Microsoft Project 2010 : Working with the Organizer and the Global File

To access the Organizer, select the File tab, Organizer (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Organizer feature enables you to access items that can be customized and shared in Project.

You can also access the Organizer by using one of the following options:

• Accessing the More Views dialog box by selecting the View tab, Task Views or Resource Views, Other Views, More Views, Organizer

• Accessing the More Tables dialog box by selecting the View tab, Data, Tables, More Tables, Organizer

• Accessing the More Filters dialog box by selecting the View tab, Data, Filter, More Filters, Organizer

• Accessing the More Groups dialog box by selecting the View tab, Data, Group by, More Groups, Organizer

Table 18.2 lists objects contained within the Organizer.

The GLOBAL.MPT File

GLOBAL.MPT is a special type of file in Microsoft Project that is a part of every new or existing project file. All projects inherit all the features of the GLOBAL.MPT. The first time you launch Microsoft Project, a copy of the GLOBAL.MPT file is created and becomes the active GLOBAL.MPT file. A backup of the GLOBAL.MPT is also created, called GLOBALbackup.MPT. The global contains all the default objects that Project comes with, such as the Gantt Chart view or the standard calendar (see the list of objects in Table 1). It also contains the default selections in the Tools, Options dialog box. For instance, if you change the Default task type from Fixed Units to Fixed Duration in the Schedule tab of Tools, Options, and click the Set as Default on the screen, you have changed the GLOBAL.MPT. Whenever you make changes to the GLOBAL.MPT file, you affect all new project files created from that point forward. GLOBAL.MPT is stored in the default location on every computer under C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\1033 directory.

When you open GLOBAL.MPT, you will see the Organizer but it will not act as a normal project file. There are two ways you could share the objects of the GLOBAL.MPT from your desktop with others: Send your GLOBAL.MPT to them to copy and use, or send a project with the custom objects you have built. They can open the file on their desktop and move the custom objects into their own GLOBAL.MPT using the Organizer.

Manipulating Objects Using the Organizer

You can use the Organizer to copy, rename, and delete objects in Project. Rather than opening the GLOBAL.MPT file directly, you can move custom fields or changes to default objects within any project file to the GLOBAL.MPT using the Organizer. The following sections explore the details of each one of these actions.

Using the Organizer to Copy Objects

To open an object by using the Organizer, open the file that contains the custom object and follow these steps:

1.	To display the Organizer, select the File tab, Organizer. Note that if you are copying an object to a file other than GLOBAL.MPT, make sure that both the source and the target files are open.
2.	Select the tab that contains the object you would like to copy. Figure 2 shows the Fields tab selected. The fields that have been used, modified, or newly created are listed on the right. The fields that would currently be included in the GLOBAL.MPT file are listed on the left. Figure 2. You can use the Organizer dialog box to copy an object from one project file to another.
3.	Use the Custom Fields Available In drop-down box on the left to specify the target file to have the selected object copied into.
4.	Use the Custom Fields Available In drop-down on the right to specify the source file to copy the selected object from.
5.	Use the Task or Resource radio button to specify the type of field you would like to copy.
6.	Select the field you would like to copy from your source file (on the right). Tip You can copy multiple objects at once by selecting the first one and holding down the Shift key to select a range of objects. You can also select objects that are contained in the list out of order by holding down the Ctrl key and selecting each one.
7.	Click the Copy button to copy the field. If a field with the same name already exists in the target file, Project will display a confirmation to replace the former field with a new one (see Figure 3). Figure 3. Project displays a warning if you are attempting to copy an object with a name that already exists within the target file.
8.	Click the Yes button to replace the field in the target file with the one from the source file. You can also click Cancel from the warning dialog box and then click the Rename button in the Organizer to provide another name that is currently not being used for the field being copied to the target file. Tip If you accidentally overwrite an object, you can restore it by copying it from the GLOBAL.MPT file, as long as the object in the GLOBAL.MPT file has not previously been customized. You might want to make a backup copy of the GLOBAL.MPT before making major changes so that you can copy the original object to replace the edited one.
9.	Click the Close button to close the Organizer dialog box and save your changes.

Using the Organizer to Rename Objects

In addition to copying objects, you can also use the Organizer to rename existing ones.

To rename an object using the Organizer, follow these steps:

Using the Organizer to Delete Objects

You can use the Organizer to permanently delete objects. Note that you cannot delete objects currently in use. To do so, follow these steps: