That’s probably because Internet Explorer is configured for compatibility viewing, which is aimed at legacy applications relying on somewhat outdated technology, and therefore does not apply to the Planning application. From Internet Explorer Page menu, check Compatibility View Settings and be sure to clear the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View check box. This should fix display inconsistencies.
This happens when the name of the view exceeds the maximum size of the tab, namely 200 pixels.
Why is there only one resource with operations on it in the Resource Gantt chart?
If this is the Standby resource, it means the plan has never been scheduled, and does not contain any operations that are in progress or finished. Once you schedule it, you’ll see operations on other resources.
How come there are operations in progress on the Standby resource?
Operations that are not planned yet, typically because they are part of a new work order that has just arrived in the application.
Operations that need replanning further to a major change in relation with their initial resource; typically, because a user in another Dynamics NAV module changed a resource characteristic, or increased the number of workstations the operation requires.
That’s when operations in progress can be found on the Standby resource. When that happens, be sure to move them manually to the right resource. If you don’t, they stay on Standby even when you reschedule the plan, because the scheduling process never changes the resource of an operation once it is in progress.
That’s because there are no overlapping elements on that row.
Check the Resource type column for that resource. If it displays the symbol, it’s a finite capacity resource. Now, if the current plan is configured with finite capacity, there should be no overlapping operations on that resource – and therefore nothing to display separately. That’s why you don’t see any difference when you expand the row.
As a rule, remember that when elements overlap in Gantt charts, the software draws a blue line below the position where there are elements you cannot see. It’s a quick and easy way for you to know if you need to expand a row or not.
Chances are elements are overlapping, which sometimes makes them difficult to select.
There may be several reasons why they overlap.
For instance, if you are viewing a Resource Gantt chart, maybe the operations are on an infinite capacity resource, or on a resource with multiple workstations, or the plan is configured with infinite capacity. In a WO Gantt chart, chances are there’s an overlap link between the operations.
Clicking to expand the desired row displays all the elements on the row separately.
If the pane does not open, check the Actions tab. Chances are one of the Move operations command is selected. These commands catch your double-clicking for their own use, which is why the Indicators & Details pane does not open automatically.
You may either deselect the command if you don’t need it now, or double-click the title bar of the Indicators & Details pane to open it.
If the pane does not display the right operation. Chances are the operation displayed actually overlaps the one you clicked. This happens with operations in progress. The time that has elapsed since the beginning of the operation is highlighted by a symbol like : you can see the operations below, but you cannot select them. Click to expand the row so these operations display separately.
Check the Optimization tab. Chances are the Use calendars command is disabled. This means that you don’t see the placeholders of resource downtimes/uptimes on Gantt charts, and more importantly, that such downtimes/uptimes are ignored when calculating the start and end dates of operations.
To have the application take resource calendars into account, select Use calendars.
You may also check the Display tab. If the Hide non-working periods command is enabled, the non-working periods set in the default calendar do not appear on the chart. As a result, if the changes you’ve made to the resource calendar apply to one of those periods, you cannot see them until you disable the Hide non-working periods command.
This may happen when you move an operation to an infinite capacity resource.
Because this type of resource can handle several operations at once, by default, the operation you’ve moved has probably been sequenced earlier than the date where you dropped it on the resource.
For the same reason, operations on an infinite capacity resource often overlap one another. You need to expand the resource row to view them all clearly, and possibly filter operations to focus on the operation you’ve moved.
If you’re not satisfied with the date calculated for the operation on that resource, maybe you can use the Fix date command to move it to the desired start date.
Planning constraints, such as resource downtimes, that make it impossible to insert the operation exactly where you want on the target resource.
The operation you’ve moved has a manual or material fixed start date that is later than the date where you dropped the operation on the Gantt chart.
See if you can release some of these constraints. For instance, if the operation has a fixed start date, maybe you can disable it. This is also true for a material fixed start date. Else, maybe you can try moving the operation to a different resource.
I've just been denied moving an operation. How do I know which resources I can use?
Note that if the operation is associated with a work center, you see only that work center in the Indicators & Details pane. You can click it to go directly to its Dynamics NAV view and check which resources (i.e., machine centers) it includes.
To use a resource that is not on the operation’s list, you need to select the Force move command.
Can I get rid of the fixed start date constraint on an operation?
Select the operation on the Gantt chart.
Open the Indicators & Details pane, and then expand Operation > Operation fixed dates.
If you’d rather delete the information, select the content of the Fixed start date field, and then click Del to erase it, and Enter to confirm.
The symbol is removed from the operation, and the plan is sequenced again.
Check the ribbon Optimization tab. Chances are the Use material availability command is deselected. This means the planning features currently ignore material fixed start dates.
You can still see the material fixed start dates symbols on Gantt charts.
You can change the individual operation settings in the Indicators & Details pane. Your changes do not apply as long as the Use material availability command is deselected, but they are saved and take effect as soon as you select the command again.
That’s because the Fix date command does not allow you to change the operation resource, only to set a new earliest start date for the operation on the current resource.
If you need to do both, first use the Move or Force move command to put the operation on the desired resource, and then use Fix date to set the new earliest start date.
Go back to the Filter/Sort resources window. Chances are it shows your selection of resources, but the check boxes are not selected. Be sure to tick them before you click the Apply button to close the dialog box. Your filter should now work fine.
You probably have an operation filter on, with the Focus command. The objective of this command is to display only the resources/work orders of the filtered operations. If you deselect Focus from the Filter tab, you should see all the resources/work orders again in the Gantt chart.
That’s probably because you’ve simply deselected the filter.
Deselecting the Apply command disables the filter so you can see all the resources again in the Gantt chart. It does not delete the filter definition, though. So, when you go back to the Filter/Sort Resources window, it shows up as when you last applied the filter.
To eliminate the current filter definition, delete the content of the search field (see also below, the question on deleting the filter).
How can I delete the resource filter?
If you mean you want to see all the resources again in the Gantt chart: Deselect the Apply command in the Filter tab.
If you mean you want to reset the Filter/Sort resources window so it lists all the resources again: Delete the search field content, clear all selected check boxes, and then click the Apply button to confirm and close the dialog box.
A possible reason for that is that you also have a resource or work order filter on, and some of the operations you’re trying to highlight are on resources / work orders that are currently filtered out. You may either disable that other filter, at least momentarily, or select the Focus command so the resources / work orders of these operations become visible.
Another, very simple reason may be that none of the operations resulting from the filter is in the time frame you’re currently viewing on the chart. This is because the Gantt chart display does not scroll automatically to the first highlighted operation when you apply a filter. But then again, selecting Focus ensures you see all filtered operations.
How come sometimes, when I'm filtering or highlighting work orders / operations, operations show up on the Standby resource?
This may happen when Production Scheduler does not include all the resources available in your data model. When a resource is not in the plan, you can’t see its operations. But when filtering or highlighting work orders, you may need to see their “missing” operations to understand the sequence and the plan. That’s when Production Scheduler makes such operations visible by default – only on the Standby resource, because their actual resource is not in the plan.
Remember: Excluding a resource from the plan is something you do by setting the resource behavior accordingly at Dynamics NAV level. If you’d rather never see the operations of excluded resources in the plan, ask your consultant to change the default configuration setting in the adapter.
That’s because that filter is not meant to apply automatically from one session to another.
Still, the last operation filter you’ve used is always readily available from the Filter tab Filter operations group. Select Apply to use it.
Maybe you’ve filtered some elements? Check the drop-down lists associated with the fields. If the (Show all) check box is cleared, then there’s a filter on the field. Simply select (Show all) to disable that filter. Be sure to check all the fields with a dropdown list.
In the Display tab, check the current color scheme. Chances are it’s Advance/Delay. With this scheme, operation colors reflect whether the corresponding work order is late, early, or on time. So, for instance, if a majority of your work orders are early or on time, most of the operations in the Gantt chart are green.
You can change color scheme at any time.
I'd like to draw the attention to / comment on a situation in the plan. How can I do that?
From a Gantt chart, you can put a marker on the element you need to draw the attention to / comment on. You can use one of the preset symbols or choose a custom one, and associate a text comment with it.
Why is it that the commands in the Markers group are shaded?
That’s because you haven’t selected an operation on the Gantt chart.
To insert, modify, or remove a marker, you need to select the intended operation first.
This immediately enables the commands in the Markers group.
That’s because on Gantt charts, you can see only the most recent marker on an operation.
Pause the cursor on the operation: its ScreenTip lists all the markers for that operation.
I know one of my colleagues has used markers on the plan, how can I quickly check that?
You can filter operations in order to view only those with a specific marker, or with a specific comment.
How can I modify a marker?
If you just want to add, change, or remove a marker comment, in the Actions tab, scroll down that marker category, select With comment, and then type or delete the comment and click OK to confirm. If the marker is a tag, and if the operation has more than one, you may have to scroll down their list in the comment dialog box in order to select the one you want to edit.
If you want to change marker, you can only do so provided you don’t change category. For instance, you can replace an Alert marker with another, but you cannot replace an Alert marker with a Message marker. If that’s what you want to do, you need to remove the existing marker first, and then add the new one. This also applies to Tags: since an operation can have more than one, you don’t replace an existing tag; you remove it, and add a new one.
To replace an alert or a message with another marker from the same category, just select the new marker you want from that category drop-down list. It automatically substitutes for the existing marker – but: if there was a comment associated, it’s deleted. To keep the comment when changing marker, in the category drop-down list, select With comment instead, and then choose the new marker symbol in the comment window and click OK.
How come some Gantt chart bars do not display any information?
This is probably because they are overlapping one another, and you only see them partially in the Gantt chart.
If you click to expand the corresponding row, you’ll see all the elements separately, with their bars complete with the information they’re meant to show.
Some operations are hatched, some have leading or trailing dots, etc. What does that mean?
In the Gantt charts, we use a variety of graphic cues to provide information on operations, e.g. to indicate whether an operation is in progress, if there’s a setup time for it, or a transit time, etc.
To be sure, check the list of the symbols used on Gantt charts.
When zooming in, this limit is 2 hours: the more detailed view you can get is displaying 2 hours at a time.
When zooming out, the limit is the planning horizon.
Can I change the settings of the left pane of Gantt charts?
You can change the width of the left pane and its columns, and you can filter/sort the entities in the list to change the number and the order of the rows in the chart.
You cannot hide/show columns, nor change their order, nor click the column headers to sort content.
How can I quickly locate an element on a Gantt chart?
You can use the features in the ribbon Filter tab, but you may often find it quicker to enter a search query in the desktop tab. The search results in that tab are links; each link opens a view focusing on that specific search result.
How do I know what the current planning start and end dates are, and can I change them?
On Gantt charts, the planning start date is identified by a red line.
You can check and change it from the ribbon Optimization tab. Pause the cursor on the Change start date command to view the current date, and select the command to set a different start date.
You can also use the Start of planning and End of planning commands from the Display tab to go directly to the current planning start and end dates respectively.
Alternatively, you can check the planning start date in the Indicators & Details pane, expanding Planning indicators > Planning information.
The planning end date is the end date of the last operation in the plan. As such, you don’t have to specify it. It’s updated automatically whenever the plan is sequenced.
How come the Start of planning command does not take me to the beginning of the plan?
That’s because Start of planning takes you to the planning start date, not to the beginning of the display horizon.
In other words, if your plan includes data before the start date of the planning features, for instance, once you’ve clicked Start of planning, you need to move display left in order to view this data.
What's the difference between Today and Now?
Today is the current day at 00:00.
Now is the current day at the current time. So if you check Production Scheduler several times during the day, you’ll notice the Now line on Gantt charts changes position as time goes by.
Can I tell the application not to reschedule certain operations?
You can choose not to reschedule the operations that start within a certain period at the beginning of the planning horizon: the frozen period.
To do so, you need to schedule the plan with the Schedule from command from the ribbon Optimization tab. You are prompted for the length of the period you want to freeze.
Operations in the frozen period are not rescheduled, but are they sequenced?
They can be, whenever you take actions that trigger the sequencing process, such as inserting an exceptional downtime on a resource.
The frozen period only applies when you schedule the plan.
Other than that, it does not constrain the operations that start within that period. For instance, it does not prevent you from taking actions on these operations. You can move them outside the period, fix their start date, etc.
Can I cancel the frozen period?
You don’t really need to. You always have the option to use the Schedule command, which ignores the frozen period and reschedules the plan from the planning start date.
If you no longer need the frozen period and therefore don’t want to see the Frozen period line on Gantt charts, next time you schedule the plan, you can use the Schedule from command and specify 0 days for the frozen period. This reschedules the entire plan and removes the line from the charts.
How can I know how many work orders / operations there are in the plan?
You’ll find this information in the Indicators & Details pane, expanding Planning indicators > Planning information.
Note that this is the total number of work orders / operations in the plan, inclusive of any completed ones.
How can I find out how many work orders are late?
You’ll find that information in the Indicators & Details pane, expanding Planning indicators > Key performance indicators, Late WO count field.
Any quick way of knowing which work order is delayed most?
When I'm checking KPIs, there are negative values in the delay fields. What does that mean?
It means you don’t have delays!
For instance, if you get a -2d value as the minimum delay, it means the WO with the minimum delay is actually 2 days early. Its planned end date is 2 days before its due date.
The advance / delay colors are based on a number of days before and after the work order due date. Can I change this value?
This threshold is a configuration setting you can change from the PlannerOne Manager application on the planning server. Details are available in that application online documentation.
How do I check the status of a specific work order, to know whether it has started or not, if it's on time, etc.
The quickest way is to select one of the work order operations on the WO Gantt chart, and then in the Indicators & Details pane, expand Work Order and the associated subcategories. They display information on the work order, and you can click the Code field to access the details on that work order.
I need to change the quantity (or the due date, etc.) of a work order. How can I do that?
Select one of the work order operations.
In the Indicators & Details pane, expand Work order > General information.
In the Code field, click the work order code to go directly to that WO information.
Once you’ve made your changes, you can select one of the commands in those software modules to go back to Production Scheduler.
Where have all the ribbon actions gone?
Either you’ve switched to the published plan, or you’ve opened the application with a different user account, with limited user rights.
In both cases, you’ll gain access to all your standard features again as soon as you return to the work plan with your standard user rights.
Also remember: Some actions are available only from certain views. For instance, the commands in the Filter tab vary with the chart you’re using.
Actually, there is a reason. Your app is probably using the auto-refresh feature, which means the plan is updated in real time whenever another user takes an action on it – hence the “unexpected” progress bars.
If you find that unsettling, disable the auto-refresh feature in the Display tab. From then on, your plan will be updated whenever you take an action on it yourself or click Refresh.
I'm not using the auto-refresh feature, how do I know if my plan needs updating?
When your plan is not up-to-date with the actions taken by other users, an exclamation mark appears next to the Refresh command in the ribbon Display tab, and the message “Refresh” shows up on the top right end of the display area. In that case, you just need to click the Refresh command or message to update your plan.
Also, remember the plan is updated automatically whenever you take an action on it – so you don’t necessarily have to click Refresh.
If you’re a planner, this is the work plan, and the application ribbon typically features a Planning tab.
If you have collaboration or viewing rights only, this is the published plan, and the application ribbon does not include the Planning tab.
In Indicators & Details > Planning indicators > Planning information, the Plan field shows which plan you’re currently using.
Also, if you’re a planner and you have the right to go back and forth between the work plan and the published plan, check the Planning tab. The Switch command always indicates to which plan you can switch – and therefore which plan you’re currently using.
If you do see a Planning tab in the application ribbon but it does not feature a Switch command, the primary reason is probably that the work plan has not been published yet. Until it is, you cannot switch plans, because there’s no published plan available.
If there’s no Planning tab on the ribbon, either you’ve accessed the application with a user account that does not allow you to switch plans. Check with the person responsible for managing the environments and the user rights and accounts.
How do I save the changes I've made to the plan?
The changes you bring to the work plan actually take place on the planning server. You don’t have to save them, because they’re written there automatically.
Still, what you must do once you’re satisfied with the plan is make it available for other users, and update the other Dynamics NAV modules with the appropriate planning data. That’s what the Publish command does: automatically propagate the information to other software modules as applicable, and save a copy of the current work plan – all at once.
The published plan can then serve as a reference for other users, and as a backup copy for you. You can revert to it at any time, if you want to cancel the changes you’ve made to the work plan since it was last published.
When I publish the plan, where is it written to?
Like the work plan, the published plan is on the planning server.
Remember: At any single time for a given environment, there is only one work plan and one associated published plan. Each time the work plan is published, it overwrites the previously published version.
That’s because the plan you’re working on is actually on a planning server. Closing you Web browser does not stop that server.
Still, as long as you don’t (re)publish the plan, the changes you’ve made to it are not propagated to other software modules, and are not visible for the users of the published plan. So you may still cancel them (see below).
Can I undo actions in the plan?
You can cancel all the changes since the plan was last published using the Revert command on the ribbon Planning tab – BUT be aware that this also cancels the changes made by other planners, if any.
To cancel only a few specific changes, you may try to perform the same actions again, the other way round. Still, there may be cases when you cannot restore the exact previous situation.
That’s probably because the Revert command restores the last published version of the work plan PLUS any new data made available by other software modules in the meantime, such as new work orders.
Also, it restores the optimization settings that were current at the time when you published the plan, because they determine how you obtained that plan. So for instance, further to reverting, you may notice the planning start date has changed back to an earlier date.
Of course, since that plan is now your new work plan, you can change these settings again as needed.
Can I view both the work plan and the published plan?
Your Web browser session can display only one of them at a time.
A possible workaround is to start another Production Scheduler session with a different user account, so you have one session with the work plan, and another session with the published plan. Yet, note that depending on corporate policies, user management strategies, etc., this workaround may not be an option for you.
How do I save my user preferences?
You don’t have to, because the application automatically saves your display settings, including the current time scale of charts, your filters, etc., to a file on the PlannerOne Web server.
The plan optimization settings, such as the planning start date, the frozen period, etc., are stored automatically on the planning server.
Remember: The display settings are your own, but the optimization settings are common to all the users of the plan you’re viewing.
Suppose you’re in the work plan and you change display time scale. This has no impact for the other users of the work plan, because they are all viewing the plan with their own display time scale.
Conversely, if you modify the planning start date, your change immediately applies for all the other users of the work plan – but not for the users of the published plan, which has its own optimization settings.