You might already be familiar with the Microsoft Office Ribbon from using other Microsoft products like Word and Excel. In Microsoft Project, the Ribbon tabs focus on the various aspects of project management: projects, tasks, and resources. The Ribbon also has a Backstage view accessible through the File tab that lets you manage your Project files. Watch this tutorial to learn more about using the Ribbon in Microsoft Project.
You're probably used to the Office Ribbon from working with other Microsoft programs like Word, or Excel. Project's Ribbon tabs are different from those programs, but they make a lot of sense because they focus on major aspects of projects; project themselves, tasks, resources, and so on. When you first open a project, it goes to the TASK tab. But we're going to go to the FILE tab first because it's the first one on the Ribbon. Clicking the FILE tab takes you to what's called the Backstage View.
Now it's called the Backstage I guess basically because we're Project rock-stars, but anyway, the Backstage View has all sorts of file management features, so, you can get information about your current project, you can create new ones, open them, save them, print things about your project, share them, set options, and so on. Then when you are done, you want to get back to the Ribbon itself, click the back arrow and you go back to the TASK tab. Well, the Task tab has all sorts of task related commands. So you can do things like choose a task related view, you can insert new tasks over here in the INSERT section, get information about a selected task, you can link tasks in the Schedule section, and one of my favorites, which is Scroll to Task, which will actually scroll the time scale so you can see the selected task.
The RESOURCE tab on the other hand, is about resources. So you can do things like add resources, assign them to tasks. And once they're assigned tasks, you can level them to level their assignments so they're not overworked. The REPORT tab is new to Project 2013, and it assembles everything about reports all in one place. So you can get to the new graphical reports, or you can run a visual report. And within this, you can also customize the reports that you choose.
The PROJECT tab relates to the overall project. So for example, you can get project information, set the start date or the status date, that kind of thing. You can also change the working time or set a baseline. Now the VIEW tab is for settings for views in general. So the first two sections let you choose Task Views, or Resource Views. But then you can do things like sort what's in the view or apply a filter, or a group.
You can also change the time units that appear in the timescale, or which panes that you see in the view. The FORMAT tab has settings for the view that you're looking at. And you can tell that because there is a label above the FORMAT tab. In this case, it says GANTT CHART TOOLS, so you know this FORMAT tab has tools specifically for a Gantt Chart View. If you apply a different view, you'll see different settings. Now there are some things you can do with the Ribbon itself.
The Ribbon takes up a little bit of space at the top of the screen. So if you want to use that space to look at your project, you can collapse the Ribbon. Just right-click anywhere in the Ribbon, and choose Collapse the Ribbon. You can actually click this up-arrow over on the right side as well. And then all you see are the tab labels. Well, if you click a label, then the TASK tab appears, and when you click a command, it disappears again. If you want to see the Ribbon again, just right-click, choose Collapse the Ribbon to turn off the check mark, and now it comes back.
The other thing the Ribbon does is it will actually adjust what it shows depending on the width of your window. So to see how this works, look at the Insert Section, and you can see that there are buttons for inserting different types of tasks. Well, if I make the window smaller, you can see that the Insert section goes down to a single button with a down-arrow. If I click that down-arrow, now I can see all the commands and I can pick one. Then if I maximize the window again, it goes back to its full width so you can see all the commands the same time.
The Project Ribbon is organized to make it easy to choose the commands you want. It has lots of features to streamline your work. If you're new to the Ribbon, making the switch doesn't take long.
Author
Released
4/18/2013- Choosing the right Project edition
- Creating and saving projects
- Setting up calendars
- Creating individual and recurring tasks
- Linking and timing tasks
- Assigning tasks to resources
- Viewing your data differently with sorting, grouping, and filtering
- Fine-tuning the project schedule
- Understanding baseline, schedule, and actual values
- Reporting on the project status
- Sharing projects<br><br>
- The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Related Courses
-
Excel 2013 Essential Training
with Dennis Taylor6h 32m Intermediate -
Management Tips
with Todd Dewett7h 50m Intermediate -
Access 2013 Essential Training
with Adam Wilbert5h 4m Beginner -
Advanced Microsoft Project
with Bonnie Biafore5h 18m Intermediate
-
Introduction
-
Welcome57s
-
-
1. Working with Project
-
Using the Ribbon4m 19s
-
Finding commands3m 49s
-
-
2. Setting Up Project Files
-
Setting up calendars2m 45s
-
Setting basic options5m 27s
-
3. Creating Tasks
-
Creating a manual task2m 31s
-
Creating a milestone task1m 25s
-
Creating a recurring task4m 18s
-
Creating a summary task4m 8s
-
Displaying summary tasks2m 30s
-
4. Linking and Timing Tasks
-
Linking tasks5m 51s
-
Adding lag or lead time2m 46s
-
Viewing tasks and task links4m 57s
-
-
5. Creating Resources
-
Understanding resources2m 16s
-
Creating a work resource8m 45s
-
Creating a cost resource3m 21s
-
-
6. Assigning Tasks to Resources
-
Finding overallocations3m 56s
-
7. Working with Views
-
Choosing a view4m 50s
-
Working with a table3m 1s
-
Using the Timeline view5m 17s
-
Sorting tasks and resources4m 27s
-
Grouping tasks and resources4m 45s
-
Modifying task bar layout2m 48s
-
Modifying text formatting2m 52s
-
-
8. Fine-Tuning the Project Schedule
-
Reviewing the critical path3m 53s
-
Splitting a task2m 7s
-
Adjusting a work contour2m 53s
-
Leveling resources4m 54s
-
Inactivating a task2m 41s
-
-
9. Tracking and Managing a Project
-
Adding tasks to a baseline5m 54s
-
Updating the schedule8m 45s
-
Assigning overtime4m 35s
-
Updating costs2m 15s
-
Rescheduling unfinished work3m 45s
-
10. Viewing and Reporting Project Information
-
Using earned value5m 12s
-
Printing views and reports4m 22s
-
11. Sharing Projects
-
Saving to other formats5m 27s
-
Importing and exporting5m 47s
-
-
Conclusion
-
Next steps56s
-
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.
CancelTake notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote.
Share this video
Embed this video
Video: Using the Ribbon