Schedule Express

Overview

The Schedule Screen

The Time Scale

Tasks, Milestones, and Annotations

The Button Bar

Basic Scheduling

Moving Around the Schedule

The Schedule Start Date

Adding a Task

Sizing a Task

Moving a Task

Naming a Task

Deleting a Task

Changing Task Style

Entering Task Information

Selecting Tasks

Unselecting Tasks

Changing Bar Styles, Fonts & Colors

Linking, Unlinking, and Normalizing Tasks

Overview

Linking Dependent Tasks

Unlinking Dependent Tasks

Normalizing Tasks

Other Schedule Operations

Copying a Task

Undoing a Mistake

Insert Line and Remove Line

Erasing the Schedule

The Time Scale

Scrolling the Time Scale

Stretching the Time Scale

Changing the Time Scale

Additional Formatting Features

Task Font

Schedule Title

Schedule Legend

Display Options

Task Filter

Show Links

Show Percentage Complete

Printing

Print

Print Setup

The Task Table Screen

File Operations

Opening an Existing Schedule File

Creating a New Schedule File

Saving a Schedule File

Troubleshooting

Scheduling

Printing

Product Support


Overview


The Schedule Screen

Schedule Express uses a modified Gantt chart format to create and display schedules.  Gantt chart schedules have a time scale at the top with rows of tasks underneath the time scale.  Each task is drawn to show when it begins and ends with respect to the time scale.  As you might expect, some tasks will be longer in duration than others.

Traditional Gantt charts show only one task per row in the schedule.  Schedule Express extends this paradigm by allowing multiple tasks to appear on each row.  This is a more convenient way to show task continuity and temporal dependencies between tasks.

Schedule Express also extends the Gantt chart by allowing links between tasks.  This illustrates predecessor-successor task relationships.  Traditional scheduling systems show these dependency relationships on a PERT (Program Evaluation and Review) chart.  Unfortunately, this requires two different charts, a Gantt chart and a PERT chart, to convey complete scheduling information.  Schedule Express's innovative format combines both into one single schedule.


The Time Scale

The time scale displays the time intervals used for displaying tasks.  It is a linear time line that stretches left and right, forward and backward through time.  The time scale is the grid on which tasks are graphed and it shows you when tasks begin and end.  The grid lines in the schedule area below the time scale are set to the time scale intervals.

The weekly time scale

You can adjust the time scale to show time intervals by Year, Quarter, Month, Week, Day, Hour, and Minute using the Time Scale dialog box (more on this later).  This gives you a variety of scheduling options to suit your unique needs.


Tasks, Milestones, and Annotations

Each task bar starts on a start date and extends horizontally to its end date.  This shows graphically when individual tasks begin and end and indicates the relative amount of work being performed at any point in time.  Tasks may be shown on different lines to show who is responsible for each project or to indicate which project phase the task belongs.

In Schedule Express, there are three types of schedule objects:

Tasks

Milestones

Annotations

Tasks designate a job to be performed.  Tasks have a start date and a duration.  On the schedule, tasks are usually shown as boxes using one of the task bar styles.  Task styles include rectangles, rounded rectangles, drop shadowed rectangles, arrows, etc.

Milestones designate a significant event, such as a major completion date or important deadline.  Like tasks, milestones have a date.  However, milestones do not have a duration because they designate a particular point in time.  On the schedule, milestones are usually shown as a milestone marker followed by some text describing the milestone.  Milestone markers can be triangles, diamonds, etc.

Annotations are text descriptions placed on the schedule to highlight important points or sequences of tasks.  They may also indicate the person responsible for different tasks, for indicating project phases, etc.  Their uses are virtually unlimited.  Annotations, like tasks, can be displayed in one of the many task bar styles.  Annotation text can also be displayed as plain text on the schedule.

You can place tasks, milestones, and annotations anywhere on the schedule screen.  In fact, there is no requirement that your schedule even look like a schedule.  You have the ultimate say over where any schedule object is displayed and its size, shape, font, and color (more about these later).

Schedule Express makes no distinction in the way tasks, milestones, and annotations are manipulated.  The same commands are used to add, position, size, edit, copy, and delete them.  For this reason, the term task is used interchangeably for milestones and annotations.


The Button Bar

Schedule Express has a button bar for performing the most common task editing and style selection operations.   The button bar is between the pull-down menus and the time scale.  Most of the button bar buttons and selection controls operate on all selected tasks.  By selecting a group of related tasks, you can select a common color, font, or text style with just a few mouse clicks.  This makes it very easy to create schedules with visual impact.

Each of the button bar buttons and selection controls is briefly described below.  See the following chapters for complete descriptions of the actions performed by each of these buttons.

	Schedule Button The Schedule button moves from the Task Table screen to the Schedule screen.
	Tasks Button The Tasks button moves from the Schedule screen to the Task Table screen.
	Task Styles The task style control selects the task bar style for the selected tasks.  Task styles range from simple rectangular task bars to vertical arrows.
	Typeface The typeface selection control lists all available font typefaces in Microsoft Windows.  Selecting a new typeface updates all currently selected tasks with the new typeface.  The task names or notes are displayed in the new typeface.
	Font Size Selecting or entering a new font size updates all currently selected tasks with the new font size.  The task names or notes are displayed in the new font size.
	Colors Use the color palette button to select the color for the selected tasks.
	Bold & Italics Buttons Selecting or deselecting bold or italics updates all currently selected tasks with the appropriate font characteristics.  The task names or notes are displayed in bold and italics as selected.
	Left, Center, and Right Justification Buttons The task name or notes displayed on the task can be left, center, or right justified by selecting the appropriate button.
	Link, Unlink, and Normalize Buttons Use these buttons to link together dependent tasks.  The Normalize button moves dependent tasks after their predecessor tasks.
	Unselect Button Use the Unselect button to unselect all currently selected tasks.


Basic Scheduling


Moving Around the Schedule

Use the normal keypad keys, scroll bar, and mouse operations to move around the schedule.  In this respect, Schedule Express is like most other Microsoft Windows applications.  From the keyboard, use the following keystrokes to move within the schedule area:

Press	To move
Left Arrow	Left by one time period
Right Arrow	Right by one time period
Up Arrow	Up one row
Down Arrow	Down one row
Ctrl+Left Arrow	Left one screen
Ctrl+Right Arrow	Right one screen
Ctrl+Up Arrow	Up 5 rows
Ctrl+Down Arrow	Down 5 rows
PgUp	Up one screen
PgDn	Down one screen
Ctrl+PgUp	Up one screen
Ctrl+PgDn	To bottom row of schedule
Home	To beginning of schedule
End	To end of schedule
Ctrl+Home	One screen left
Ctrl+End	One screen right


The Schedule Start Date

The schedule has a Schedule Start Date, which is the left-most (earliest) date that the schedule will display.  You cannot scroll to the left of the Schedule Start Date.  You can change the Schedule Start Date by selecting the Format | Time Scale command to display the Time Scale dialog box and changing the Start Date.


Adding a Task

A schedule is a collection of tasks, milestones, and annotations.  Schedules can be very simple, containing only a few tasks.  Or they can be complex with a hundred or more tasks, milestones, and text annotations, all linked together.

A basic task

Tasks, milestones, and annotations can be placed anywhere on the schedule.  Once positioned, they can be sized to any shape and moved to any new position.  The difference between tasks, milestones, and annotations is in appearance only and Schedule Express does not differentiate between these types of schedule objects.  You can easily change a task to a milestone or to a text annotation.

To add a task, milestone or annotation:

1.	From the Insert menu, select the Task command.

2.	Move the cursor to the schedule area.  A rectangular task cursor appears.

3.	Click the mouse cursor on the desired date and row position where you would like the task to appear.  A task appears on the schedule and the cursor shape returns to an arrow.

This procedure works for milestones and annotations as well as tasks by selecting the Insert | Milestone and Insert | Annotation commands.


Sizing a Task

Once a task, milestone, or annotation is placed on the schedule, it can be sized horizontally, to adjust its duration, and vertically, to adjust its shape.

To size a task, milestone, or annotation:

1.	Move the cursor to the right end of the task.  The cursor changes shape to indicate that the task can be sized.

2.	Press the left mouse button to begin sizing the task.

3.	With the left mouse button depressed, move the mouse.  A bounding box shows the new size and shape of the task.

4.	Release the left mouse button when finished.  The task is redrawn to the new size and shape.


Moving a Task

Since the Schedule Express program is highly interactive, you will want to move tasks around on the schedule as you add new tasks and adjust the sizes of others.

To move a task:

1.	Select one or more tasks to move.  To select a single task, position the mouse cursor on the task and press the left mouse button.

2.	While holding down the left mouse button, move the mouse cursor to the desired location to place the tasks.  Outlines for each of the selected tasks will track the mouse cursor.

3.	Release the left mouse button when the task outlines are positioned at their new location.  The schedule is redrawn to show the tasks at their new location.


Naming a Task

The Task Notes dialog box contains most of the information about a task, milestone, or annotation.  You can change a task's

Name and notes

Starting date, duration, and completed duration

Bar or milestone style

Font typeface, size, and font characteristics

Color

User-defined field values

To display the Task Notes dialog:

1.	Move the mouse cursor to the middle of the task and double click the left mouse button.  The Task Notes dialog box is displayed.

2.	In the Task Notes dialog box select the Name field.  Enter the name to be displayed directly on the task on the schedule.

3.	Select the Notes field.  Enter any additional notes about the task.

4.	Select either the Name or Notes radio button in the Display area.  This selection designates whether the name or the notes should be displayed directly on the task on the schedule.  Name is the most common selection for tasks and milestones; Notes is commonly used for text annotations.

5.	Select the OK button to close the Task Notes dialog box.  The task is redrawn to show the task name.

We recommend that you play with the various task properties by adjusting their values.  For example, you might change the task bar and milestone styles to see how different shapes look on the schedule.  Or, you  might change the font and color values to see what you like and don't like.


Deleting a Task

Occasionally you will want to delete a task from the schedule.  In fact, one or more tasks can be deleted at the same time by first selecting multiple tasks.

To delete a task:

1.	Select one or more tasks to delete using the mouse or Edit | Select All command.

2.	Choose the Edit | Delete command.  The selected tasks are removed from the schedule.

If you accidentally delete a task, use the Edit | Undo command to restore the deleted tasks.


Changing Task Style


Entering Task Information

The Task Notes dialog box contains most of the information and settings available for tasks, milestones, and annotations.

Name

Enter the name of the task, milestone, or annotation.  For tasks and annotations, if Display Name is selected, then the name will appear on the task itself.  For milestones, the name appears to the right of the milestone symbol.

Type

A task can be designated as a Task, Milestone, or Annotation.  Schedule Express uses this for the purpose of categorizing schedule objects.  For example, text annotations usually are not shown in printed Task List reports because they are not tasks or milestones.

Start Date

This is the task's starting date, and can be any date after the schedule's Start Date.

Start Time

This is the task's starting time on the Task Start Date.  The Start Time is used generally for schedules using the Minute or Hourly time scale and has little use on schedules with larger time scale increments.

Anchored

Tasks can be anchored to a particular starting date for the purpose of task normalization.  Vacation tasks, trade show dates, and holiday dates are frequently anchored because they cannot be moved; the rest of the schedule must accommodate these fixed tasks.

Duration

Duration specifies the task's length.  For milestones, which have no theoretical duration, the duration means the length of the milestone name on the schedule; the longer the milestone duration, the longer the displayed name.

Completed

The Completed field specifies the portion of the task that has been completed.  The uncompleted portion of the task is the task's Duration minus its completed amount.

User Defined 1, 2, 3

These fields are used for user-defined purposes.  Enter the field names on the Schedule Legend dialog box by selecting the Format | Schedule Legend command.  Common uses for the user defined fields are:

Designating the person responsible for completing a task (also called task resource)

Indicating the task's priority level

Display Name, Notes

Select Name to display the task's name on the task.  Select Notes to display the task's notes on the task.  The task name is used for most tasks and milestones, while displaying the notes is common for annotations where more description is needed.

Notes

Enter any notes about the task, milestone, or annotation.  These notes can be displayed directly on a task or as part of the printed Task List and Calendar reports.

Font

Press the Font button to display the Task Font dialog box.  The Task Font dialog box lets you select the task's font style and text characteristics.

Color

Press the Color button to display the Color dialog box.  The Color dialog box lets you select the task's color for display on-screen.  If your printer supports color printing, then the selected color will be used when printing that task on the schedule.

Style

Each task, milestone, and annotation have a beginning task symbol, a task bar style, and an ending task symbol.  The beginning and ending task symbols are not used for most tasks and annotations.  The beginning task symbol with no task bar style or ending task symbol is used for milestones.


Selecting Tasks

All task related commands, such as Move Tasks, Copy Tasks, and Delete Tasks, operate on one or more selected tasks.  The button bar property selectors also work on selected tasks.  Multiple task selection is a powerful feature that lets you make changes just once to an entire group of tasks.  This saves a lot of work and greatly speeds the editing process.

For example, suppose you want to change the font typeface for a group of tasks.  Simply select each task you want to change and then select a new typeface.  Each selected task is immediately updated to use the new typeface.

You can select a group tasks using a variety of methods, including

Single task selection

Multiple task selection

Task range selection

Selecting all tasks

To select a single task:

1.	Move the cursor over the desired task.

2.	Press the left mouse button.  The task's color changes to white, indicating the task is selected.

To select multiple tasks:

1.	Move the mouse cursor over a desired task.

2.	Press the SHIFT key and the left mouse button simultaneously (Shift-Click).  The task's color changes to white, indicating the task is selected.

3.	Repeat the previous steps for each additional task.

To select a range of tasks:

1.	Move the mouse cursor to the upper-left of the area to be selected.

2.	Press the left mouse button and drag the mouse while holding down the left mouse button.  A bounding rectangle appears showing the area to be selected.

3.	Release the left mouse button.  All tasks falling in the selected area change to white, indicating the tasks that have been selected.

To select all tasks:

From the Edit menu, choose Select All Tasks.  All tasks on the schedule change to white, indicating they have been selected.


Unselecting Tasks

After completing a task operation, you can unselect the selected tasks before selecting others for new task operations.

To unselect tasks one-by-one:

1.	Move the mouse cursor to the desired task.

2.	Press the SHIFT key and the left mouse button simultaneously (Shift-Click).  The task's color changes from white back to its normal color, indicating the task is no longer selected.

3.	Repeat these steps for each task that you want to unselect.

To unselect all tasks on the schedule, select the Unselect All command from the Edit menu.  All selected tasks change to their individual task colors, indicating they are no longer selected.


Changing Bar Styles, Fonts, and Colors

All three types of schedule objects -- tasks, milestones, and annotations -- can be displayed using any of the available bar styles, fonts, and colors.  This provides maximum scheduling flexibility, and lets you draw the schedule exactly the way you want without compromise.

There are two ways to set bar styles, fonts, and colors for the schedule objects:  the Button Bar and the Task Notes dialog box.  The Button Bar is at the top of the schedule screen right below the pull-down menus.  This is the most convenient way to quickly change a property for one or more tasks.  The Task Notes dialog box lets you change these display properties as well as enter note text and adjust the schedule object's start date and duration.

To change the bar style, font, or color using the button bar:

1.	Select one or more tasks.

2.	Use the mouse to select a typeface, font size, justification, color, or bar style from the button bar controls.  The new property is applied to all selected tasks.

3.	From the Edit menu, choose Unselect All Tasks to deselect the tasks.  You may postpone this step if you wish to make further property style changes to the selected tasks.

You can also use the Format | Task Style dialog box to change the task bar style for one or more tasks.


Linking, Unlinking and Normalizing Tasks


Linking, Unlinking and Normalizing Tasks
Overview - Linking, Unlinking and Normalizing Tasks

Task linking and normalization is one of Schedule Express's advanced features.  Linking tasks is a way to express that one task must follow another.  That is, Task A must be completed before Task B.  In Schedule Express, you express this dependency by linking Task B to Task A.

After linking two tasks, Schedule Express draws a line between the tasks.  Just like normal tasks, you can move, edit, and delete linked tasks.  You can change their task bar style, font, and color.  You can even move a dependent task before its predecessor.

Any number of tasks can be linked together to form a sequential chain of task links.  This indicates that each successive task in the chain logically follows it predecessor.  Several predecessor tasks can be linked to a single successor task.  This shows conceptually that the successor task cannot begin until each of its predecessor tasks has ended.

Since Schedule Express places no restrictions on where you can place tasks on the schedule, you can move any dependent task before its predecessor in the chain.  Schedule Express will straighten out a chain of linked tasks through a process called normalization.  When a task is normalized, each dependent task that follows the task being normalized is moved, if necessary, to start after its predecessor ends.  If the successor task already starts after its predecessor ends, then it is already normalized.  If, however, a task's start date occurs before its predecessor's end date, then the task is not normalized.


Linking Dependent Tasks

Linking tasks together illustrates a time dependency constraint between the linked tasks.  This usually means that a successor task must be completed before a predecessor task can begin.

Not every schedule will have linked tasks and using this feature is not required.  Frequently the task dependencies are obvious and are illustrated simply by placing one task after the other on the schedule.  However, task links are useful for  showing dependencies between tasks on different rows or in different parts of the schedule.

To link tasks:

1.	Select the predecessor task by clicking on it.

2.	Select the successor task by using the Shift+Click operation.  Both the successor task and the predecessor task will be highlighted.

3.	Choose the Edit | Link Tasks command.  A line will be drawn between the two tasks.

You can create longer link chains by successively using the Shift+Click operation to select a sequence of tasks to be linked.  Schedule Express links tasks together in the order in which they were selected.

Each task may have up to ten (10) links going from it to successor tasks.  A task can have any number of links coming into it from predecessor tasks.  It is possible to create a circular link, that is, linking Task A to Task B and Task B to Task A.  While it is unclear what such a circular link means, there is no restriction on creating one.


Unlinking Dependent Tasks

Unlinking tasks reverses the linking process and removes the link line drawn between two linked tasks.  When a selected task is unlinked, all links going out of the task will be removed.  To remove a link coming into a task, you should unlink its predecessor task.

To unlink tasks:

1.	Select the predecessor task that is the starting point of the link you wish to remove.

2.	Choose the Edit | Unlink Tasks command.  All link lines leaving the selected task are removed.

You can unlink any number of links by selecting a group of tasks and then choosing the Edit | Unlink Tasks command.


Normalizing Tasks

Tasks may be moved and sized even if they have task dependency links between them.  This frequently leaves the dependent successor tasks preceding its predecessor tasks.  Fortunately, Schedule Express can straighten out this mess using a process called normalization.

Normalizing tasks automatically moves all linked dependent tasks after their predecessor tasks.  If the dependent task already follows chronologically all of its predecessor tasks, then the normalization process makes no adjustments to the dependent task.

To normalize tasks:

1.	Select one or more tasks.

2.	Choose the Edit | Normalize Tasks command.  The selected tasks any dependent tasks are adjusted as necessary.

Normalizing affects only selected tasks and any tasks that are successor tasks to the selected tasks.  This means that you may normalize a part of your schedule and leave another part unadjusted.

To normalize the entire schedule, choose the Edit | Select All command to select all tasks.  Then all tasks can be normalized.


Other Schedule Operations


Copying Tasks

Occasionally you will want to create copies of one or more tasks in the schedule.  In fact, one or more tasks can be copied at the same time by first selecting multiple tasks.

To copy a task:

1.	Select one or more tasks to delete using the mouse or Edit | Select All command.

2.	Choose the Edit | Copy command.  Copies of the selected tasks are created on the schedule.

If you accidentally copy a task you shouldn't have, use the Edit | Undo command to restore the deleted tasks.


Undoing a Mistake

Occasionally you will make a mistake while creating, moving, or deleting tasks.  Fear not, the undo feature is there to help.  In fact, Schedule Express has multiple levels of undo, meaning that you can the last set of edits or changes.

To undo an editing mistake:

Select the Edit | Undo command.  The most recent operation is reversed.


Insert Line and Remove Line

Inserting blank lines adds vertical space to the schedule.  You may select where the blank lines are inserted, meaning that all tasks, milestones, and annotations below the insertion point will be moved down.

To insert a blank line:

1.	Choose the Edit | Insert Line command.

2.	Move the mouse to the Schedule area and position the cursor at the desired point of insertion.  The cursor changes its shape to an insertion arrow.

3.	Click the Left Mouse Button.  A line is inserted in the schedule and any tasks below the insertion point are moved down.

Deleting a line removes vertical space from the schedule.  You may select where to delete the lines; all tasks, milestones, and annotations below the deletion point will be moved up.

To delete a line:

1.	Choose the Edit | Remove Line command.

2.	Move the mouse to the Schedule area and position the cursor at the desired deletion point.  The cursor changes its shape to a deletion arrow.

3.	Click the Left Mouse Button.  A line is removed from the schedule and any tasks below the deletion point are moved up.


Erasing the Schedule

Even the best of us have false starts.  When this happens, use the Edit | Erase All command to delete your schedule.  Everything in the schedule is deleted, including:

Tasks, milestones, and annotations

Schedule title

Schedule legend


The Time Scale


Scrolling the Time Scale

Scrolling the time scale is probably the quickest and easiest way to move left and right through the schedule.  Schedule Express has a unique drag and drop feature that lets you easily scroll the time scale.  Simply drag the time scale to where you want it and let go.  The schedule area underneath redisplays according to the new time scale position.

To scroll the time scale:

1.	Move the cursor to the time scale area.

2.	Press the left mouse button and move the mouse left or right while holding the mouse button down.  A left-right arrow cursor appears, indicating that you can scroll the time scale.

3.	Move the mouse while continuing to hold down the left mouse button.  The time scale will scroll left and right as the mouse moves.

4.	Release the left mouse button.  The schedule is redrawn according to the new time scale position.

With just a few flicks of the mouse, you can get anywhere in the schedule quickly and easily.  It's that simple.


Stretching the Time Scale

Sometimes the time scale may be too compressed or stretched out to correctly display the selected time scale format.  When the time scale is compressed, tasks in the schedule appear shorter, frequently cutting off words and letters in the task name.  This makes the schedule look unattractive.

You can stretch out the time scale so that more area is allocated to each time interval.  This will stretch the tasks in the schedule area as well, giving each task more room to display its name.

A normal time scale

A stretched time scale

To stretch the time scale:

1.	Move the cursor to the time scale area.  A left-right arrow cursor appears.

2.	Press the SHIFT key and the left mouse button simultaneously and move the mouse left or right while continuing to press both the SHIFT key and the left mouse button.  The time scale stretches or collapses as the mouse moves.

3.	Release the left mouse button and the SHIFT key.  The schedule redraws according to the new time scale.


Changing the Time Scale

The time scale at the top of the schedule area is quite versatile.  It can display time by year, quarter, month, day, hour, and minute.  With this flexibility, you can create a schedule to fit virtually every need.

The time scale has a major scale (top) and a minor scale (bottom).  The major scale is always the top scale and the minor scale is always the bottom scale.  Having two time scales allows you to have two different frequencies of grid lines in the schedule area.  Enabling the appropriate grid lines lets you position your tasks with accuracy.

Both scales can be set independently giving you the flexibility to show months by week, day,  hour, or minute.  You can even select different formats for both scales.  For example, you can select:
February 2, 1993
Feb 2, 93
2/2/93.

The major and minor scales, their date formats, and the optional grid lines are parameters set on the Time Scale dialog box.

To display the Time Scale dialog box:

1.	Move the mouse cursor to the time scale area and double click, or

2.	From the Options menu, choose Time Scale.  The Time Scale dialog box appears.

The Time Scale dialog box has the following fields.

Major Time Scale and Format

Select the top time scale and display format.  The Major Time Scale cannot be a smaller time interval than the Minor Time Scale.  For example, the Major Time Scale cannot be set to Day when the Minor Time Scale is set to Month.

Minor Time Scale and Format

Select the bottom time scale and display format.  The Minor Time Scale cannot be a larger time interval than the Major Time Scale.  For example, the Major Time Scale cannot be set to Day when the Minor Time Scale is set to Month.

Grid Lines

Select grid lines for either the major or minor time scales to display vertical lines in the schedule area demarcating the time scale increments.  For example, if the Minor Time Scale is set to Week, vertical grid lines will be drawn for each week.  If the Major Time Scale is set to Month, vertical grid lines will be drawn for each month as well.

Start Date

The Start Date designates the beginning date of the entire schedule.  Tasks, milestones, and annotations cannot be placed on the schedule prior to this date.

Days Per Week

Select the number of days in a work week.  This limits the days displayed for the Day and Month time scales.

Start Time and End Time

For the Minute and Hour time scales, the Start Time and End Time selections designate the beginning and ending points of a day.  This limits the amount of time displayed to the actual working day time period.

Fonts

Click on the Fonts button to display the Time Scale Font dialog box.  Use this dialog box to select the typeface and font characteristics for the time scale.  The time scale and schedule area are redrawn after changing the font characteristics.


Additional Formatting Features


Task Font

The Task Font dialog box lets you select the default task font for newly created tasks, milestones, and annotations.  The selected font will be used for all subsequently created tasks.


Schedule Title

Enter your schedule's title in to the Schedule Title dialog box.  The schedule title is optionally used when printing the schedule, task list, or project calendar.  The schedule title is only for report printing; it does not appear on screen as part of the schedule or task table list.


Schedule Legend

Use the Schedule Legend dialog box to create a description for each of the milestone symbols used in your schedule.  The schedule legend may be optionally printed as part of the schedule report.

The Schedule Legend dialog box is also used to enter user-defined task field names.  There are three user-defined fields that appear on the Task Notes dialog box.  The field names entered on the Schedule Legend dialog box appears to the left of the user-defined fields on the Task Notes dialog box.  These field names are also used on the Task Filter dialog box for use in selecting a subset of tasks for display on the schedule.


Display Options


Task Filter

The Task Filter dialog box lets you select which tasks, milestones, and annotations to display as part of the schedule.  This is a very powerful feature because you can:

Produce schedules for individual project team members from a master project schedule

Generate high-level milestone reports for senior management

Display selected tasks, milestones, or annotations in any combination.

Type (Task, Milestone, Annotation)

Select the task type to be displayed.  This option is useful for filtering out annotations or for showing only the milestone deadlines.

Fields (User Defined 1, 2, 3)

Select specific values for the user defined fields.  Only those tasks with the specified value will be displayed.  <All> will match every value for a user defined field.

Sorting Order

The sorting order option is active only for the Task Table screen.  Select Row to display tasks sorted by row order as they would appear on the Schedule screen.  Select Alphabetic to order tasks alphabetically by their task name.  Select Start Date & Time to order tasks by their starting dates or End Date & Time to order tasks by their ending dates.


Show Links

The Show Links option enables the display of task links between tasks.  Turning the Show Links option off removes the task links from display.  Turning Show Links off does not remove or delete the task links  it merely hides them from view.

Turning the Show Links option off is a convenient way to hide the sometimes cluttered set of task links.  This is especially important when preparing a report for management that is only interested in the project schedule and not the assumptions leading to the schedule.


Show Percentage Complete

The Show Percentage Complete option alters the display of tasks by showing the portion of each task that has been completed differently from the incomplete portion.  When this option is enabled, the completed portion of each task bar is shown normally.  The incomplete portion of the task bar is shown with a diagonal hatched line.

The percentage complete is calculated from the Completed Duration field on the Task Notes dialog box for each task.

The Show Percentage Complete option is a convenient way to track your project's progress.  Just update the Completed Duration for each task and Schedule Express does the rest.  You will have an easy way to review what's done and what's left to do.  And you can quickly identify any projects that are behind schedule.


Printing


Print

The Print dialog box prints three different reports:

Schedule  the Gantt chart style schedule on the Schedule screen

Task List  a task list like that shown on the Task Table screen

Calendar  a project calendar showing the starting date for each task

Report

Select Schedule to print a Gantt chart style schedule identical to that shown on the Schedule screen.  Select Task List to print a list of tasks like that shown on the Task Table screen.  You can optionally print task notes underneath each task.  Select Calendar to print a project calendar.  The project calendar lists the start dates for each task.

Copies

Enter the number of copies to print.

Print Start Date

Enter the start date of the report.  Only tasks after the Start Date will be printed.  This is convenient for restricting the range of output if you only want to see a portion of the schedule.

Print End Date

Enter the ending date of the report.  Only tasks starting before the End Date are printed.  This is convenient for restricting the range of output if you want to see a portion of the schedule.

Margins

Enter the page margins.  The page margins apply to each page in the report.

Legend

Select this option to print the schedule's legend at the bottom of the Schedule report.  The legend is created using the Schedule Legend dialog box under the Options pull-down menu.

Task Order

Select the order in which tasks are printed on the Task List report.  Row order prints them in left to right, top to bottom order as shown on the Schedule screen.  Starting Date and Ending Date sort the tasks by when they start or end.  Alphabetic prints the tasks in alphabetic order, sorted by Task Name.

Print Notes

Select this option to print notes on the Task List.  Notes appear beneath each task.

Title

Select this option to print the Schedule Title at the top of the first page of the report.  No title is printed if  no schedule title was entered.

Date Stamp

Select this option to print the current date at the bottom of each page of the report.  This shows when the report was printed.  The page number is also printed.

Shrink to Fit

Select this option to reduce the size of the printed report to one page.  The selected fonts are scaled proportionally, when possible, to reduce the amount of task bar text that is lost on the selected report.


Print Setup

The File | Print Setup command displays the Print Setup dialog box.  This dialog box lets you designate the printer to be used for output and to select the page orientation and paper size.

The options you select in the printer's setup dialog box govern how the printed output will look when you select the File | Print command.  For example, selecting the portrait orientation option yields tall and narrow schedules when printed; selecting landscape orientation results in shorter but wider schedules (landscape is generally better for schedules).

The default printer shown in the Print Setup dialog box is the one listed in your system's WIN.INI file.  You can use the Windows Control Panel to change the default printer.

To select a different default printer:

1.	From the Windows Program Manager, double click on the Control Panel icon in the Main program group.  The Control Panel window is displayed.

2.	Double click on the Printers icon in the Control Panel window.  The Printers dialog box is displayed.

3.	Select the desired printer and make it the default.

4.	Return to Schedule Express.

Note:  The default printer is selected using the Printer command in the Windows Control Panel.  The Control Panel is normally found in the Main group in the Program Manager.  If not, the Control Panel may have been moved to another group.

The Options button on the Print Setup dialog box displays a dialog box that is unique to the selected printer.  Use the Options dialog box to select customization printing parameters for your selected printer.

The options in the Options dialog box generally affect only the current print job.  The Options dialog box may not allow you to change every possible option supported by your printer because changing certain options would affect other print jobs that may be in progress.

Use the Windows Print Manager, usually found in the Main program group, to change options on your printer that will affect all jobs.


 The Task Table Screen


The Task Table Screen

The Task Table screen shows the tasks, milestones, and annotations in a tabular, line-at-a-time fashion.  This presentation is useful for updating or comparing a number of tasks at the same time.

For example, if you track your project's state of completion, you will find the Task Table handy for updating the Completed Duration field for each task.  Just move from task to task on the Task Table and select Format | Task Name & Info for each task to display the Task Notes dialog box.

Many of the same commands available on the Schedule screen are available on the Task Table screen.  For example, you can add a new task or edit an exiting one, modify a task's style characteristics, and enter notes.

To edit a task on the Task Table:

1.	Double click on the task row you wish to edit.  A selection rectangle appears in one of the columns and the Task Notes dialog box appears.

2.	Make the desired changes on the Task Notes dialog box.

3.	Click OK.  The selected task row is updated.

To add a new task on the Task Table:

1.	Select the Insert | Task command from the pull-down menus.  The Task Notes dialog box appears.

2.	Make the desired entries on the Task Notes dialog box.

3.	Click OK.  A new task row appears on the Task Table.


File Operations


Opening an Existing File
Opening an Existing Schedule File

Schedule Express uses the standard Windows convention for opening existing files via the File | Open command.  You will find this procedure identical to that in most other Windows applications.

To open an existing schedule file:

1.	Select the File | Open command.

2.	Select the disk, directory, and file name of the schedule file.

3.	Select OK.  The schedule is loaded and displayed.

File Types

Schedule Express reads two native file types directly: Schedule Express files and Quick Schedule files.  Quick Schedule is a DOS-based project scheduling package published by Power Up Software Corporation of San Mateo, CA.  Quick Schedule is available in most retail software stores and in the Power Up! software catalog.


Creating a New Schedule File

Use the File | New command to create a new schedule.  Selecting the File | New command clears any existing schedule after prompting you to save it.  Schedule Express's title bar will change to "(untitled)".

To create a new schedule file:

1.	Select the File | New command.

2.	If the current schedule has been modified, you will be prompted to save it.

3.	The schedule area, schedule title, and schedule legend are cleared and are ready for editing.


Saving a Schedule File

After creating and editing a schedule, you will want to save it in a file.  Schedule Express files are saved on disk in files with a .SCH extension.

To save a schedule file:

1.	Select the File | Save or File | Save As command.

2.	Enter the filename of your choice for your schedule, for example FIRST.SCH.

3.	Select OK.  The schedule is saved in the file.

The first time you use the File | Save command to save a new schedule file, the Save As dialog box appears to prompt you to enter a file name.  Normally, you will enter a new, unique file name in the File Name field.

Subsequently, no dialog box will appear when you save an existing schedule file using the File | Save command.  Use the File | Save As command should you wish to make a copy of the schedule file or change its name.

After saving a file, the title bar at the top of the Schedule Express window is updated to display the name of the current file.

File Types

Schedule Express saves schedule files in its native .SCH file format.  The .SCH file type is unique to the Schedule Express program and is not used by any other software package.

Additional file types are supported by installing the Schedule Express Links product, also from Foundation Microsystems, Inc.  Schedule Express Links includes links to various other project management packages, including Microsoft Project and Super Project from Computer Associates.


Troubleshooting


Troubleshooting Scheduling
Scheduling

Q.	I can't find my tasks  I know they're somewhere on the schedule.

A.	Schedules can have up to 500 lines or rows in the vertical dimension and can stretch for years into future from the schedule start date in the horizontal dimension.  If you can't locate a task, you have probably placed it in the wrong part of the schedule out of view.  First, try scrolling the schedule both vertically and horizontally to see if it appears.  If not, print the schedule using the Shrink To Fit option on the Print dialog box.

After locating the task, you can either move it to its proper location or delete it depending on how far away it is from its desired location.

Q.	I still can't find my tasks, even after printing the whole schedule.

A.	Select the Options | Task Filter command and examine the Task Filter dialog box settings.  You may have sufficiently restricted the view so that no tasks pass the filter and therefore nothing is displayed.

Q.	How do I erase schedule files I don't want anymore?

A.	Use the Windows File Manager to delete unwanted schedule files.  All schedule files have a .SCH file name extension.  Or, use the DOS delete command at the DOS prompt.

Q.	Switching time scales does strange things to my tasks.

A.	Tasks created in certain time scales do not scale well to other time scales.  For example, tasks created on the Minute or Hourly time scales may disappear on the Monthly or Yearly time scales.

Q.	Changing the schedule start date deleted some of my tasks.

A.	Tasks that lie completely to the left of the schedule's start date are not shown.  Nor can you scroll to the left of the start date to view them.  The tasks haven't been deleted -- you just can't see them.  Change the schedule start date to a sufficiently earlier date to make them "appear" again.

Q.	Changing the Days Per Week setting moved my tasks.

A.	Tasks have a duration measured in days, hours and minutes.  Changing the length of the work week doesn't alter the task's duration, so tasks can appear to take more or less time depending on the number of days per week.  For example, a seven day long task with a Days Per Week setting of seven is shown as being exactly one calendar week long.  However, that task takes one and a half calendar weeks if the Days Per Week setting is changed to five days.


Troubleshooting Printing
Printing

Q.	I selected Shrink To Fit but everything is too small.

A.	If your schedule is long or tall, then shrinking may not yield optimal results.  Try printing the schedule without Shrink To Fit selected.

Q.	Printing schedules takes a long time.  Why?

A.	The dotted vertical grid lines are responsible for the bulk of the printing time.  Try turning off either the major or minor grid lines to speed up schedule printing.


Product Support

Foundation Microsystems offers continuing support in the form of telephone advice and other assistance.  If you have difficulty in using the program, we suggest you do the following:

1.	Read the on-line help instructions available from within the program (from the Help menu).

2.	Consult the documentation and other materials that accompany the product.  They contain answers to most questions.  Be sure to check the Troubleshooting chapter.

3.	If your question is not answered by reading the documentation, call the Foundation Microsystems Product Support department.  Our hours are:

9:00 am to 5:00 pm  Pacific Time
Monday through Friday, except holidays and Christmas week

Please have your serial number (on the floppy disks) and version number available (from the Help | About dialog box).


Calling for Support

We greatly prefer receiving your support questions via FAX  (510-814-1696). FAXes eliminate the telephone tag problem and enable us to get you an informed answer more quickly.  FAXes are also better for submitting printing problems because we can look at the printout.  But most importantly, we give FAXes higher priority than returning phone calls because FAXes usually contain sufficient information for us to solve your problem.

When sending a FAX (or calling) be sure to include the following:

1.	Schedule Express version number from the Help | About dialog.  This will be something like Version 1.0(18).  This tells us exactly what build you have and what feature set is in your version.

2.	Windows version.  Do you have Windows 3.0 or 3.1?  If you have a printing problem, be sure to include the make and model of your printer.

3.	Print out or screen shot.  Being able to see what you are seeing usually gets us 80% of the way toward fixing your problem.

4.	Schedule Express serial number.  This helps us properly register your copy.

5.	FAX number and voice number.  We prefer to respond via FAX because this reduces the telephone tag problem.  We've found our customers much prefer a detailed written answer over a verbal response because they can always refer back to the written answer.

6.	Shipping (street) address.  Quite often we can fix your problem simply by sending you an update disk.

We realize collecting all this information is time consuming, but we really can't provide informed help without it regardless of whether you FAX or phone in your question.  (We'll definitely ask you to provide this information if you phone in.)

Before FAXing or phoning, please be sure to:

1.	Read the on-line help instructions available from within the program and the Common Support Problems section (from the Help menu).  We keep the on-line help up-to-date as new problems and fixes are identified.  Virtually every support question we have received has been incorporated into the Common Support Problems section.

2.	Consult the documentation and other materials that accompany the product.  They contain answers to most questions.  Be sure to check the Troubleshooting chapter.

Taking a Screen Shot
Often it is useful for us to see what you are seeing on your screen, and you can help by sending us a screen shot.  Taking a screen shot in Windows is easy.  Press Alt-PrtSc to capture the current dialog or active window.  Or press Shift-PrtSc to capture the entire screen.  In either case, the dialog or screen is captured as a bitmap and copied to the clipboard.  After capturing the screen, simply go to your favorite word processor and use the Edit | Paste command to copy the screen bitmap from the clipboard into an open document.  From there, you can print the document.

Who To Call in the United Kingdom
Deepak Sareen Associates
Bydell House, Sudbury Hill
Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex U.K.  HA1 3NJ
081-423-8855
081-423-8992 FAX


Questions and Answers
Common Support Questions

Printing

Creating and Editing Tasks

Gantt and PERT Charts

Network Operation

Exchanging Data with Other Applications


Gantt and PERT Charts

What are Gantt charts?
Almost all traditional project management packages like Microsoft Project, SuperProject, Time Line, and On Target produce Gantt charts.  A Gantt chart shows all of the tasks in a single column on the left of the screen, one task per row.  At the right of the task column is a horizontal graph bar for each task, one task bar per row matching their respective tasks.  These task bars are graphed relative to a time scale at the top of the screen, just like in Schedule Express.

There are several problems with Gantt charts:

1.	The task's name doesn't appear on the task bar.  The task's name is always in the left hand column.  Since most Gantt charts are fairly wide, it is difficult to visually match the task name on the left hand side with its graphed task bar on the right.

2.	Only one task and task bar can be shown per screen line.  You can't place several tasks on the same line to show that they follow each other.  Gantt charts don't show task dependencies very well.

3.	Gantt chart graphs leave a lot of wasted space on the screen due to the one task per row restriction.  This results in a "staircase" effect of cascading tasks, one task per row.

4.	Moving tasks around is difficult.  You can't grab them with the mouse and move them to a new location.

To sum up, traditional Gantt charts are not very good for presentation purposes.  They are very confusing to look at and have little visual impact.  Eyes glaze over.  There is no differentiation between tasks and their relative importance in terms of task bar style, font, color, etc.  Gantt charting programs produce very long charts that take entire walls.

Schedule Express focuses on producing one or two page presentation quality schedules for presentation to management, clients, etc.  Since Schedule Express doesn't force you into a Gantt chart format, you are free to position tasks anywhere on the screen to fit your unique needs.

Does Schedule Express create Gantt charts?
Yes and no.  Schedule Express has no rigid display/layout format; it has no preconceived notions about how schedules should look.  So, if you want to lay out your tasks in the traditional Gantt chart "staircase" format, then no problem.  However, you will have to position each task accordingly.  Unlike traditional project management packages, Schedule Express won't automatically place tasks in the Gantt format.

Does Schedule Express create PERT charts?
Yes.  A PERT chart is a network of connected boxes linked to show task dependencies.  Schedule Express has an easy-to-use task linking feature.


Network Operation

Does Schedule Express work on Networks like Novell?
Yes.  Schedule Express runs on any machine that supports Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 or later, including those running networks.  Like most products running on networks, however, only one person can edit a given schedule file at a time.  Only one individual is licensed to run Schedule Express, however, unless special multi-user network licensing has been obtained from Foundation Microsystems.  That is, the user is in violation of his single-user license agreement if he places Schedule Express on a network for several people to access, even if these other people access Schedule Express at different times during the day.

Does Schedule Express work under MS-DOS alone?
No.  Schedule Express requires Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 or later.  It is only available in a Windows version and there are no plans to create a DOS version.  For DOS, we recommend Quick Schedule from Power Up Software Corporation, 415-345-5900.  Quick Schedule is Schedule Express' predecessor.


Printing

Printer Only Prints Half of the Schedule Page.  The Other Half is Cut Off.
Quite possibly your laser printer doesn't have enough internal RAM memory to hold a complete image from Schedule Express.  Many laser printer models respond to this condition by only printing part of the page; the rest of the page is left blank.  Try turning off the schedule grid lines as drawing these dotted lines consume a lot of memory.    A more permanent solution is to add a memory upgrade to your laser printer.

HP LaserJet Memory Requirements
We recommend having at least 4 MB of RAM memory in your HP LaserJet II for proper printing of graphic images.  If part of the printed image is missing or truncated, you'll need to add more memory to your printer.  Alternatively, you can probably reduce the memory requirements by turning off the grid line display when printing.  Also, remove any downloaded soft fonts to free up printer RAM memory.

Make sure that your Windows printer driver knows about the extra printer memory.  Many of the HP LaserJet printer drivers require you to set the amount of available memory in the Printers section of the Control Panel.  To do this, double click on Printers from the Windows Control Panel.  Then select the appropriate driver from the list box and press the Setup... button to display the driver's parameter setup dialog.  From there, select the amount of memory your printer has available.

HP DeskJet 500C and 550C Draft Print Quality Mode
We have experienced problems with the HP DeskJet drivers operating in the Draft Print Quality mode.  Task boxes are not positioned correctly on the page, so we strongly recommend against using this mode.  Instead, use the Normal or Presentation modes.

Printing with A4 Paper Size and Switching to Another Application Resets Page Size to 8.5" X 11".
This is, unfortunately, a Windows problem.  When you do a Print Setup in one application, it changes the print parameters not only for that application, but for others as well, including the Print Manager for running jobs.  Print Setup parameters are system-wide and take effect immediately upon setting them.  They are not properties of the currently printing job that are persistent until the print job terminates.

Schedule Express doesn't actually know what paper size you have selected, nor does it save this value anywhere or make any decisions based on paper size.  In fact, Schedule Express' File | Print Setup dialog is actually a Microsoft-provided "common dialog" that many other applications use.

Tasks are Printed Outside of the Page's Frame on HP LaserJet
This problem is caused by certain older HP LaserJet PCL drivers that were shipped with Windows.  Download and install the latest HP LaserJet drivers from CompuServe or get them from Foundation Microsystems.

Gray Shading Tasks on Monochrome Printers
Schedule Express has an option to enable gray shading for tasks when printing on monochrome printers like the HP LaserJet family.  This is the best way to render color on black and white devices.  Select the Gray Shading option on the Files | Page Setup dialog to turn gray shading on and off.

The quality of gray shading varies from printer to printer.  Some printer drivers will use dithering and cross hatch patters to simulate shades of gray.  It's best to experiment with changing the task color in Schedule Express to achieve the desired printed result.

Color Doesn't Print on Certain Color Printers
Certain color printers, particularly Epsons, have device driver problems that cause the driver to tell Schedule Express that the printer is a monochrome (black and white) device.  That is, the device driver lies about its capabilities.  Schedule Express relies on this information and doesn't send color information to the printer, because Schedule Express has no way of knowing what the true device capabilities are except by what the particular device driver tells Schedule Express.

To enable color printing on these devices, select the Gray Shading option on the Files | Page Setup dialog.  This forces Schedule Express to send color information to the printer regardless of whether the printer says it is a color or black and white device.  The Gray Shading option is normally used for monochrome (black and white) printers to enable gray shading or dithering to simulate different task colors.  Monochrome printers simulate colors by using the color information sent to the device driver and then selecting a different dithering pattern for each color.

Printed Colors Don't Match the Screen Colors
In Windows, you can select from a wide variety of colors that show nicely on the screen.  Most of today's video cards support upwards of 256 discrete colors.  Color ink jet printers like the HP PaintJet and HP Color DeskJet support far fewer solid colors.

Schedule Express leaves it to the individual Windows device driver to match the task colors selected in Schedule Express to the printed colors.  Since the DeskJet and PaintJet do not have a large palette of colors, the printer drivers map these colors to various hatch patterns, usually in other colors.  To work around this problem, try to pick screen colors that match well to those supported by your output device.

Tasks are Solid Black;  Task Text Doesn't Appear in Task Boxes;  Text Only Prints in Black
Some printers like those in the HP LaserJet family can only print black text.  They do not have the ability to print white text or colored text.  If the task box's color is sufficiently dark to be rendered as black, then the black text will not be visible on the black, or near black, background.  To correct this, change the task boxes to a lighter color or white.  You may be required to change the text color to black so that it is visible on screen.

The inability to render colored text is device driver dependent.  Most PostScript drivers do not have this problem.

Can Responsible Person and other User Defined Fields be Printed on the Task List?
The user defined task fields are not printed as part of the Task List in Schedule Express Version 1.0.

Word wrapping On-Screen is Inconsistent with Printout
The text word wrapping shown on-screen is sometimes inconsistent to a slight degree with the printed output because the fonts available for screen display differ from those available on your printer.  That is, you may have selected a font for a task box that has no close match on the printer, so the Windows print driver is forced to provide the closest match.

Schedule Express saves your font selections as logical fonts and then relies on the Windows video and print drivers to find a close match.  Depending on the fonts you have installed, the match may be exact or way off.  The Windows font mapper generally matches by font height first and then by typeface name.  We suggest using TrueType fonts to get the most consistent results between the screen and the printer.  TrueType fonts are generally scalable in size and can be rendered on most output devices.

Shrink-To-Fit Can Print More Than One Page
The Shrink-To-Fit option does its very best to shrink the schedule to fit within one page.  However, Shrink-to-fit will only reduce the time increments down to one pixel per time increment before it stops shrinking.  If you create a schedule in the yearly time scale, and then switch into the hourly scale, this will create some problems.  In an hourly scale, there will be hundreds of thousands of time increments (each quarter hour is a time increment) to print over the course of a multi-year schedule.  An HP LaserJet printer is limited to only 2,550 pixels on an 8.5" wide page at 300 dots per inch.  So it may take several pages to print out.

Schedule Express shrinks both vertically and horizontally by the amount necessary to fit both dimensions on the page.  For many schedules that are longer than taller, no vertical adjustment is necessary so no shrinking is performed in the vertical dimension.  In the horizontal dimension, Schedule Express shrinks the selected date range without regard to where any tasks might fall within that date range.  So, it is entirely possible to pick a date range with no tasks that yields a one-page printout with a compressed time scale but contains no tasks.

Schedule Express picks a default date range for printing that usually goes to the end of the month to allow a little white space at the right-hand side.  A problem can occur because there is an extra month at the right that contains no tasks.  Because Schedule Express shrinks the entire date range without regard to the tasks contained therein, the resulting output has extra unused white space at the right.  This is probably not what you want when shrinking-to-fit.  To correct this, select a print date range that coincides with the end date of the right-most task.  This will eliminate the extra white space at the right.

When Schedule Express shrinks, each time increment is allocated a whole number of pixels.  In a typical schedule that spans several hundred days, this could result in approximately 1/2" to 3/4" of unused white space at the right when printed on a 300 dots per inch laser printer.

Which Printers and Plotters are Supported?
Schedule Express can print on any device that Windows supports because Schedule Express prints through the Windows device drivers provided by the device manufacturers.  Windows is responsible for handling all printing, so as long as any printing device has a Windows device driver installed, then all Windows applications should be able to print on the device without any special support.  That is, if other Windows applications can print to your plotter or printer, then Schedule Express should work just fine.

Selecting Page Sizes
Schedule Express uses the page size selected on the File | Print Setup dialog.  This is a Windows provided common dialog that interacts directly with the printer driver.  Schedule Express doesn't have direct control over the page size selected - it works with whatever has been selected in the File | Print Setup dialog.  In fact, Schedule Express doesn't even know what size has been selected.  It only knows that it has an X pixel by Y pixel surface on which to draw.

Use the File | Page Setup dialog (not the Print Setup dialog) to select page margins.  These margins designate the amount of white space to leave between the printed schedule and the edge of the paper.

Print Preview and Show Page Breaks Isn't Quite Accurate
The page break lines shown on-screen and the File | Print Preview display aren't quite accurate in showing where page breaks fall.  We apologize for this, and this problem will be fixed in a subsequent version.


Exchanging Data With Other Applications

Default Working directory
The working directory is the directory where application program files are created by default for Schedule Express.  The working directory is designated in File Manager's File | Properties dialog.  If you change the working directory to a directory other than the Schedule Express directory, Schedule Express will not automatically load its default settings from SE.INI, its initialization file.  This is because SE.INI is installed in the Schedule Express directory.  If you have modified any SE.INI settings, you should place a copy of SE.INI in your new working directory for these to take effect.

Clipboard Support
Unfortunately Schedule Express Version 1.0 does not support copying the schedule to the clipboard in bitmap or text form.  The best way to include schedules in word processing documents is through Windows Metafiles.  Windows Metafiles are created through the File | Save As dialog.  One drawback though is that Windows Metafiles have fairly poor support of text fonts.

WMF Files Don't Handle Fonts Correctly
Unfortunately WMF files do not support sizable/scalable fonts.  This is a limitation of the WMF file format, not of Schedule Express.  WMF support was added for a few customers that didn't need to export font information, so this wasn't an issue for them.  After importing a WMF file into another application, you will probably have to adjust the fonts by hand in the task boxes and time scale.  An alternative is to use Version 2.0 (coming in late 1993) which has device independent bitmap support, so you can save a schedule to the clipboard and paste it into other documents.

Exporting to Time$heet Professional
You can export schedule files to Time$heet Professional from TIMESLIPS Corporation via the Microsoft Project .MPX link since Time$heet Professional imports .MPX files.  Use the File | Save As command to export files from Schedule Express in Microsoft Project format.  Be sure to export resources in addition to tasks since Time$heet Professional only imports tasks that have resource assignments.

Importing Microsoft Project .MPX Files Doesn't Work
Make sure you aren't trying to import a ManagePro file by mistake.  Both Microsoft Project and ManagePro use the .MPX file extension.


Creating and Editing Tasks

Stretching the Time Scale
In Version 1.0, stretching the time scale is for your visual convenience only.  Stretching the time scale will not affect the printout nor is the stretching factor saved in the schedule file.  This will be probably be changed in Version 2.0.

Choosing a different minor time scale format will also achieve a stretching effect.  Select Format | Time Scale to display the Time Scale dialog.  Then select a different minor time scale format.  For example, select "Jan 31" as the format for the Daily schedule instead of "1, 2".  The "Jan 31" format uses a minimum of five characters per day column in contrast to the "1, 2" format which uses a maximum of two characters.  Even wider formats are available as well.  After selecting a new time scale format, the time scale and all tasks on the schedule will be resized to accommodate the wider day increment columns.

Another way to stretch the time scale is to select a larger font for the time scale.  From the Format | Time Scale dialog, press the Font button and select a larger point size.  This will widen the time scale time increments and all tasks will be expanded to conform to the new time scale.

Days Missing in Daily Scale
Most likely the problem is that the Days Per Week setting on the Format | Time Scale dialog is set to five days.  Simply change this to seven days per week and the missing days will reappear.

Generic Time Scales like "Week 1", "Week 2"
Schedule Express Version 1.0 does not support a generic time scale, such as "Week 1, Week 2" or "Month 1, Month 2".

Tasks Don't Line Up When Switching Between Time Scales
When changing time scales a certain amount of placement round-off occurs.  Schedule Express always positions tasks on a time increment boundary.  For example, if the smallest unit of time for a schedule is one day (e.g. set the Minor Scale to Weekly), then all tasks are aligned to the closest day.  Dragging and dropping always places tasks on one of the time increments in a manner similar to a snap-to grid.  so, if you scale up from daily or weekly tasks to monthly or quarterly tasks, there will be some discontinuities as tasks are adjusted to the new time increments.

Changing the Schedule Start Date Moves All Tasks
Schedule Express Version 1.0 maintains all tasks relative to the Schedule Start Date.  The Schedule Start Date is set on the Format | Time Scale dialog.  Changing the Schedule Start Date will move the positions of all tasks so that they maintain the same relative distance from the Schedule Start Date as before.

Creating Logos and Bitmaps with the Font Editor
You can import graphics into Schedule Express by treating them as custom fonts created using the Windows Font Editor.  Here's how:

1.	Start the Font Editor.  This program comes with the Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit.

2.	Create your logo or bitmap has a font character or paste a bitmap from a drawing program into the newly created font character via the clipboard.

3.	Save the font file and install the font so that Windows knows about it.

4.	Create a task or annotation in Schedule Express.  Change the task style to "Text".  Then change the font for the task or annotation to be the font created in the font editor.

5.	Finally, pop open the Task Notes dialog and type the character (e.g. "A") corresponding to your logo or bitmap image in the Name field.  Then press OK.  Schedule Express should display the logo.

Tasks Disappear after Editing
Tasks can appear to disappear after editing them via the Task Notes dialog if you changed the Start Date.  They have probably moved out of view or have been moved before the Schedule Start Date.  To quickly locate lost tasks, switch to the Task List view to see where they have gone.

Tasks Created on the Task List View Often Overlap
Schedule Express Version 1.0 does not let you specify a line number when entering or editing tasks on the Task List view.  This frequently leads to overlapping tasks (on top of the other) in the Schedule view.

Milestones have Duration
In Schedule Express Version 1.0, milestones are treated like tasks and annotations insofar as they have a width and height.  Thus, milestones have a duration on the Task Notes dialog, and this is how their length is specified.  Designating an object as a task, milestone, or annotation was intended as a filtering distinction; there is no operational desinction between tasks, milestones, and annotations in Version 1.0.

Entering 4 Digit Year Dates
Schedule Express accepts both two digit and four digit year values in its date entry fields (e.g. on the Task Notes and the Time Scale dialogs).  Four two digit dates, the range of acceptable values is 80 through 79 corresponding to 1980 through 2079.  If you need dates outside of this range, enter a four digit year value instead of a two digit value.  For example, entering 1-1-1947 will give you January 1st, 1947.

Squeezing More Text into a Task
You can squeeze more text into a task by (1) reducing the task's font size and changing it to Regular from Bold or Italic, or (2) increasing the task's height.  Either stretch the task itself or increase the font height of the Time Scale's font.  Tasks are sized based on the width and height of the Time Scale's font.

Linked Tasks Do Not Unlink
Links in Schedule Express are directional.  That is, they originate on one task and terminate on another.  To delete a link, you must first select the source task and then select the destination task (with shift-click), leaving both tasks selected.  Then use the Unlink command to delete the link.  The link will not be removed if you select the destination task first followed by the source task.

Links Attach to the Wrong Sides of a Task
In Version 1.0, links always start on the right side of the source task and go to the left side of the destination task.  If the links are attaching to the wrong side of a task in your schedule, then it means you've moved the destination task to before the source task.  You can change this by deleting the original link and adding a new link in the reverse direction.