Fix Issues When Promoting Layouts and Filters in Primavera P6 With P6-Loader
Recently, when working with a client who was combining several Primavera P6 databases into one, we discovered some interesting things with respect to layouts and filters.
This client was combining three heavily used databases into one master database. They had thousands of user and project level layouts, with references to both user and layout level filters. They wanted to maintain the layouts from their original database, and make them available to all users as global layouts.
We found that, in P6 versions prior to v24, when a user or project layout is promoted to a global layout, they are rendered useless because of their reference to filters that are not global. Essentially, when a user (other than the user whose filter the layout referenced) does not have access to the user level filter, the filter is dropped in the global level layout.
In v24, P6 has added functionality so that when the layout is promoted to the global level, it also promotes the filters used in the layout to the global level. However, this creates its own issues. The filter referenced is promoted to the global level, but if there is already a filter with the same name, P6 duplicates the filter and will append it with a number. This creates many filters with the same name. In this case, there were hundreds that were appended. P6 also duplicated default filters at the global level that were used in the promoted layout. This occurred with filters that were referenced in the layout, as well as the filters used in the Gantt chart. Now we had hundreds of filters that had the same definition, but were duplicated, which makes for a very confusing filter list.
When we discovered this, we added functionality to Emerald’s P6-Loader to deal with both issues. P6-Loader has the ability to work with layouts, filters, reports, and global changes. We added the ability to run usage reports to see what filters are being used in a layout - both in the layout itself and in the Gantt chart, which shows not only the filters, but also the level the filter resides at within the layout. There are two sheets that are created when this report is run.
The Used Filters sheet shows what filters are in the database, as well as how many times they are used, and where.
The Layout Filters Ref sheet shows the layout, as well as which filters are used in the layout and the Gantt chart.
These sheets help you to determine where the filter is located and what the filter’s name is. Analysis can be done on the filters by utilizing the Excel functionality to filter out the default filters, and concentrate only on those that could be an issue. You can then see the names of these problematic filters (those appended with a number or a user/project filter).
P6-Loader can then go a step further, allowing you to replace the problematic filter with another filter. When this is loaded back in with P6-Loader, the filter in the layout will be replaced by the new filter name. Note: the layout in P6 CANNOT be active when this is done, or the load will not work.
Once the appended filters (or any other filter) have been replaced in all layouts, the duplicate filter can be deleted, thus helping to clear the filter window of any duplicate filters that have been created.
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We found that, in P6 versions prior to v24, when a user or project layout is promoted to a global layout, they are rendered useless because of their reference to filters that are not global. Essentially, when a user (other than the user whose filter the layout referenced) does not have access to the user level filter, the filter is dropped in the global level layout.
In v24, P6 has added functionality so that when the layout is promoted to the global level, it also promotes the filters used in the layout to the global level. However, this creates its own issues. The filter referenced is promoted to the global level, but if there is already a filter with the same name, P6 duplicates the filter and will append it with a number. This creates many filters with the same name. In this case, there were hundreds that were appended. P6 also duplicated default filters at the global level that were used in the promoted layout. This occurred with filters that were referenced in the layout, as well as the filters used in the Gantt chart. Now we had hundreds of filters that had the same definition, but were duplicated, which makes for a very confusing filter list.
When we discovered this, we added functionality to Emerald’s P6-Loader to deal with both issues. P6-Loader has the ability to work with layouts, filters, reports, and global changes. We added the ability to run usage reports to see what filters are being used in a layout - both in the layout itself and in the Gantt chart, which shows not only the filters, but also the level the filter resides at within the layout. There are two sheets that are created when this report is run.
The Used Filters sheet shows what filters are in the database, as well as how many times they are used, and where.
The Layout Filters Ref sheet shows the layout, as well as which filters are used in the layout and the Gantt chart.
These sheets help you to determine where the filter is located and what the filter’s name is. Analysis can be done on the filters by utilizing the Excel functionality to filter out the default filters, and concentrate only on those that could be an issue. You can then see the names of these problematic filters (those appended with a number or a user/project filter).
P6-Loader can then go a step further, allowing you to replace the problematic filter with another filter. When this is loaded back in with P6-Loader, the filter in the layout will be replaced by the new filter name. Note: the layout in P6 CANNOT be active when this is done, or the load will not work.
Once the appended filters (or any other filter) have been replaced in all layouts, the duplicate filter can be deleted, thus helping to clear the filter window of any duplicate filters that have been created.
About the Author
Sue Fermelia - Implementation Specialist
At Emerald Associates, Sue is an Implementation Specialist and has been successful at drawing on her accounting and project management background to consult with our diverse client base. With her friendly demeanor and strong communication skills, she has become a talented Primavera P6 trainer and works very hard to effectively implement Oracle Primavera solutions that cater to each client’s unique organizational needs.
