Formatting the Task and Resource Form Views
Like the other forms, the Task and Resource forms can’t be printed, and the formatting choices for them are limited. If a form is displayed as a full-screen view, you can view all tasks or resources with the form. You can use the Next and Previous buttons to move through the task or resource list. To display a Task or Resource Form view as a full-screen view, choose View, More Views, and select Task or Resource Form from the More Views dialog box.
You can create a split screen by choosing Window, Split; a form opens automatically as the bottom pane of a split screen. A form in the bottom pane of a split screen displays detailed information about the task or resource selected in the top pane.
Reviewing the Format Options for the Form Views
The Resource and Task forms have a limited number of format options. The Project menu provides a Sort option for both the Resource and Task Form views, and the Format menu provides a Details option that offers various entry field combinations that you can place at the bottom of the form.
When a form view is displayed full screen or as the top portion of a split screen, the Sort option changes the order in which resources or tasks appear when you use the Next and Previous buttons. If the form is displayed as the bottom portion of a split screen, applying a different sort order even when the form portion is active has no effect; in this case, the sort order applied to the top portion of the screen controls the behavior of the Next and Previous buttons on the form.
Using the Entry Field Options
The Resource Form and the Task Form views have similar entry field detail options. The choices are available through Format, Details when a form is active on the screen. In the Resource Form view, the various tasks assigned to that resource are listed. Changing the details alters which fields about the tasks assigned are displayed. A Task Form focuses on information about to the task, including the resources assigned. Therefore, changing the details in the Task Form view changes what resource information or what detailed task information is displayed about the selected task.
NOTE
You can see a list of alternative formats for forms by right-clicking anywhere in a blank area of a form and choosing from the shortcut menu.
On the Task Form view, choose Format, Details, Resource Schedule to display fields for when work is scheduled as well as entry fields for imposing a delay either on the task itself or when the resource begins work on the task. Notice the columns named Leveling Delay and Delay (see Figure 20.32). The Leveling Delay field is a delay for the task itself, usually caused by applying resource leveling, and is the same field that appears on the Delay table on the Detail and Leveling Gantt Charts. The Delay field is a delay for the resource only. It shows delay if the resource does not start working at the beginning of the task.
Figure 20.32. With a Task Form view active, you can choose Format, Details, Resource Schedule to display assigned resource scheduling information.
→ To learn more about scheduling resource delays, see “Strategies for Eliminating Resource Overallocations,” p. 428.
Other form details display additional entry detail fields, as summarized in Table 20.3.