Using Microsoft Project Flag Fields with OnePager Pro’s Conditional Formatting Rules

Conditional formatting was introduced in OnePager Pro version 5.0. This feature lets you tailor your project views and snapshots based on rules that control the shape, color, borders, fonts, and height of tasks and milestones. OnePager Pro’s conditional formatting rules work with Microsoft Project text, number, and date fields, in addition to flag fields (Yes/No).

As an example, suppose we have the Microsoft Project plan shown below which consists of three phases and four teams.

In the example, Flag1 is “Team Available” and will eventually be used to distinguish tasks in the OnePager Pro chart. For starters, though, we’ll create a view without conditional formatting to produce something like this:

Now, suppose you want to change the color of tasks to green when a team is available. You can create this conditional formatting rule by going to Project View Properties->Task Bars->Manage Rules:

When the conditional formatting rules are in place and the project view is created, it will look like this:

Notice that the legend now shows a green entry, indicating that Flag 1 is true. We’ve adjusted the verbiage to make it more meaningful.

That’s it! No more changing colors by hand to show something that you’re already tracking in Microsoft Project. OnePager Pro’s conditional formatting rules are the most powerful way to build meaningful project reports and timelines without the fuss.

This entry was posted in Gantt Art, OnePager 5.0, Project Reporting, Project Visualization and tagged , , by Bob. Bookmark the permalink.

About Bob

Bob is a seasoned technology and project management executive. As an Air Force Officer (Colonel) from 1965 through 1991, he served in a number of executive leadership, computer system development, and program management roles. After retirement, he joined Robbins-Gioia, Inc. as a Regional Vice President and Program Management Consultant. He then moved to state government, where he held numerous influential positions, culminating in his service as Chief Information Officer for the State of Colorado under Governor Bill Owens. Bob has a doctorate degree in Operations Research and an MBA from Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami.

3 thoughts on “Using Microsoft Project Flag Fields with OnePager Pro’s Conditional Formatting Rules

  1. I love conditional formatting, but I don’t see any Flags in my “Column”‘ drop-down list. (I see the same list – without Flags – in the “Color-code based on” drop-down as well…) Why?

  2. Great question! OnePager Pro uses a template that imports a pre-defined set of commonly-used columns from Microsoft Project. OnePager Pro doesn’t pull in all MS Project columns at once, because it would run too slowly with large projects.

    You can configure your template to look at any column for conditional formatting:

    1. In MS Project, click on the Templates button next to OnePager Pro.
    2. Go to the Other Columns tab. You’ll see several “rule columns” and several “extra columns”. You can set any or all of these column mappings to your MS Project flag columns.
    3. Your template will now import the selected flag columns, which can be used in conditional formatting in any future project views that you create using the modified template.

    Let us know if you have additional questions! You are always welcome to contact our support team as well.

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