PPO allows Tasks to be imported from Microsoft Project (MSP) or Microsoft Excel. In certain cases, there is a need to map additional fields on the template that needs to be imported into PPO.
Below are the steps to follow when introducing a new Yes / No field on the Task entity and doing the mapping of the field in Excel & PPO.
- Adding the new field in PPO
- Adding the columns in Excel
- Mapping the new column in the .XML file
- Adding the mapping in System Configuration
Adding the new field in PPO
For this example, we are adding a Yes/No type field for "Reporting Task". Having this field will allow you to use the field in filtering and when extracting Reports / Dashboards if you only want to report on certain tasks.
When you submit the field, it is allocated a 'field name' in PPO. Drill into the field and get the key as this is needed when doing the mapping. The field name for Reporting Task is T02.
Adding the columns in Excel
There are a couple of items to cover in the Excel template
(1) Add 2 columns, 1 for Reporting Task (column J below) that will be used to select Yes/No and 1 to add a calculation to derive the key for Yes/No (column K below). The calculation is important as this maps the actual field to either be Yes/No.
(2) For column J above, add a new sheet named Reporting Task and add the below values.
(3) Select Colum J2 and do a Data Validation for the list in the new sheet. This will allow you to select Yes/No in the Reporting Task column.
Once done, apply this to all the lines for the column,
(4) Add a calculation to Column K2 - this will be the mapping key when importing into PPO.
=IF([@[Reporting Task]]="Yes",-1,0)
To test, select a value in column J02. If you select Yes, the value in column K02 should be -1, If you select No or leave it blank, the value in K02 should be 0.
Apply this calculation to all the lines for the column.
Save the template.
Mapping the new column in the .XML file
We now need to update the .XML file to include the mapping of the field.
(1) Rename the extension of your template from “.xlsx” to “.zip.
(2) Drill into the .zip folder and double click on the xl folder.
(3) Open the .xmlMaps.xml file with Notepad or a similar tool.
Copy and paste one line and then change the “name” to “taskflag1” as in the example shown below.
In Excel, taskflag1 will then map to field T02 in PPO.
Once the xml file has been updated save it on your desktop. Then copy it back into the zip folder, you can drag and drop in the same spot as the current one, below is a screenshot:
(4) Once the xml file has been copied as shown above then rename the zip folder again with the previous extension “.xlsx” instead of “.zip”.
(5) Now that the file has the mapping in the xml, you can now physically map the column in excel as shown below. Important to do the mapping on the hidden field with the calculation (column K).
Hide Column K and Save the template.
Adding the mapping in System Configuration
The column / new field now needs to be mapped under System Configuration in PPO. The field name in PPO is called T02 so the mapping should be: T02=taskflag1;
Save the excel file in .XML format and import into PPO.
Below you will see that the Reporting tasks have imported into PPO.
Below are links to pre-defined templates which can be used. For more information on how to import tasks into PPO please access the following link.