Suppose that you’ve been tracking and managing your project for some time now by using the Gantt Chart, the Resource Sheet, and other Microsoft Project views. You can set up one of these views to contain exactly the fields of information you need and then print it to create a kind of interactive report. By printing views, you can share pertinent information with team members and stakeholders. You can include printed views in project status reports and in progress meetings.
Note
Form views, such as the Task Form or Resource Form, cannot be printed. Neither can combination (split-screen) views. You can print one part of a split screen at a time, but if one part of the split screen is a form (such as Task Entry), the form portion is not printed.
To set up and print a view, follow these steps:
Open the view and arrange the data as you want it to appear when printed.
Note
For more information about available views and arranging information in those views, see Chapter 4.
Click File, Page Setup to display the Page Setup dialog box (see Figure 12-1).
Specify the options you want for the printed view by using controls on the different tabs of this dialog box.
You can adjust the view orientation, page scaling, margins, header and footer, and so on. When finished, click OK.
On the Standard toolbar, click Print Preview.
A picture of the view as it will be printed appears, reflecting your Page Setup options (see Figure 12-2).
To make further adjustments to the print options, click Page Setup at the top of the Print Preview window.
To make further adjustments to the view itself, click Close on the Print Preview toolbar and work in the view again.
When finished with your adjustments, print the view by clicking Print on the Standard toolbar.
Set Options for Printed Views
The following list describes the options available on the six tabs of the Page Setup dialog box, which controls how your view looks when printed. To display this dialog box, click File, Page Setup.
Page tab. Specifies whether the view should be printed in portrait or landscape orientation, and whether the view should be scaled up or down to fit on a page.
Margins tab. Specifies the size of each of the four margins and whether a border should be printed around the page.
Header tab. Specifies the content and location of header information. You can add the page number, current date and time, or the file name. You can also add a picture (such as a company or project logo) as part of your left, center, or right header. For example, next to Alignment, click the Center tab and then click Insert File Name to display the project file name at the center top of every page. You can also specify that a project field should be part of the header. You can enter your own text as well. Simply click the Left, Center, or Right tab and then click the text box and type the text you want.
Footer tab. Specifies the content and location of footer information. The same information available for headers is also available for footers. For example, click the Left tab in the Alignment area and then click Insert Current Date to display the date in the lower-left corner of every page. The Preview box shows what your footer will look like.
Legend tab. Specifies the content and location of a view’s legend, which specifies what symbols or bars on the view represent. For example, when printing the Gantt Chart, the legend includes a key for the task bars, summary bars, deadlines, and milestone symbols. By default, the legend appears on the bottom 2 inches of every page and includes the project’s title and the current date. The same information available for headers and footers is available for legends. You can also enter your own information.
View tab. Specifies which elements you want printed on each page, for example, notes, blank pages, or sheet columns.
Note
Divided views, such as Task Usage, have a table on the left and the timephased information sheet on the right. Such divided views are not split screens, so you can print both sides of these views.
Inside Out: Be careful when inserting the current date and time on a printed view
The Insert Current Date and Insert Current Time buttons take their information from your computer’s system clock. This date and time will change to reflect the date and time that you print the view. However, you might prefer to print a fixed date or time, perhaps one that specifies when the project was last updated, rather than last printed. In this case, in the Alignment area of the Page Setup dialog box, simply type the date or time on the Left, Center, or Right tab text box itself.
Use the Report Project Guide to help you set up key views presenting important progress and cost information. On the Project Guide toolbar, click Report. The Report pane appears.
Note
If your Project Guide toolbar is not showing, click View, Toolbars, Project Guide. If the Project Guide toolbar is not listed on the Toolbars menu, click Tools, Options, Interface and then select the Display Project Guide check box.
The Report Project Guide includes steps and controls for setting up your project to view specific types of information, such as critical tasks, risks and issues, resource allocation, project costs, and so on.
The Report Project Guide focuses on view setup and printing options. Click the Print Current View As A Report link to start the Print Current View Wizard. This wizard provides options for printing the current view, with optimum print spacing and scaling (see Figure 12-3).
Note
For more information about the Project Guide, see the section titled Working with the Project Guide in Chapter 1.