Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

For more information about Microsoft Project, visit our website at http://www.mpug.com Page 1

Starting Your First Project

Creating a new project

1. Open Microsoft Project 2010 2. Upon opening, project will automatically set you up

with a blank project

Opening a Project from an existing file

1. Open Microsoft Project 2010 2. Click on File in the upper left hand corner 3. Click on Open

4. Select the appropriate folder and file, Click Open

Opening a Project from a template

1. Open Microsoft Project 2010

2. Select the File Tab

3. Select the New menu item, click on the template

icon

4. Select and download your template from Microsoft

Adjust the Calendar

1. The default MS Project calendar is called Standard.

To view and change this calendar: With Microsoft

Project open, select the Project Tab on the ribbon,

Under Properties Click on the Change Working Time

button

2. Once the Change Working Time dialogue box opens,

you will view the Standard Calendar

3. To set a holiday as a non-working day: Click on the

Holiday Date, Click in an Open Exception line at the

bottom, Enter holiday name, Click Enter. Recurring

holidays may be entered by clicking Details while

selecting the holiday entry

To Change daily working time: Click on Work Weeks

at the bottom, Click on Details, Select days of the

week to be changed, Click 3rd

Radio Button on the

right and change the working times, Click Enter.

4. Click OK to close the box

Setting Options

1. With Microsoft Project open, Click File, In the File

window, Click Options Schedule

2. Important options include: adjust Calendar settings

to match the Project Calendar & Scheduling settings.

MS Project 2010 option settings can be set per

project or apply to all projects

Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

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Set the Project Start Date and apply the Project

Calendar

1. Project Project Information

2. Enter Project Start Date or Project Finish date

3. Select the Project Calendar, Click OK

Working with Tasks Turn on the Project Summary Task

1. With Microsoft Project Open and with the Gantt

chart view showing Click Format tab on the ribbon

bar

2. Check the checkbox labeled

Project Summary Task

Entering in a New Task

1. Click the Task Tab on the ribbon bar

2. Click the Summary button in the Insert section of

the ribbon bar to insert a new summary task and

detail task

3. Click the Task button to insert a new detail task

Create an Outline Structure

Click a detail task; click on the Task tab and in the Schedule

section click on the Indent button to indent a task under a

summary task

Alter Task Scheduling Type

1. Tasks may be scheduled in Automatic or Manual

scheduling mode. To alter the Task Scheduling Mode

value per task: Click in the Task Mode column for a

task and change mode selection

2. To change the scheduling mode for future entered

tasks: At the bottom left of the Gantt chart view click

on New Tasks: and select to change future

scheduling mode

Enter Task Durations

Estimate task durations and enter value in the Duration

column

Tip: Outline numbering is automatically updated.

To see the Outline values insert the WBS column

into the table. Right click on the Task Name

column Insert Column WBS

Tip: It’s a good idea to keep your duration in the same format.

Example: If you start in number of days, all tasks should be

listed in number of days.

Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

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Create Relationships between Tasks Creating relationships between tasks will create the timeline of the project. Select the task you would like to create a relationship between tasks and then Click the Link button on the Task ribbon bar:

NOTE: A best practice is to link detail and milestone tasks

only

Working with Resources

Enter a Resource

1. With Microsoft Project Open, Click on the View Tab

on the ribbon bar and select Resource Sheet under

Resource Views

2. Click on the Resource Tab on the ribbon and select

Add Resources under Insert

3. Select the type of Resource you want to add

4. Enter the Resource’s Name, Type, Max Units, and

Standard Rate. The Resource Calendar will default

to be the same as the Project Calendar - alter if

necessary (Add other information as needed)

Assign a Resource to a task

1. Select the Task Tab Gantt Chart

2. Select the Resource Name box for the Task you want to assign the Resource

Click on the dropdown arrow and place a checkmark to the

left of the Resource Name you would like to assign to the

task. Multiple Resources may be selected

View all Task and Resource assignments for a Project

To view Resources and their assignments, Click on the View

Tab Under the Resource View section click on the Resource

Usage

1. To View Tasks and the Resources Assigned, Click

Task Usage

Assign a Calendar to a Task

NOTE: When a task needs to be performed outside of the

normal working hours of the Project Calendar, a Task

Calendar may be assigned to alter the timeframe for an

individual task

1. To assign a Task Calendar, With Microsoft Project

open, Select the Gantt View

2. Select the Task you wish to assign the calendar

3. Under the Task Tab in the ribbon, Select the

Information button

4. Select the Advanced tab and change the Calendar in

the Calendar dropdown menu

Tip: In the Team Planner view in MSP Pro 2010 you can see at a glance

what tasks have been assigned to resources. With a simple dragging motion

you can change existing assignments to over allocated resources or assign

currently unassigned tasks to available resources.

Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

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Working with Views

Selecting a View

1. With Microsoft Project Open, Select the View Tab

2. Under the Task View and Resource View sections,

select the appropriate view you wish to use

Change the way the data is viewed

1. With Project Open, Select the View Tab

2. In the Data section, edit the filter by selecting

various settings from the dropdown arrows

a. Highlight – Highlights a certain selection of

tasks

b. Filter – Filters out all tasks not pertaining to

the subject

c. Group – Groups tasks together based on

criteria

Creating a New View

1. With Microsoft Project open, click on the View Tab

2. Under the Task View section, click on the drop down

arrow title Other Views and click on More Views

3. When the dialogue box opens, click on the New

button

4. Define whether you want a Single View or

Combination View and click on OK

5. When the view definition dialogue box opens, Name

your new view, select the Screen you want it to be

displayed in and Click OK

Adding a Timeline

1. To add a timeline to your project, click on the View

Tab

2. Under the Split View section, select the checkbox

titled Timeline

3. The timeline will then appear under the ribbon.

Tip: Add Key Milestones to the Timeline View

The default view in Project 2010 is a combination of the Gantt Chart

view with the Timeline view layered above it.

1. In the Gantt chart, click the task or milestone you want to add to

the Timeline view. 2. Right-click the milestone, and then click Add

to Timeline.

Tip: The best view to see slippage between baseline vs.

actual work is the Detail Gantt view

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Project-Tips-for-NewUsers.aspx

Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

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Tip: % Complete represents the percentage of task duration that's complete.

% Work Complete is the percentage of task work hours that are complete.

And you probably know that time can pass without a corresponding amount

of work getting done. When the percent duration is updated, the percentage

of work completed is updated also.

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Progress.aspx

Managing a Project

Setting a Baseline

1. With Microsoft Project Open, select the Project Tab

2. Under the Schedule section, click on Set Baseline

3. The Set Baseline dialogue box will open

Select the Baseline you wish to set

4. Select whether the Baseline will be for the Entire Project

or just for Selected Tasks Click OK

Entering Progress Using Percent Complete

1. With Microsoft Project Open and in the Tracking

Gantt chart view, select the Task Name column

2. Click on a task you wish to update

3. On the Task Tab click the appropriate update

percentage for the task in the Schedule section

4. Note the update values to

the right of the Gantt

bars in the Tracking

Gantt chart view

Reporting Create a Project Report

With Microsoft Project open, select the Project Tab

1. Under the Reports section, Click on Reports

2. Each box selected will give access to multiple

reports

Create a Visual Report

1. Click on Visual Reports, under the Project tab

2. When the Create a report Dialogue opens, select the

desired report from the tabs and Click View.

3. Your report will open in either Microsoft Excel or

Microsoft Visio depending on the selected report

Tip: There are technically 11 sets of baseline fields in the

system, Baseline and Baselines 1-10. The Baseline field is the

default used when you first set a baseline. When a baseline is

updated, you may optionally select one of the other 10 sets of

Baseline fields or update the current Baseline fields.

http://www.mpug.com/News/Pages/Ask-the-Experts-Updating-

the-Baseline.aspx

Microsoft Project 2010: Desk Reference Guide

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Keyboard Shortcuts Action Shortcut

Create a new Project Ctrl + N

Open a Project Ctrl + O

Save a Project Ctrl + S

Insert a New Task Insert

Assigns Resources box Alt + F10

Open Microsoft Help F1

Open the Find dialogue box Ctrl + F

Undo Ctrl + Z

Print Ctrl + P

Spell Check F7

Click on a task, Opens the Task Information Shift + F2

Select Auto Schedule Ctrl + Shift + A

Select Manual Schedule Ctrl + Shift + M

Indent a task Alt + Shift + Right Arrow

Outdent a task Alt + Shift + Left Arrow

Close Active Project Window Ctrl + W

Switch to the next Project Window Ctrl + F6

Maximize the Project Window Ctrl + F10

Copy Ctrl + C

Link Task Ctrl + F2

Paste Ctrl + V

Remove All Tasks Filters F3