MSP copying and pasting tasks - supported method for Clarity
search cancel

MSP copying and pasting tasks - supported method for Clarity

book

Article ID: 10395

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

Clarity PPM On Premise Clarity PPM SaaS

Issue/Introduction

Copying and pasting of tasks in Microsoft Project (MSP) in versions of Clarity / MSP Interface, particularly in versions lower than 15.7.1 can cause issues depending on the method used. This article will go over the best practices when copying and pasting tasks in MSP and the known impact of using unsupported methods. Sometimes users may run into issues when they save a copy of the project offline to make changes such as copying and pasting tasks. 

Resolution

Table of Contents

Clarity 15.7.1 and higher: Copying and pasting of full task rows is now supported

  1. Ensure that you save the file for the copy-paste to complete.
  2. Before you copy the tasks from the Source project to the destination project, initially copy and paste resources (from the resources sheet) from source to destination to avoid resource not found errors. This information and more on MSP integration can be found at: Copy and Paste Project Tasks in MSP.
  3. Text1 data will get removed on the save back to Clarity for any full rows of tasks copied and pasted to prevent the duplicate task ID error from occurring in the copy and paste scenario.

Clarity 15.7 and lower: The supported method of copying and pasting tasks is to only copy and paste specified columns in an MSP View

  • Do not copy and paste the entire task as this can cause issues
  • Exclude reserved Text fields of Text1 and Text3 in copying

Recommended method of copying and pasting for Clarity 15.7 and lower

  • In MSP, create a view that includes only the columns you want copied from one task to another (exclude Text1 and Text3 in the views)
  • Use your mouse to select the columns in the task(s) to be copied, then right click and select 'Copy Cell'
  • Right-click at the row you want to paste the task(s) to and click 'Paste'

Here is an overview of what the Text1, Text2, and Text3 fields are used for:

  • Text1 - This stores the Task ID from the ID Field in PPM for the Task. If you are not using this field (either by manually entering IDs or by using Auto-Numbering of Task IDs) this will not have any data
  • Text2 - This will only have a value if you are using the 'Task Guidelines' attribute
    • Note: If you create the task in PPM, Text3 stores the internal task ID of the task from PPM, so if you copy and paste the task that includes Text3 and save the project back, it won't save the new task. The workaround would be to delete both the Text3 data for that task in both the Task view and the Assignment in the Resource Usage view. If you delete just the Text3 data from the task, it will give you a 'Save Failed' message, because the Text3 data is still in the assignment.
  • Text3 - The Text3 field is used at the task, assignment, and team level to map data. The field is a reserved field and can contain the following: unique ID, track mode, open for time entry, and other important PPM information. Copying and pasting this field can specifically cause an issue if the task is created in PPM.

Workaround for Clarity 15.7 and lower

If you do copy and paste an entire task, make sure to delete any data showing up in Text1, Text2, and Text3 at the Task and Assignment levels if the data exists:

  1. Add the Text3 column to the Task Usage and Resource Usage views
  2. Also, add the Text1 and Text2 columns to the Task Usage view
  3. After copying and pasting the existing task to create a new task:
    • Delete any Text3 data from the Resource Usage view
    • Delete any Text1, Text2, Text3 data from the Task Usage view

Note: If you do copy and paste a team member, similar steps would need to be taken to ensure the Text3 data is removed:

    • Delete any Text3 data from the Resource Sheet view

Additional Information

Some examples of known issues you can run into by copying and pasting entire tasks in versions prior to 15.7.1 include:

Additional Reference:

 

Powered by Wolken Software