Project 2007:
Basic
Frequently asked questions and instructor notes
All our courses assume that each student has a personal computer to use during the class. Our hands-on approach to learning requires they do. This topic gives information on how to set up the classroom to teach this course. It includes minimum requirements for the students’ personal computers, setup information for the first time you teach the class, and setup information for each time that you teach after the first time you set up the classroom.
Hardware requirements
Each student’s personal computer should have:
· A keyboard and a mouse
· A 700 MHz (or higher) processor
· At least 512 MB RAM
· At least 2 GB of available hard disk space
· A CD-ROM or DVD drive
· SVGA at 1024 × 768 or higher resolution monitor
Software requirements
You will need the following software:
· Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2003, updated with the most recent service packs.
· Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007
· A printer driver (A physical printer is not required, but students will not be able to complete activity B-1 in the unit titled “Scheduling tasks” unless a driver is installed.)
Network requirements
The following network components and connectivity are also required for this course:
· Internet access, for the following purposes:
· Updating the Windows operating system and Office 2007 at update.microsoft.com
· Downloading the student data files from www.courseilt.com (if necessary)
First-time setup instructions
The first time you teach this course, you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.
1 Install Windows XP on an NTFS partition according to the software manufacturer’s instructions.
Note: You can also use Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003. The screen shots in this course were taken using Windows Vista, so students’ screens might look somewhat different.
2 If the operating system is Windows XP, then launch the Control Panel, open the Display Properties dialog box, and apply the following settings:
· Theme — Windows XP
· Screen resolution — 1024 by 768 pixels
· Color quality — High (24 bit) or higher
3 Set up Internet access for the students. Internet access is required; an e-mail account is not.
4 Open Internet Explorer and navigate to update.microsoft.com. Update the operating system with the latest critical updates and service packs.
5 Install Microsoft Office Project 2007 according to the software manufacturer’s instructions. Perform a complete installation and accept all defaults.
a When prompted for the CD key, enter the code included with your software.
b On the last screen of the Office 2007 installer, click Go to Office Online. Internet Explorer displays the Office Online Web site, and the installer window closes.
c On the Office Online Web page, activate the Downloads tab.
d Download and install any available updates.
e Close Internet Explorer.
6 Create a Student Data folder on each student’s computer.
7 Copy the student data files to the Student Data folder you created. If you don’t have the data CD that came with this manual, download the student data files for the course. You can download the data directly to student machines, to a central location on your own network, or to a disk.
a Connect to www.courseilt.com/instructor_tools.html.
b Click the link for Microsoft Project 2007 to display a page of course listings, and then click the link for Project 2007: Basic.
c Click the link for downloading the student data files, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
8 Install a printer driver. If a printer was connected to the computer during the installation of Windows, there will be a driver installed for that printer. If not, you should install a standard PostScript printer driver, such as one for the HP LaserJet 5.
Setup instructions for every class
Every time you teach this course (including the first time), you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.
1 If necessary, reset any defaults that have been changed in previous classes.
2 In the Sort dialog box, clear the Permanently renumber tasks option as follows:
a Choose Project, Sort, Sort by.
b Click Reset.
c Click Sort.
3 In the Options dialog box, clear the Prompt for project info for new projects option as follows:
a Choose Tools, Options.
b Activate the General tab.
c Clear the Prompt for project info for new projects option, if necessary.
d Click OK.
4 Close the Resource Management toolbar, if necessary.
5 Delete the contents of the Student Data folder, if necessary. (If this is the first time you are teaching the course, create a folder named Student Data at the root of the hard drive. For a standard hard drive setup, this will be C:\Student Data.)
6 Copy the data files to the Student Data folder. (See the download instructions in the preceding section.)
7 Open Internet Explorer and navigate to update.microsoft.com. Update the operating system and Office 2007.
Topic B: Frequently asked questions
There are no frequently asked questions for this course at this time.
Topic C: Course notes
PERT Analysis Error
An instructor reported a software error on some machines in his classroom. The error occurred during activity C-2 in the unit titled “Scheduling tasks”. The text of the error message was: An error occurred in the COM add-in named: PERT Analysis Error #: 1101 The file “Linking 2” was not found. In some cases the error message included an instruction to restart Microsoft Office Project, but this did not resolve the issue.
A search of the support databases at microsoft.com did not return any references to this error. However, a broader Internet search on the string “PERT analysis error” returned references to the issue in several user groups’ Web sites. They state that the error may be caused by a corrupt or damaged global.mpt file. This file is a master template file that Microsoft Office Project creates to contain formatting information for all tasks.
In the user groups’ Web sites, two solutions were suggested:
1 Force Project to create a new .mpt file. To do this, take the following steps:
a Close Microsoft Office Project.
b Open Windows Explorer and locate the file global.mpt. (This file is typically installed on the hard drive in a folder such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 12\1033.)
c Rename the file to global.OLD. (If there are multiple instances of this file on your hard drive, then rename them all.)
d Close Windows Explorer.
e Start Microsoft Office Project. This will force Project to create a new, uncorrupted global.mpt file.
2 Replace the .mpt file with a known good copy. To do this, take the following steps:
a Close Microsoft Office Project.
b Start Microsoft Office Project on another computer.
c Run activity C-2 in Unit 3.
d If the error message displays, go to step “a.” If the activity runs successfully and the error message does not display, continue to step “e.”
e Close Microsoft Office Project.
f Open Windows Explorer and locate the file global.mpt. (This file is typically installed on the hard drive in a folder such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 12\1033.)
g Copy the file global.mpt from this machine to the machine(s) on which the error displayed, overwriting the corrupt versions of the file. (If there are multiple instances of this file on your hard drive, then overwrite them all.)
Topic D: Additional information
There is no additional information for this course at this time.