OmniPlan General FAQ
I tried to attach an OmniPlan file to an email, but it won't let me! It only allows me to attach a file inside the OmniPlan file named "contents.xml". What gives?
OmniPlan saves your document as a package, which is a special kind of folder that Mac OS X treats as a single file. Unfortunately, some applications don't handle packages very well. To get around this shortcoming, you'll want to right-click your OmniPlan document in the Finder, then select Compress from the context menu. This will create a new file with the same name as your document, but ending in a .zip suffix. If you attach the .zip file to your email and send that instead, the recipients can double-click the zip file to turn it back into your OmniPlan document.
How do I set up a task that takes time, but doesn't require anyone to actually exert effort on them like "paint drying" or "bamboo growing"?
You can make a fake resource called "Time" or "Nobody" and give that resource a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week work schedule. Assign those tasks to that resource, thus letting them continue undisturbed during working and non-working times.
It seems like I can only create a dependency that flows from a task near the top to a task farther down in the document. How can I create a dependency that flows from bottom to top?
Move the pointer near to the end of the task bar you'd like the connection to flow out of. You'll see a new control appear at the end of the bar which looks like two arrows. Click and drag to start a connection line. Continue dragging up the document to the beginning of the task bar you want to connect to — you'll know you're in the right spot when a soft glow begins to pulse around the bar. Release your drag; you've just created a bottom to top dependency.
I'm getting an error when I import/export a Microsoft Project file. What can I do?
Make sure you have the latest version of OmniPlan on your Mac. You can check for the latest update by going to "OmniPlan" > "Check for Updates" in the menubar.
If you're still having problems, please send in the MS Project file that triggered this error, if you're able to. If we can't get the file to import we'd like to have it on hand for testing and debugging purposes as we continue to improve OmniPlan.
How can I make a 1 page printout of my project?
To print everything on a single sheet of paper:
- Open the File menu and select Page set up. Choose your preferred paper size and make sure you're using the landscape orientation.
- Next, select Print (also under the File menu. Use the dropdown menu to switch to the OmniPlan section.
- Select Timeline & Outline.
- Make sure the dimensions are set to 1 Pages Wide × 1 Pages High.
That should do it!
How do I set up vacation days, sick days, half-days, or holidays?
To set up the normal work hours in a week, open the View menu and select Calendar View. The window will change; you should now see a calendar with 2 green bubbles. OmniPlan will only schedule tasks in the times covered by one of those green bubbles. If you simply click and drag the bubbles around, you can make the working hours longer, shorter, or go into the weekends as well. This is your default weekly schedule, which is why there are no specific dates attached to each day; it's just a generic seven-day week.
If, for example, you want to shut down for Christmas, you'll need to make some exceptions to that default schedule. To do this, you should select the drop down menu on the lower left side of the window and set it to "Work Schedule for Project". At this point, dates appear in your calendar view on the right. Find the day or days you want to modify, then set the workable hours just as you did in the example above.
To set up personalized schedules for each resource, just highlight their name in the left column and repeat these steps.
I have a task in my project that lasts a certain amount of time, regardless of how many resources are assigned to it. When I add resources to the task, the duration shrinks! How can I change this?
If you don't want the duration to change when you add resources, you need to give your task a fixed length. To do this, highlight the task and bring up the Information panel of theTask inspector. You should see an icon that looks like a silhouette of two people. Click it once so that the silhouette is lit up next the the Effort field. Enter the duration you want and no matter how many resources are assigned to your task, it'll stick to that duration.
Is it possible to customize the HTML reports?
You can customize them by going to File → Customize HTML Templates. This creates a folder with the default set of HTML files. After the files are created, we'll open a new finder window that shows them, so you can edit them in the HTML editor of your choice until they suit your needs.
If you move the files, make sure you put them back into your Home/Library/Application Support/OmniPlan/HTMLTemplates folder; only files in that location will show up when you export to HTML.
Licensing
Help! I upgraded/destroyed/forgot to back up my computer and lost my license! What can I do?
Just visit the Lost Licenses page to retrieve it. If this does not work for you, please send an email to sales@omnigroup.com.
Why won't it accept my license?
If you purchased your license through our online store:
Both the license key and license owner must be entered exactly as it was emailed to you. The key is linked to the owner so they both must match exactly to be accepted by the application. The license key should be a 23-character long string and does not contain numbers. If you need your license key sent to you again, you can use the Lost Licenses page to retrieve it. If you are still having trouble, please send an email to sales@omnigroup.com.If you purchased a retail boxed copy:
Please double check you entered the license key exactly as given to you. The license key should be a 23-character long string in the format of XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX and does not contain numbers. If you are still having trouble, please send an email to sales@omnigroup.com. It is also recommended you register your license key with us so we can send it to you incase you misplace it.
Uninstall
What should I do if I need to uninstall?
Like most Mac OS X applications, our products can be uninstalled by simply dragging the icon to the trash. Once you empty the trash, the application is gone from your computer. Like Jeff Goldblum says, "There is no step three!".