The different display modes
In the “Display” menu you will find all the displays available in SOPlanning:
- Planning by people : SOPlanning arranges the people / users in the left column, the tasks are arranged on the lines of each person. li>
- Planning by projects : SOPlanning arranges the projects in the left column, the tasks are arranged on the lines of each project. li>
- Location planning : If this module is activated, SOPlanning arranges the places in the left column, the tasks related to these places will be arranged on the corresponding lines. li>
- Planning resources : If this module is activated, SOPlanning has the resources in the left column, the tasks related to these places will be arranged on the corresponding lines. li>
- People Calendar : This view in Calendar mode allows you to display all the tasks for each person for a specific day. The names of the people are displayed at the top of the schedule, the time slots of the selected day are in the left column. Li>
- Hour view : The columns of the schedule are the time slots (1 column = 1 hour). So you can track your projects hour by hour and view tasks that span several hours. Li>
- Day view : the columns of the schedule are the days, this is the default view of SOPlanning li>
- Show empty lines : by default SOPlanning displays all lines (people, projects, etc.) of the schedule. If you disable this option, SOPlanning will only show lines containing at least one task in the selected period. Li>
- Show Total Row : Displays an extra row under the schedule, containing the total number of each column li>
- Summary View – Displays a summary table of all tasks below the schedule. This version is more “textual” and allows a more detailed reading of tasks. Li>
Once you have made a choice in this menu, you can switch from one view to another without additional settings.
Select dates to display
The schedule is displayed based on a start date and an end date (except for the calendar view, which only displays one day).
You choose the period of time to display in the schedule by clicking on the dates on the top left.
The module then allows you to choose the start date, end date, or preselect a date with shortcuts (today, last week, etc.). Just click on the validation button to instantly change the displayed time period.
You can also use the buttons to the right of the choice of dates (buttons with arrows front and back). These buttons allow you to shift the schedule in one direction or the other. The offset applied corresponds to the duration displayed: if you display 2 months, the buttons will shift the schedule by 2 months, and so on.
Filters
The different filters present allow you to customize the display to see only the tasks that interest you.
You can filter by user , project , job status , project status , by location or resource .
For each of these filters you can check several choices. Once the filter is applied, it turns red to quickly see that a filter is active. Only the tasks corresponding to these choices will be displayed.
You can at any time remove a filter by clicking the filter again, then the Disable button.
Other display options
You can sort the planning according to your choice: sort by person name or identifier if the schedule is displayed per person, or sort by project name or project ID if the schedule is displayed per project.
You can also display an additional level by selecting Team for view per person, or Project Group for view by project.
Detail View / Compact View : By default SOPlanning displays a compact view of tasks, showing only the ID of the person or project. The detailed view expands the cell of a task to display additional information (all information is displayed anyway on task overview): start time of the task, duration of the task, total time of the day for the person assigned to this task, and “fill” gauge: it indicates 100% if the total of the person’s tasks on the day correspond to the maximum hours of work available. Example: one person has a task of 5h and another of 3h, the gauge will indicate 100% if you have activated 8 hours available in SOPlanning.
You can customize the navigation in the planning: by activating Lift at the top of the planning , you add a scrollbar above the schedule that will be useful if you have a long list of projects / people.
The Navigation Arrows option adds arrows on either side of the schedule, allowing you to navigate to the right or to the left of the schedule by successive hops.
The Floating Headers option allows you to keep the schedule header (dates and days) even when you scroll down the page. This is more or less the principle of locking lines in Excel.
The schedule and task management form
The schedule is simple and intuitive. In person view, the small cells representing the tasks indicate the project identifier for the task. Conversely, in project view, we display the user ID assigned to the task.
When hovering over a task, you can see all the information in the task. Just click on the cell of a task to modify it.
The list of tasks, projects and people displayed is directly related to the rights of the connected person. Depending on the rights assigned to it in the user management, the connected person will see more or less information.
When you click on an empty day, or below existing tasks, you go directly to the task creation form, and the project or person is pre-selected, as well as the date. You can also add a task directly from the menu at the top of the “Schedule >> Add a task” tool or from the colored “Add a task” button.
In the task form only a few fields are required : the project, the assigned user, the start date, and the duration.
All the other fields are there to allow you to go further in the management of your projects and offer you more possibilities.
Regarding the assigned person, we can inform several when creating the task. The task entered will then be duplicated to each person, each task being independent .
The duration of a task can be in the following form: an end date (ie several days in a row), or a duration in hours / minutes, or a start and end time, or morning or afternoon. These 4 possibilities offer you the flexibility to coordinate tasks and projects of different sizes by managing in a micro or macro way. You can easily mix tasks of several days with tasks of a few hours, SOPlanning will display the best according to your data.
The recurrence allows you to schedule a task at regular intervals: every day / weeks / month, depending on your needs. You can play with the different options: repeat every X days if you want to be able to space the tasks in time, set an end date of the repetition, and manage the case of the days not worked (to shift to the following day, do not not add or add anyway).
statuses allow the filter application in the schedule. Some statuses, such as the “Completed” status, display the task as a strikethrough in the schedule.
The concept of deliverable is close to a Gantt chart: it is a task representing a delivery on a given date. the task then displays a suitable pictogram, serving as a visual cue.
Places and Resources are optional modules for assigning items other than people and projects. This allows you to manage the booking of locations / rooms, equipment, vehicles, etc.
email notification is enabled by default. Important: the email will only be sent if this box is checked, the user assigned to a valid email entered in his form, and he has activated the option to receive notifications from SOPlanning.
Several users can easily access and modify the schedule or the same task at the same time: the information saved is that of the last person who validated the form.
Export modules
Several types of export are available.
If you can not find the desired export, the SOPlanning team can develop a tailor-made for you, please contact us .
You can export the planning information in the format:
- CSV (open in excel) li>
- as an excel file with formatting close to that of the schedule li>
- in PDF (current page) li>
- in Gantt chart (used for project management with milestones) li>
- export ICal, synchronize with outlook or Gmail so you can view your tasks directly in your personal / pro calendar li>
- in calendar mode: this is a simplified view (paper calendar format) li>
Ul>The planning summary
This summary table is optional, you can disable it in the Display menu.
It allows a more detailed reading of the different tasks, also indicating a notion of total and load for each line (person or project according to the view).
It is possible to modify the tasks by clicking on the different blocks describing the tasks.