FAQs

This contains a list of FAQs on A-Plan. If you are not sure about the category to which your question belongs, you may also perform a Search for the appropriate keyword (see the field at the top right).

If you are unable to find an answer to your question, please send a Support enquiry to us.

General Questions

Question

I have not found anything on multiple planning levels or steps in the documentation of A-Plan. What I mean here is that there is already a new schedule prior to the actual implementation, but the data pertaining to the previous schedule, however, should be retained. At the end, I then have the data from the “1st Draught” + “Schedule fine tuned” + other “Schedule fine tuned” + actual data.
Is there an option to enter all of these?

Answer

It is possible to make a Target / Actual comparison and to make a forecast; however, no scheduling history can be displayed.

We have gotten rid of this since A-Plan has been developed with the conscious knowledge that it is a simple alternative for the otherwise very complex project management programs.

Question

Is it possible to associate multiple objects or links with one task?

Answer

You cannot, as a matter of fact, associate multiple objects per task, but it is possible to use drag & drop to deposit a folder from Windows Explorer under the “Object” column.

When you double click on this link subsequently, Windows Explorer opens with this folder so that you have direct access to all files in that folder.

Alternatively, you can work with subordinate lines which are then associated with one object respectively.

Question

I have converted A-Plan to the English language variant. Unfortunately, I have not been able to convert the titles such as, for example, Vorgang, Verantwortlich etc.

Answer

The titles cannot be converted automatically at a later stage, but appear in English only if you create a new database. Because of this, you need to change them manually using the options (“Screen display” / “Columns/Rows”).

Question

What are the Languages in which A-Plan is available?

Answer

A-Plan is currently available in German and English.

Question

How do I start from the very beginning (I have no experience whatsoever with any project management tool)?

Answer

Relevant information is provided in the self-learning program (PowerPoint presentation that can also be read with OpenOffice) that is available here.

The manual (to find details) is also available as a download.

Installation

Question

* How do I identify that I have installed the latest version?

* How are the updates incorporated?

Answer

The current version respectively is available on our website under Patches.

The date of your version is given in the Welcome window of A-Plan and also in the menu under "?" / "Info on A-Plan".

With the versions A-Plan 2009 or higher, a message appears when you start A-Plan if a new version is available and you can then install this automatically.

Using A-Plan in a networked environment simply requires that A-Plan can access the database saved on a central server. Apart from database-sharing, A-Plan runs independantly on clients. As a result, A-Plan will normally support all networks as long as clients run under Windows.

Network support is tested quite easily by installing A-Plan on two clients and using one of them to save an A-Plan database on the server ("Save as..."). Then, open the same database from the second client to see whether file-sharing works or not.

Calculations

With working days that are of different duration, there are problems when calculating the time period since, in this case, the length of one day is not defined clearly. Theoretically, the average duration of one day could be used, but this leads to illogical results in practice.

Example:

Working time Mo – Th:   8:00 Uhr – 16:00 Uhr, Duration:  8:00 h

Working time Fr:            8:00 Uhr – 14:00 Uhr, Duration:  6:00 h

Average duration:                                                                7:36 h

The calculated duration of the time period from Monday 8:00 AM to Tuesday 4:00 PM would computationally be 2 days and 0:48 hours (16 hours – 2 x 7:36 hours = 0:48 hours), the duration from Thursday 8:00 AM to Friday 2:00 PM would be 1 day and 6:24 hours (14 hours – 7:36 hours = 6:24 hours)! However, both results are values that cannot be understood without an explanation!

Since the duration merely specifies the distance between two time points, different working times of the days in between do not play any role (a task that, for example, stretches from Tuesday to Thursday always, “lasts” 3 days, regardless of how long you “work” on these 3 days)!

Since the duration merely specifies the distance between two time points, different working times of the days in between do not play any role (a task that, for example, stretches from Tuesday to Thursday always, “lasts” 3 days, regardless of how long you “work” on these 3 days)!

Question

Are there columns, with which user-defined calculations may be performed by entering a formula into them, for example?

Answer

This is not possible in the main table of A-Plan. However, with the A-Plan 2009 version or higher, you can insert any number of additional columns in the reports (MS-Excel format) that can be combined with other columns using calculation rules.

Display

Question

If I enter a new record or modify an existing one, the corresponding line is then at a different position in the main table. How can I prevent this?

Antwort

The sorting option set in this case may be disabled via View / Sorting….

Use one of the “free” columns (= “User-defined text columns”) and enter, for example, an “x” in this column against the lines that need to be displayed. If you now enter “x” in the Filter dialogue window as the search criterion in the corresponding field, only the lines desired are displayed.

Explanation

There is possibly an error in the database

Abhilfe

In the File menu, initiate the Repair database… command

Database

Question

A-Plan provides the “Transport database” function for porting A-Plan databases. Unfortunately, in this function, I

1. cannot choose any subfolder and

2. cannot pack the database directly into an e-mail.

 

Is there any other more comfortable option for sending an A-Plan database?

Answer

In order to transfer a database, it is adequate to send the file whose name ends in .apl. The transport feature is necessary only if settings (Profiles) need to be transferred.

Printing

Explanation

Either you have not clicked on the Calendar weeks (“CW”) button or the printing columns for the display of the calendar weeks are too small.

Remedy

Enable the Calendar weeks button or increase the width of the printing columns by using more pages for the printout or enlarging the width for the day.

The wrong print area has been selected (in most cases, the incorrect number of years).

When calling up the print options, A-Plan requests certain data from the printer (e.g. size of the printable area, etc.). For printers that are addressed via the network, this may take up to 30 seconds in rare cases.

Explanation

A-Plan generates the print file usually in EMF format (= “Enhanced Meta File”), a Microsoft standard. Certain older programs or Operating Systems (e.g. Windows 95, 98), in certain cases, however, are not in a position to read the EMF format properly.
Because of this, the only remedy possible is to load a newer version of the program or Operating System!

Quotation from a technical magazine:

 

“… The interaction between an application and the printer does not always work as seamlessly as the user – and certain manufacturers – imagine. In all likelihood, the reason for this is neither an erroneous application program nor Windows that is frequently held to blame. In most cases, the printer drivers are responsible for incorrect or improper printing results. …”

Even if this citation is a few years old by now, it continues to hold true: About 90% of al­l complaints received by our hotline pertaining to printer problems are, based on experience, attributable to improper printer drivers.

Remedy

Once again, we cite the technical magazine:

 

“… The simplest solution to the problem is a driver update. The likelihood that the error has been set right in the update is generally not poor. …”

This, too, can be confirmed by us. This is why we request you, in the event of inexplicable problems, to first check whether a newer version of the driver for your printer is available on the website of the printer manufacturer.

Preferences

Question

Is it possible to configure the default settings for printing and viewing in A-Plan in such a manner that each user has the default values available when he creates a new database?

Answer

For the version A-Plan 2009 or higher, you have the so-called “Global profiles”, which are available to all users for all databases (see the manual or the online help “Options” / “Save the options in profiles”).

Question

A-Plan allows you to set the beginning of the week by choosing either Sunday (“American calendar”) or Monday (“European calendar”) as the first day of the week. You can set this under “Options” in the tab “Default values”/”Safety”. If Sunday is set as the first day of the week, week numbers will be calculated differently as American and European week numbers are sometimes different! (In the US, the first week is the week which contains the 1st of January whereas in Europe the week containing at least 4 days of the new year is week number no.1.)

Normally, the correct setting is taken over from the Windows system setting. However, if the setting of the first day of the week was changed unintentionally in A-Plan, this may affect the calculation of week numbers.

Cost planning

The fixed costs for a project (="Title") cannot be entered manually, since A-Plan calculates this from the total of the fixed costs of the subordinate projects or tasks.

If it is necessary to enter one-time fixed costs for a folder or a project, you can enter an extra project or task that takes up these costs.

Filter

Question

Is it possible to hide folders? Projects and tasks that have been completed may be hidden or displayed with the help of the “Completed tasks” button. Is there a similar feature for the folder?

Answer

Folders can be selected / de-selected as desired from the visible list of folders available using “View” / “Set filter…”

In addition, the “Folder filter” can be enabled or disabled in the “View” menu so that all folders may be displayed once again without having to change the selection.

Question

Is it possible that A-Plan calculates and displays the total for filtered tasks?

Answer

With the help of Reports (see “Extras” menu), you can output the costs for any time period (and optionally, only for the projects filtered) in an MS-Excel spreadsheet.

Problems / Errors

Question

We have a large bandwidth of projects: those that take only 1 or 2 hours and others that last 4 months. Since we would like to use A-Plan as a centralised tool for displaying capacity utilisation, absenteeism, costs, etc., it would be important to enter and track even the smallest projects.

Answer

We usually discourage customers from making very detailed time schedules since the time and effort required for this purpose increases disproportionately and hence, the benefit is questionable. Thus, one solution would be to plan a certain base load for all persons so that it contains all smaller tasks that are difficult to schedule. The simplest way to represent this in A-Plan is to create a very long "Base load" (e.g. from 1.1.2008 to 31.12.2012) and assigning all persons to this task with the corresponding utilisation.

If it is indispensable or necessary to have a very detailed planning, the smallest projects should at least be entered in a separate folder, which is then opened only when required so that the clarity of the display does not suffer.

Question

During the execution period of this project, the resource deployed is used for other urgent projects without being planned for them.

Is there a strategy for incorporating such short interruptions quickly and efficiently in A-Plan and then having their impact on the main project calculated by A-Plan?

Answer

Incorporating the data in A-Plan is relatively simple, since after opening or expanding a task (clicking on the blue "+") any processing times can be entered as separate time bars regardless of the time period for the task.

However, in general: The more detailed the planning, greater is the time and effort required. If possible, a certain approximation should be accepted, since the last 5 - 10% of planning accuracy causes an extremely high level of effort and time to be spent on tasks that cannot be scheduled exactly.

Question

How can conclusions be drawn regarding the utilisation of entire departments or parts thereof?

Answer

The residual capacity available is displayed for the resources in the respective group line.

Moreover, appropriate reports (see "Extras" menu) can be output as MS-Excel files so that the data can be processed further.