2010

The Link View
The links are shown in a multi-column table. The columns show link name, source (for example, Microsoft
Project
™
), project (e.g. my_schedule.mpp, and link status. Any further columns (there maybe none) identify the
fields from the external schedule which specify the task type, unique id, start date and end date for each linked
task.
You can move and resize columns, if necessary.
The Link Status
Synchronized All linked tasks have the same values as the external schedule.
Old Linked tasks have values that are out of date compared to the external schedule. You can Synchronize Tasks
with Project Changes
to update the tasks.
Status Not Available It’s not possible to determine whether tasks are Synchronized or Old. This value only
occurs for schedule sources that don't provide any way of determining when a schedule was last updated.
Broken The external schedule can not be accessed. The file may have been moved or deleted, or required software
may be missing or not functioning correctly. TimeLiner will still function using the task values determined when
the link was last synchronized.
The Shortcut Menus
Right-clicking within the links area on the tab opens a shortcut menu that enables you to add and manage links
to external project files.
■ Add Link - creates a new link to an external project file. Selecting this option will display a further menu,
listing all project sources that may be connected to on the current machine. See “
Supported Scheduling
Software
” on page 360 for more information on which sources are available.
■ Delete Link - deletes the currently selected link.
NOTE Deleting the link to an external project file will not delete any tasks that have previously been rebuilt in the
TimeLiner Tasks tab.
■ Rebuild Task Hierarchy from Link - reads all of the tasks and associated data (as defined in the “
Field Selector
Dialog Box
” on page 343) from the selected project file and adds these to the Tasks tab.
Choose this option also to synchronize with the selected project file when new tasks have been added to the
project file. This will rebuild the task hierarchy in TimeLiner, containing all of the latest tasks and data.
■ Synchronize Tasks from Link - updates all existing tasks in the Tasks tab, with the latest associated data from
the selected project file (e.g. Start and End dates).
■ Rebuild Task Hierarchy from All Links - reads all of the tasks and associated data (as defined in the
Field
Selector Dialog Box
) from all project files listed in the Links tab and adds these to the Tasks tab.
Choose this option also to synchronize with all project files when new tasks have been added to the project
files. This will rebuild the task hierarchy in TimeLiner, containing all of the latest tasks and data.
■ Edit Link - enables you to edit the selected link. This will display the
Field Selector Dialog Box, from which
you can define new fields or re-define existing ones.
340 | Chapter 15 Simulate Construction Scheduling