9. December 2009

Our partner LgoConsulting updated MerlinDayliteLink.

merlinDayliteLink

What’s that?

MerlinDaylite-Link is a tool that allows information to be shared between the two programs, Merlin and Daylite. This gives you access to the power of Merlin for professional project management to manage and plan a project, whilst sharing the outcome with Daylite’s team and business management tools.

What’s new, why updating?

  • Changed the menu names to make simpler to use.
  • Added the ability to send Milestones to Daylite as Events.
  • MerlinDayliteLink takes the expected dates from Merlin rather than defaulting to the planned dates.
  • A number of bug fixes.

More information on MerlinDayliteLite can be found here

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Merlin: Melting Clocks

Vicky Stamatopoulou on 8. December 2009

The_Persistence_of_Memory, also known as Merlin ClocksWhat is time? An illusion for some. What is time when planning a project? Double so…
There seams to be so much of it when entering activities or assigning resources, while deadlines come almost always earlier than expected…
But nothing to worry about. Merlin knows just exactly how to handle time.

Take the date format as displayed in columns or the inspector for example.

(more…)

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