Configuring MS Project Display Options in Aspose.Tasks

Introduction

Microsoft Project offers a plethora of display options to customize the appearance of your project. Aspose.Tasks for .NET provides a robust framework to manipulate these options programmatically. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to configure MS Project display options using Aspose.Tasks.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the tutorial, ensure you have the following:

1. Aspose.Tasks for .NET: Download and install the library from here.
2. Microsoft Project File: Have a valid MS Project file (.mpp) ready to apply the display options.
3. Basic Knowledge of C#: Familiarity with C# programming language is required.

Importing Namespaces

Firstly, make sure to import the necessary namespaces into your C# code:

using Aspose.Tasks;
using System;

using Aspose.Tasks.Saving;

Step 1: Load the Project File

Load the MS Project file using the Project class provided by Aspose.Tasks:

String DataDir = "Your Document Directory";
var project = new Project(DataDir + "YourProjectFile.mpp");

Step 2: Configure Display Options

Now, let’s configure various display options available in MS Project:

Disable Task Schedule Warnings

To disable warnings for scheduling conflicts with manually scheduled tasks (available for Project 2010 and later):

project.DisplayOptions.ShowTaskScheduleWarnings = false;

Add Space Before Label

Set to add a space before the number value and the time abbreviation:

project.DisplayOptions.AddSpaceBeforeLabel = true;

Configure Label Display for Time Units

Customize how different time units are displayed:

project.DisplayOptions.MinuteLabel = MinuteLabelDisplay.Min;
project.DisplayOptions.HourLabel = HourLabelDisplay.Hr;
project.DisplayOptions.DayLabel = DayLabelDisplay.Dy;
project.DisplayOptions.WeekLabel = WeekLabelDisplay.Week;
project.DisplayOptions.MonthLabel = MonthLabelDisplay.Mon;
project.DisplayOptions.YearLabel = YearLabelDisplay.Year;

Show Project Summary Task

Display summary information about the entire project on a single row:

project.DisplayOptions.ShowProjectSummaryTask = true;

Enable Task Schedule Suggestions

Allow displaying suggestions for scheduling conflicts with manually scheduled tasks:

project.DisplayOptions.ShowTaskScheduleSuggestions = true;

Underline Hyperlinks

Set to underline hyperlinks within the project:

project.DisplayOptions.UnderlineHyperlinks = true;

Step 3: Save the Project

Finally, save the project with the applied display options:

project.Save(DataDir + "ModifiedProjectFile.mpp", SaveFileFormat.Mpp);

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned how to configure MS Project display options using Aspose.Tasks for .NET. With these capabilities, you can efficiently customize the appearance of your project files programmatically.

FAQ’s

Q: Can I apply these display options to specific tasks only?

A: Yes, you can selectively apply display options to individual tasks using Aspose.Tasks API.

Q: Do these display options affect the underlying project data?

A: No, these options only modify the visual representation of the project and do not alter the underlying data.

Q: Are these display options compatible with all versions of Microsoft Project?

A: No, some options may be specific to certain versions of MS Project. Refer to the documentation for compatibility details.

Q: Can I revert the display options back to default settings?

A: Yes, you can reset the display options to their default values using Aspose.Tasks API.

Q: Are there any limitations to customizing display options programmatically?

A: While Aspose.Tasks provides extensive customization capabilities, certain display options may not be accessible programmatically due to limitations in the MS Project file format.