Merlin Project 8.2 is released

Merlin Project 8.2

Now that Apple's new macOS 14 and iOS 17 operating systems have been released, it was time for us to resolve some outstanding issues in Merlin Project. Version 8.2 presented today contains many internal improvements and bug fixes. But it's not just under the hood that things have changed in this version. There is also a lot to report in the area visible to you…

New calculated fields

The following new fields are available as columns for the work-breakdown view, the assignments view and the resources view:

• Expected Work Variance: Contains the net difference between Expected Work and Planned Work. A positive value means more work compared to the plan.
• Expected Duration Variance: Contains the net difference between Expected Duration and Planned Duration. A positive value means a longer duration compared to the plan.
• Expected Start Variance: Contains the net duration between Planned Start and Expected Start. A positive value means a delay in the start.
• Expected End Variance: Contains the net duration between Planned End and Expected end. A positive value means a delay at the end.
• Expected Cost Variance: The difference between Expected Costs and Planned Costs. A positive value means increased costs compared to the plan.

More flexibility in the utilization views

In the assignments view, you can now also display selected fields of the associated activities in rows for assignments. The following new columns are available for this purpose:

• Code (Activity)
• Notes (Activity)
• Tags (Activity)
• WBS Code (Activity)
• # (Activity)

In addition, all user-defined activity fields are available as columns and are also identified by the suffix "(Activity)".
You can also display the corresponding fields of the assigned resources in the work-breakdown view. The columns are marked with the suffix "(Resource)".

More overview in the work breakdown view

• Customize the display of assigned resources via the context menu of the resource column. With the new "Show content" option, you can now select whether column content is only displayed on the activities or also on activity groups.
• Via the context menu of the comment column, you can now set whether the resource names in the column are displayed in full or only with abbreviations. You can also select the format for date and time values.

Changes

• The minimum operating systems are now macOS 11 and iOS 15.
• The view settings inspector now closes automatically when you select a new table row.
• If you enter actual work values without a time unit in the inspector, the unit is automatically taken from other fields already filled in.
• When setting up the first user, Merlin Project now automatically asks you whether guests should have full access, read-only access or no access at all.
• If activities are still assigned when deleting resources, a warning dialog is now displayed.
• Timescale tiers in Gantt charts can now also be selected via the "Display > Timescale > Tiers" menu.
• On iOS, objects can now also be moved by dragging when the help function is activated.
• When adding new columns, you can now select multiple list entries.

Fixed issues

• Documents from some MindManager versions could not be imported.
• Under macOS Sonoma, Merlin Project may not be able to access calendars and reminders.
• File attachments could receive an incorrect timestamp.
• The earned-value BCWP was not always calculated correctly.
• When editing headers or footers in the print preview, Merlin Project could crash under macOS Sonoma.
• When changing print settings, the print preview did not always adjust correctly.
• The help menu was too wide under macOS Sonoma.
• Help texts for menu items were not displayed under macOS Sonoma.
• Some pop-up menus were displayed in the wrong place under macOS Sonoma.
• Reports with charts for activities with very long titles could not be exported or printed.
• CTRL clicks did not work in the style inspector.
• Under iOS, no values could be set for certain date fields in filters.
• General stability has been improved.

This free update is important for Merlin Project.

• If you work with Merlin Project from the App Store, a new version will be made available to you after checking the Mac App Store.
• If you have downloaded Merlin Project from this website, update this version for free using the menu command in the app "Check for updates ...".
• The version for the iPad and iPhone appears automatically in the App Store after verification by Apple.

We have also updated Merlin Project Express. The new versions will be provided in the Mac App Store or at SetApp – right after its review.

You can find the minimum system requirements here.