Making Assignments

An activity, milestone, or benchmark can only be [anchor]assigned [/anchor]one WBS node at a time. Making a new assignment will therefore erase any prior assignment, which can be verified in the Assignment column.

For codes, assignments actually take place at the value level. Property windows allow you to see which code values have been assigned to a specific object. The Codes Manager allows you to see which objects have been assigned to a different code values. And finally, the Set Global Properties window allows you to edit assignments in-bulk for multiple objects. Instructions for each are provided below.

Steps

Assigning a WBS Node

1. Click Tools > Manage Codes from the menu bar.
2. In the list on top, select the desired node.
3. In the list on bottom, check or uncheck the desired objects.
4. When finished, click Close. Any changes will be saved automatically.

Assigning a Code via Property Window

1. With the Select Tool  chosen in the toolbar, double-click the desired object, or right-click and choose Properties.
2. Click the Assign button next to Codes. The Assign Codes window opens.
3. Check or uncheck the desired values in the list.
4. When finished, click Save.
5. Click OK.

NOTE: Single-assignment codes are highlighted in green. Multiple-assignment codes are highlighted in orange. Codes may be clicked to hide or show their values.

Assigning a Code via Codes Manager

1. Click Tools > Manage Codes from the menu bar.
2. Click the Codes icon.
3. In the list on top, select the desired value.
4. In the list on bottom, check or uncheck the desired objects.
5. When finished, click Close. Any changes will be saved automatically.

NOTE: If an attempt is made to assign an object to another value of the same single-assignment code, the system will prompt you first.

Assigning a Code to Multiple Selected Objects

1. With the Multi-Object Select Tool  chosen in the toolbar, select the desired activities on-by-one on the canvas. Alternatively, you can click on a blank portion of the canvas and drag a rectangular marquee box around all the desired activities.
2. Click Objects > Set Properties for Selected Objects from the menu bar.
3. Click the dropdown next to Change Codes and choose a desired code.
4. Click the next dropdown to the right.
   1. To assign a value, click twice until a black check appears.
   2. To unassign a value, click once until blank.
   3. To leave unchanged, click until the minus sign appears. For more info, see [bookmark postid=”8278″ anchor=”setting”]Setting Properties with Check boxes[/bookmark] in the Bulk-Editing chapter.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 as desired in either the Activity, Milestone, or Benchmark tabs.
6. When finished, click OK.

NOTE: When a value of a single-assignment code is checked, all other values of the same code will be automatically unchecked.

Notes

WBS View

Lower List

By default, the list on bottom will be automatically ordered with any objects that have been assigned on top. This can be changed by clicking any of the columns. As you click through the list, the canvas will be scrolled and the item spotlighted. For more info on how to turn off scrolling, see Enabling/Disabling Canvas Scroll in The Codes Manager section

Tip: to view a larger version, click the Expand icon  above the list. Any customization of the columns will be lost upon closing and reset to that of the Codes Manager.

Codes View

Lower List

By default, the list on bottom will be automatically ordered with any objects that have been assigned on top. This can be changed by clicking any of the columns. As you click through the list, the canvas will be scrolled and the item spotlighted. For more info on how to turn off scrolling, see Enabling/Disabling Canvas Scroll in The Codes Manager section.

Tip: to view a larger version, click the Expand icon  above the list. Any customization of the columns will be lost upon closing and reset to that of the Codes Manager.

Advanced Code Properties

Assignment Behavior

By default, all codes have an assignment behavior of Single, meaning that only one value of the same code can be assigned to the same activity. This is required for exporting to P6 or using for swimlanes in the Layout Manager. If desired, a code can have an assignment behavior of Multiple, meaning that more than one value of the same code can be assigned to the same activity.

NOTE: Behavior cannot be changed unless all assignments are removed.