Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide

Set application default options

Before Starting Your First Project
Create a profile to connect to Project Server or 1. Open Microsoft Project 2016. Click OK on the
Project Online login dialog.
2. When the application has opened, press the
1. Open Microsoft Project 2016. Esc key on your keyboard.
2. When the application has opened, press the 3. Click on File tab in the upper left corner.
Esc key on your keyboard. 4. Click Options to open the Project Options
3. Click on the File tab in the upper left corner. dialog.
4. On the Info tab click the Manage Accounts
button.

5. In the General tab uncheck “Show the Start

5. In the Project Web App Accounts dialog, click screen when this application starts”.
the Add button. Give the account / connection
a name, and specify the URL for your Project
Server / PWA / Project Online instance. Also
check the Set as default account option and
click OK.

6. Select the Choose an account option and click 6. Select the Schedule tab.
OK.

7. Select All New Projects from the Calendar

options for this project dropdown.

7. Close Microsoft Project 2016.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
8. Set the calendar options for your organization.
13. Check the Show project summary task
option.

9. Select All New Projects from the Scheduling

options for this project dropdown.
14. Click OK.
15. Close Microsoft Project.

Starting Your First Project

Create a new project

1. Open Microsoft Project 2016.

10. Select Auto Scheduled from the New tasks 2. Upon opening, Project will automatically set
created dropdown. you up with a blank project.

Open a project from an existing file

1. Open Microsoft Project 2016.

2. Click on File in the upper left corner.
3. Click on Open.

11. Select the Advanced tab.

4. Select the appropriate folder and file and click

Open.

Open a Project from a template

1. Open Microsoft Project 2016.

12. Select All New Projects from the Display
2. Select the File tab.
options for this project dropdown.
3. Select the New menu item and click on the
template icon.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
4. Select and download your template. Set the Project Start Date and apply the
Project Calendar
1. Click the Project tab, then click Project
Information.
2. Enter the project Start Date.
3. Select the project Calendar and click OK.

Adjust the Calendar

1. The default Microsoft Project calendar is called
Create Tasks
Standard. To view and change this calendar
1. Ensure the Gantt Chart view is active by
with Project, select the Project tab on the
selecting the Task tab on the ribbon and
ribbon under Properties. Click on the Change
clicking the Gantt Chart button.
Working Time button.

2. Click in the Task Name cells of the first empty

task row and enter the name for the task /
2. Once the Change Working Time dialog box summary task.
opens, you will view the Standard Calendar.
3. To set a holiday as a non-working day, click on
the Holiday Date. Click in an Open Exception
line at the bottom. Enter the holiday name.
Click Enter. Recurring holidays may be entered
by clicking Details while selecting the holiday
entry. 3. Press the Tab key to move to the duration
To change daily working time, click on Work column, and enter the duration in days.
Weeks at the bottom. Click on Details. Select
days of the week to be changed, Click the
third radio button on the right and change
the working times. Click Enter.
4. Click OK to close the box. 4. Create additional tasks and milestones as
required for your project. Milestones are
created by specifying zero days of duration.

Tip: Keep your duration in the

same units (e.g. days)

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
Creating a WBS / Outline Structure Inserting and Deleting Tasks
Make a task (or milestone) a child of the preceding To insert a new task row into the middle of your
task by selecting it and clicking on the Indent Task project schedule, select a task and either:
button on the Task ribbon tab. You can select multiple
tasks if there is more than one subtask. • Press the Insert key on your keyboard, or;
• Right click the row and select Insert Task.

A blank row will be inserted above the selected task.

To delete a task from your project schedule, right click

on the task and select Delete Task.

Create Task Dependency Relationships

Creating relationships between tasks creates the

timeline of the project. Select a task; hold the Ctrl key Tip: Pressing the Del key will remove the contents of
and select a second task, then click the Link button on the selected cell; it does not delete the task.
the Task ribbon tab. The first task becomes a
predecessor of, and drives the start date of, the
second. Working with Resources
Build a team using enterprise resources

1. With Microsoft Project open, click on the View

tab on the ribbon bar and select Resource
Sheet under Resource Views.

Multiple tasks and milestones can be linked by

2. Click on the Resource tab on the ribbon,
selecting multiple rows (hold down the Shift and / or
select Add Resources under Insert, and
Ctrl keys) when selecting task rows.
choose Build Team from Enterprise.

Best Practice Tip: Do not link summary tasks.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
3. In the Build Team dialog, select one or more
enterprise resources from the list on the left
side. Use the Shift and / or Ctrl keys to select
multiple.
4. Press the Add button to move the selected
resources to the right side list.
Alternatively, you can type resource names
directly into the Resource Names cell. If you
need to enter more than one, separate the
resources with commas.

View all Task and Resource assignments for a

Project
5. Select additional resources if required and
then click OK. 1. To view resource assignments for tasks, click
the Task Usage button on the View ribbon.

Assign resources to tasks 2. To view task assignments for resources, click

the Resource Usage button on the View
1. Click the Gantt Chart button on the Task ribbon.
ribbon to return to the Gantt Chart view.

2. Click in the Resource Names cell of a task you

wish to assign and click the dropdown arrow.
Select the resource / resources you wish to
assign to the task.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
Assign a Calendar to a Task Tip: Add Key Milestones to the Timeline View

The default view in Project 2016 is a combination of the Gantt

Note: When a task needs to be performed outside of
Chart view with the Timeline view layered above it. In the Gantt
the normal working hours of the Project Calendar, a
Chart click the task or milestone you want to add to the
Task Calendar may be assigned to alter the timeframe
Timeline view. Right-click the milestone and click Add to
for an individual task. Timeline.

1. To assign a Task Calendar, with Microsoft

Project open, select the Gantt Chart view.
Change the Way the Data is Viewed
2. Select the Task you wish to assign to the
calendar. 1. You can apply predefined filters and grouping
3. Double-click the task or click the Information to the view by using the Filter and Group By
button on the Task ribbon tab. dropdowns in the Data section.

4. Select the Advanced tab and change the

Calendar in the Calendar dropdown menu. 2. You can also filter a view using the quick filter
for one or more columns. Click the down
arrow in the column header to show filter
options.

5. Click OK.

Working with Views

Select a View

1. With Microsoft Project open, select the View

ribbon. 3. To sort a view, select a sort order from the
2. Under the Task View and Resource View Sort dropdown on the View ribbon tab.
sections, select the view you wish to use.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
4. Alternatively, sort using the column dropdown 5. When the view definition dialog box opens, name
menu. your new view, select the Screen (type of view) you
want displayed, and (when appropriate) the table
to be displayed, then click OK.

Create a New View

1. With Microsoft Project open, click on the View

tab.
2. To create a new task view, click on the More
Views option in the Other Views dropdown in
Tip: The best view to see slippage between baseline
the Task Views section. To create a new
and actual work is the Detail Gantt view
resource view, click on the More Views option
[Link]/articles/ask-the-experts-15-
in the Other Views dropdown in the Resource microsoft-project-tips-for-new-users/
Views section.

Add a Timeline

1. To view the timeline, check the Timeline

option on the ribbon’s View tab.

2. The timeline will then appear under the ribbon.

3. When the dialog box opens, click on the New

button.

3. To add a task or milestone to the timeline,

right click it (in the Gantt Chart view) and
select Add to Timeline.

4. Select Single View and click on OK.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
4. By default a timeline view has only one 2. Under the Schedule section, click on Set Baseline.
timeline. You can add additional timelines by
clicking the Timeline Bar button on the
Format ribbon tab. Note the Format ribbon is
context-sensitive, so ensure the Timeline view
has the focus by clicking in it.

3. The Set Baseline dialog box will open. Select the

Baseline you wish to set.
4. Select whether the Baseline will be for the Entire
Project or just for Selected Tasks. Click OK.

5. If you have multiple timelines, ensure you

check the appropriate one before adding a
task or milestone. Tasks and milestones can be
moved between timelines simply by dragging
and dropping.

Tip: Check out the MPUG article on the new multiple

timeline feature at
[Link]/articles/microsoft-project-2016-
preview-multiple-timelines/

Enter Progress Using Percent Complete

1. With Microsoft Project open and in the

Tracking Gantt chart view, select the Task
Name column.
2. Click on a task you wish to update.
Managing a Project 3. On the Task tab, click the appropriate update
percentage for the task in the Schedule
Tip: There are 11 sets of baseline fields in the system, section.
Baseline and Baselines 1-10. The Baseline fields are
the default used when you first set a baseline. When a
baseline is updated, you may optionally select one of
the other 10 sets of Baseline fields or update the
current Baseline fields.
4. Note the update values to the right of the
[Link]
Gantt bars in the Tracking Gantt chart view.
[Link]
Set a Baseline

1. With Microsoft Project open, select the Project

tab.

Tip: % Complete represents the percentage of task

duration that's complete. % Work Complete is the
percentage of task work hours that are complete. And
you probably know that time can pass without a
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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide
corresponding amount of work getting done. When Create a Visual Report
the percent duration is updated, the percentage of 1. Click on Visual Reports, under the Project tab.
work completed is updated also.

See: [Link]/articles/Certification-Insider-
Tracking-Project-Progress/

Reporting
2. When the Create Report Dialog opens, select
Create a Project Report the desired report from the tabs and Click
View.
With Microsoft Project open, select the Report tab.

1. Under the View Reports section, select one

of the canned reports from Dashboards,
Resources, Costs or In Progress.

2. To create a new report, select the report 3. Your report will open in either Microsoft Excel
style from the New Report dropdown. or Microsoft Visio depending on which report
you select.

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide

Microsoft Project Keyboard Shortcuts

Action Shortcut

Show field settings dialog box Alt + F3

Close Project help window Alt + F4

Move to end of project Alt + End

Create new project Ctrl + N

Open project Ctrl + O

Save project Ctrl + S

Insert new task Insert

Assign resources box Alt + F10

Close an active project window Ctrl + W

Switch to next project window Ctrl + F6

Maximize project window Ctrl + F10

Remove all tasks filters F3

Calculate project F9

Move to beginning of project Alt + Home

Copy picture of selected window to Clipboard Alt + Print Screen

Hide subtasks Alt + Shift + -

Show all tasks Alt + Shift + *

Show subtasks Alt + Shift + =

Outdent task Alt + Shift + Left Arrow

Indent task Alt + Shift + Right Arrow

Switch to previous window Alt + Shift + Tab

Alt + Spacebar | Alt +
Activate control menu
Hyphen
Next window Alt + Tab

Move between tasks Arrow Keys

Move to end of text box Ctrl + End

Link selected tasks Ctrl + F2

Restore size of active window after maximizing it Ctrl + F5 | Ctrl + F10

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide

Switch to next window in multiple open windows Ctrl + F6

Turn auto calculate on or off Ctrl + F9

Fill down Ctrl + D

Open “Find” dialog box Ctrl + F

Open “Go To” dialog box Ctrl + G

Insert hyperlink Ctrl + K

Paste Ctrl + V

Cut Ctrl + X

Undo Ctrl + Z

Add object to multi-section Ctrl + Click

Move to beginning of text box Ctrl + Home

Move one word to right Ctrl + Right Arrow

Move one word to left Ctrl + Left Arrow

Change task to "Auto Schedule" Ctrl + Shift + A

Unlink selected tasks Ctrl + Shift + F2

Switch to previous window Ctrl + Shift + F6

Change task to "Manually Schedule" Ctrl + Shift + M

Select current column Ctrl + Spacebar

Jump to first row / last row Ctrl + Up/Down Arrow

Close active project window Ctrl + W or Ctrl + F4

Open project help window F1

Edit task F2

Remove column filters (when active) F3

Spellcheck F7

Extend selection mode F8

Save as F12

Jump to first / last cell in row Home / End

Insert new task Insert

Open task information dialog box Shift + F2

Activate split bar Shift + F6

Shortcut menu Shift + F10

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 Microsoft Project 2016: Desk Reference Guide

INDEX

Baseline… 8 Start Date… 3

Calendar… 2,3 Starting a Project… 1
Assign to tasks… 6 Tasks
Create Tasks… 3 Assignments… 5
Default Options… 1 Dependency… 4
Keyboard Shortcuts… 10, 11 Insert, Delete… 4
Managing a Project… 8 Template… 2
Profile… 1 Views… 6
Reporting… 9 New View… 7
Resources Timeline… 7
Working with… 4 WBS Outline Structure… 4
Assignments… 5

NEW MPUG Learning Paths!

MPUG has created three new learning paths for project managers, developed with YOU in mind,
addressing your specific training needs!

See more at [Link]/mpug-learning-paths-for-project-managers/

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