A couple of "ease of use" things for MS Project

I want to pass on to you a couple of things that help me in my work.  These are also the way I like things to be.  These may not be your personal preferences and that is okay, to each his own.


MS Project has changed over the years and sometimes Microsoft changes things for the worse not the better.  Sometimes, finding something that you used in the past involves searching for it in a later versions. 


In earlier versions of MS Project, the "Entry Box" was shown by default, but not in the 2010 version.  By Entry Box, I mean the space on the project window that allows the user to type an entry into the task name column cell or any other cell. There are times when this is very handy as the cursor can be positioned in the Entry Box and the text edited. 

As you can see, as the name is typed it is displayed in the Entry Box.  To turn this feature on, go to the File: Options: tab and select the Display tab.

Then check the Entry Box checkbox and it will be displayed in Project until you turn it off.

Microsoft allows the user to customize the interface of all the Office products.  One customization that I like is the mini toolbar.  This allows the user to have access to lots of functionality on main page without having to go to the ribbon and look for what is needed.  Here is an image of my mini toolbar:

You can see that I have the Save, Publish (Project Server only), Undo, Redo, Open, Print Preview, Print, Project Info, New project and the Gantt Wizard on my mini toolbar.  The default for Project is only the Save and Open icons.  To add or subtract these icons, either click on the semicolon to the right of the mini toolbar and select More Options or go to the File: Options: Quick Access Toolbar item.

You can add or remove icons from the list of the right by using the Add and Remove buttons in the middle.  My advice is to experiment and see what works for you.  Remember that these icons are contextual, some are at the task level and some at the project file level.  "Save" will save the file, "Information" is the task information for the selected task.  If more than one task is selected, a blank information window will be displayed, which basically shows all of the tasks' information for the selected tasks. 

You can customize all the Office products in the same way.  In my opinion it makes sense to look at these options and find out what works for you.