Microsoft Project 2002 Training Courseware
Lesson 2: The Global Template
Microsoft Corporation
June 2002
Microsoft Project 2002 Training Courseware
Lesson 2: The Global Template
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Discuss the purpose of the Global template.
Describe how the Global template is upgraded.
Discuss how Microsoft Project searches for Global template files.
The global template (Global.mpt) is the file upon which all new projects are based. It contains default views that are made up of default tables and filters for displaying project data. There are default sorts and groups for analyzing data. You'll also find default calendars, forms, reports, data maps, and macros. All of these same items plus custom fields can be customized to suit the users' individual or business needs. These customized items are also stored in the global file for use with other project files or to share with other users in the company. When upgrading to a new version of Microsoft® Project many of the items created in the previous version's global file are still applicable in the new version and users will want to continue to use them.
Upgrading the global template is also one of the first choices presented when moving from Microsoft Project 2000 to the Microsoft Project 2002 environment. As such, it is very important to understand the behavior of Microsoft Project 2002 and possible changes in the global template that can occur when running Microsoft Project 2002 for the first time.
The first time Microsoft Project Standard 2002 is run, a planning wizard displays the following three choices:
Upgrade automatically. This moves all user-edited items, as well as new items that changed from Microsoft Project 2000, from the old global template to the new. These items are then available within the new global template and the user is not prompted to upgrade the global template on subsequent launches of Microsoft Project 2002.
Upgrade manually. This launches the organizer and allows the user to manually move items to the new global template. Doing so makes the moved items available in Microsoft Project 2002. There will be no prompt to upgrade the global template on subsequent launches of Microsoft Project Standard 2002.
Cancel. This cancels the upgrade of the global template. The user receives a prompt to upgrade the global the next time Microsoft Project Standard 2002 is launched and will continue to do so until either the global template is upgraded or the option "Don't tell me about this again" has been selected.
The options presented by the Upgrade Wizard are fairly straightforward. However, there are a few things to understand about what is going on behind the scenes. Microsoft Project 2002 will upgrade Global.mpt files from only Microsoft Project 2000.
The search for old global files occurs at Microsoft Project launch so that multiple users of the same machine will have the opportunity to upgrade their individual global files if they exist. During Microsoft Project launch, when the Global.mpt is found the location of the file is written to the following registry key:
HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MS Project\Previous Global
Additionally, the following registration key is set to False:
HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MS Project\No Alert
Before the Upgrade Wizard is displayed, the version of Microsoft Project is checked. The Upgrade Wizard will display for Microsoft Project Standard edition. It will also display for Microsoft Project Professional when there is no connection to Microsoft Project Server.
The search for an old global file is done using the steps listed in the section "Searching for the Global.mpt" later in this lesson.
If all the above conditions exist, then the Planning Wizard is displayed.
When Upgrade Automatically is chosen, Microsoft Project compares the items in the old global template with a list of the original items in an unmodified old global template. If any of the items are different, they are moved to the new Microsoft Project 2002 global template. If the item does not have the same name as an item that natively exists in the Microsoft Project 2002 global template, it is simply added to the template. If the customized item has the same name as an item already existing in the Microsoft Project 2002 global template, it is handled in the following manner:
Groups. All existing groups in the Microsoft Project 2000 global will be copied over to Microsoft Project 2002. If a group with the same name exists in Microsoft Project 2002 then it is overwritten, thereby saving the users customization.
Custom fields. Because there are no predefined custom fields in earlier versions of Microsoft Project, any task or resource custom field from the old global file will be moved to the new global file.
Views. A view with the same name will replace the existing view in the Microsoft Project 2002 global template. Items new to a particular view (for example, bar styles) will be added to the view.
Tables. A table with the same name will replace the existing table in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template. A field that is new to a particular table in Microsoft Project 2000 will be added to the customized table.
Toolbars. Customized toolbar items will be added to the end of same-named toolbars that exist in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Menus. Similar to toolbars, items will be added to the end of same-named menus that exist in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Filters. A filter with the same name will replace the existing filter in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template. Filters that reference the Priority field will be rewritten to take the increased priority levels into account.
Forms. A form with the same name will replace the existing form in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Reports. A report with the same name will replace the existing report in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Calendars. A calendar with the same name will replace the existing calendar in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Maps. A map with the same name will replace the existing map in the Microsoft Project 2000 global template.
Macros. Any user-defined modules will be moved to the new Microsoft Project 2000 global template. New macros added to Microsoft Project-supplied modules will also be moved over. However, individual macros stored in Microsoft Project-supplied modules that have the same name as macros that ship with Microsoft Project 2000 will not be moved over. Thus, if you have customized Microsoft Project-supplied macros, these will not be moved to the new global template.
Note If the previous version of the global template is from a foreign language version of Microsoft Project, the automatic upgrade will not work. Instead an alert will be displayed indicating that the global template was created in a language version of Microsoft Project different from that being installed. It will then launch the organizer so that items may manually be moved to the Microsoft Project 2002 global template.
There are some situations where upgrading the global template may behave differently than you expect. These are detailed below:
Network installs. If a local install of Microsoft Project 2002 is done over a network install of Microsoft Project 2000, the global template from the Microsoft Project 2000 installation will exist on the server. To upgrade the global template, it is copied from the server to the local machine and the upgrade proceeds as outlined above.
If a network install of Microsoft Project 2002 is done, no upgrade of the global template will occur, regardless of type of Microsoft Project installation that was done previously. The global file must be opened in the organizer and any desired items moved manually.
Multiple users on the same machine. If multiple users on the same machine make customizations to the global template, these changes are stored in a global template kept in a user's profile. Thus, multiple global templates may exist on the same machine.
The Upgrade Planning Wizard will appear to each user of Microsoft Project 2002, regardless of what another user has done (that is, even if one user has upgraded his global template, another user will see the Upgrade Planning Wizard until he upgrades his template or selects the "Do not tell me about this again" option.
System Policies. System administrators can use system policies to set two keys that affect the global template. The first points to the location of the global template and is found at the following location:
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MS
Project\Global Search\
RootKey
The other key defines whether the search for the global template is restricted to one-and-only-one Global.mpt. It is found at the following location:
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MSProject\Global
Search\
Permission
If either of these keys is set, the global template will not be upgraded.
Once the Global.mpt has been upgraded to Microsoft Project 2002, there is the potential for some inconsistencies. This is especially true if you are unaware of how Microsoft Project 2002 is searching for the Global.mpt.
First Microsoft Project looks at the following registry key to see if there is a designated location for the Global.mpt. Usually this key would be set as part of a system policy, as stated above under System Policies.
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MS Project\GlobalSearch\
RootKey
If Microsoft Project cannot find a global template at the location specified in the above registry key, Microsoft Project looks for the existence of the second key.
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MSProject\GlobalSearch\
Permission to determine if the search should continue
If Microsoft Project 2002 cannot find a global template from the above, it will look in the following locations in the following order:
Current directory. If found, Microsoft Project will try to boot using this global.
User Profile LCID folder. For example: c:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\MS Project\10\1033.
WINPROJ.EXE directory. The directory that contains WINPROJ.EXE for example c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10.
If a global template still cannot be found, Microsoft Project will call on Windows Installer to install a new global template. If the Windows Installer cannot complete the installation, then Microsoft Project 2002 reports that a Global.mpt file cannot be found and uses default settings.
What is the global template?
Why would a user want to upgrade a global file?
If more than one person uses the same machine, will each user be prompted to update the global file?
Name the five places that Microsoft Project searches before calling the installer to install a new global file.
The global template (Global.mpt) is a file that contains default items upon which all new projects are based.
When upgrading to a new version of Microsoft Project many of the items created in the previous version's global file are still applicable in the new version and users will want to continue to use them.
The search for old global files happens at Microsoft Project launch so that multiple users of the same machine will have the opportunity to upgrade their individual global files if they exist.
Microsoft Project will search the following locations:
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MS Project\GlobalSearch\RootKey
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\MSProject\GlobalSearch\Permission
Current Directory
User Profile LCID folder
WINPROJ.EXE directory
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