Action Items activity center

16 minutes
10 months ago

Action Items Activity Center

Use this activity center to create, view, assign, update, delete, and search action items, as well as create action item reports.

Click Refresh to make sure you have the latest action item information. Action items are retrieved from the Project Center Server, and are not updated automatically. Also, select the All Action Items category if you want to list all action items, otherwise other action item types will be filtered out, depending on the category chosen.

The following list shows all available tasks. The tasks that appear depend on what you select within this activity center.

Action Items

Identify Action Item

Click to open the Identify Action Item dialog box to create a new action item for the current project.

Edit in Spreadsheet

Click to export the action items to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you can then edit and re-import. The spreadsheet opens automatically and prompts you to re-import when you are done editing it.

If you don’t have Microsoft Excel installed, the spreadsheet will not open.

Utilities > Import Spreadsheet

Click to open the Select Spreadsheet dialog box to select a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing action item data that you can import. The imported action items are placed in the appropriate action item log based on the type imported.

Utilities > Export Spreadsheet

Click to open the Save Spreadsheet dialog box to select the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to export the project’s action items to.

Utilities > Import Navisworks Clash Report

Click to open the Select Spreadsheet dialog box to select a Navisworks Clash Report .xml file to import. An action item is created for each clash.

Create Report

Click to open the Create Report dialog box to select the type of action item report to create.

Selected Action Item

Modify

Click to open the Modify Action Item dialog box to view and edit the action item’s data.

Add Discussion Item

Click to open the Add Discussion Item dialog box to add a discussion item to the selected action item(s).

View Form

Click to open the Action Item form to view and print the selected action item’s details.

Review Related Action Items

Click to open the Related Action Items activity center to view action items related to the selected action item.

Review Related Markup Session

This task is available only when you select an action item that has related markup sessions.

Click to open the Related Markup Sessions activity center to view information about and preview the related markup sessions.

Send Email

Click to open a new email message in Microsoft Outlook containing the selected action item’s data. When you enter information and send the message to contacts included in the action item, you can select whether to file the action item to the selected action item’s Email Log.

Delete

Click to remove the selected action items from Project Center.

You must be a Project Center administrator to delete action items.

When an action item is deleted, the email message files and supporting document files are not deleted.

Create Action Item Form Report

This task appears when you have selected two or more action items.

Click to open the Create Report dialog box to combine the forms for the selected items into one report.

Add Similar Action Item

Click to open the Identify Action Item dialog box to create a new action item based on the one selected. The new one contains most of the information from the original, except for unique identifiers such as the ID, assignees, and discussion items. Supporting documents and related items from the original are also included.  

See File Tasks panel.

See Email Tasks panel.

See Related Item Tasks panel.

Action Items

This activity center is composed of the following main sections: a categories list, the action items log, and the tabs in the lower section.

Category drop-down list

Use this drop-down list to group action items into easily managed categories (such as All Open Action Items, All Closed Action Items, etc.). Each category in the list displays the number of action items of that type. Click a category to display the action items in the action item log. You can also choose to display action items for all project users or only action items on which you are listed as the sender or recipient. Each category is explained below.

Click to toggle between showing action items for all users or just your action items.

Click to show or hide action items that have been shared via Newforma to Newforma.

All Action Items

This category lists all action items for this project.

All Open Action Items

This category lists all open action items. Open action items can have statuses of Not Started, In Progress, or Waiting on Someone Else.

All Awaiting Assignment

Action items that are not yet assigned.

All Due within 8 Days

Action Items that come due in 8 days or less.

All Overdue

This category lists all overdue action items. Overdue action items are still open, and are past the due date. Overdue action items are listed in red.

All Action Complete Action Items

This category lists all action items that have a status of Action Complete (or a status that has been added as a type of Action Complete).

All Closed Action Items

Action items with a status of Completed. When you close an action item, the closed date is set automatically. Closed action items are grayed out.

You can add email messages to closed action items.

All Deferred Action Items

Action items with statuses of Deferred. Deferred action items are italicized.

Deferred action items are not categorized as overdue even if they are past their due date.

Select to show action items on which you are the Assigned To or Assigned By contact.

My Action Items

This category lists all of your action items for this project.

My Open Action Items

This category lists all of your open action items. Open action items can have statuses of Not Started, In Progress, or Waiting on Someone Else.

Assigned to Me

Open action items that were assigned to you.

Assigned by  Me

Open action items that were assigned by you.

Overdue Assigned to Me

Overdue action items that were assigned to you.

Overdue Assigned by Me

Overdue action items that were assigned by you.

My Action Completed Action Items

Your action items that have a status of Action Complete.

My Closed Action Items

Your closed action items with a status of Completed. When you close an action item, the closed date is set automatically. Closed action items are grayed out.

You can add email messages to closed action items.

My Deferred Action Items

Your action items with statuses of Deferred. Deferred action items are italicized.

Deferred action items are not categorized as overdue even if they are past their due date.

Filter All Columns

You can filter by any text that appears in any of the columns. For example, if you know the subject (or part of the subject) of the action item that you are searching for (or the discipline, priority, assignee, etc.), enter at least part of the text in this field. The action item list updates automatically as you type. For example, if the action item you are searching for has the number 30 somewhere in one of the columns, enter 30 in this field. The list will be narrowed down to only action items that have the number 30 somewhere in one of the columns.

You can filter each column to narrow down the list to find particular action items. Some of the filters have checkbox options, and other fields allow you type directly in them.

Click to clear all filters.

>

Click to toggle between showing and hiding the column filter fields.

> >

Click to group by the any of the columns. For example, if you want to group the list of items by subject, select Subject from the drop-down list. The items will be grouped into separate sections alphabetically by subject. See Column Sorting, Filtering, and Grouping for more information.

Action Item log

This section lists the action items in the category selected above.

Select the action item on which to perform the Tasks panel commands, including modifying and deleting action items and creating reports.

Double-click an action item to open the Modify Action Item dialog box. You can then edit it, assign it to another contact, create an email message associated with it, and save it.

Right-click on an action item to access a menu containing tasks you can perform, including Change Field Value to change the values in most of the fields directly without opening the Modify Action Items dialog box, and Copy Project Center Link to Clipboard to copy to the item to the clipboard as a hyperlink that you can paste in other applications that recipients can click on to go to the item directly in Project Center.

Columns

All columns are listed here. Right-click on any column header to list or de-list columns. Click the icons for more filtering options.

 ID

The ID number for the action item.

Subject

The subject of the action item.

Discipline

The discipline assigned to the action item.

Priority

The action item’s priority.

The Priority column is sorted by the order an administrator sets in the Global Priority List in the Project Keyword List dialog box, not alphabetically.

Assigned To

The contact the action item is currently assigned to.

Assigned By

The contact who assigned the action item.

Source Company

This column appears if the action item was shared via Newforma to Newforma. It indicates the company the remote action item originated from.

CC

Other contacts included in this action item. Each time the action item is edited, these contacts will be sent a notification.

Due Date

The date by which the action item needs to be completed.

Status

The action item’s status.

Created

The date the action item was created.

Last Updated

The date and time the action item was last modified.

Related Items

If the action item has any related items, the icons appear here.

Related Project Items

This column is a text version of the icons in the Related Items column. The text will appear in reports.

Keywords

Any keywordsIn Project Center, keywords are words you can add to items to use for filtering. When you add keywords, they appear in the Keywords column of the corresponding Project Center activity centers. You can then filter the list of items using the keywords to quickly find the items you are looking for. applied to the action item.

Supporting Documents

This column lists files that are attached to the action item.

Assigned

The date the action item was assigned to a contact.

Action Completed

The date the action item was completed.

Percent Complete

How much of the action item is complete.

Closed

The date the action item was closed.

Type

The action item’s type, which is used in numbering.

Due Date

The date the action item is due back to the contact who sent the action item.

Days Overdue

The number of calendar days the action item is past due.


Description tab

This tab displays the text from the selected action item’s Description tab (from the Identify Action Item dialog box).

Discussion tab

Use this tab to view and edit the actions taken toward resolving the action item.

Add

Click to open the Add Discussion Item dialog box to log a discussion about an action item.

Modify

Click to open the Edit Discussion Item dialog box to edit a discussion item.

Delete

Click to delete the selected discussion item.

Date Time

The date and time the discussion took place.

Author

The author of the discussion item.

Action

The action taken on the item.

Remarks

Any details about the item.

Email Log tab

This tab lists all email messages associated with the selected action item. When any user files an email message from the legacy Project Center Add-in for Microsoft Outlook Toolbar, the email message appears here. Users can also drag and drop email messages from Microsoft Outlook and Windows Explorer into this tab.

Double-click an email message to open it in Microsoft Outlook or the Project Center Email Viewer. From there, you can reply to or forward the message.

The number in parentheses indicates the number of email messages filed to the action item.

Create

Click to open an email message in Microsoft Outlook that is linked to the selected action item.

If you are using an email client other than Outlook, the email message will be created in your Drafts folder, so you have to open the message from there.

A tagA tag is a text identifier appended to an email’s subject line to indicate which project and issue the email is linked to. It is recommended that you do not edit or remove it. is added to the subject of the email indicating which project and action item the email is associated with. When the contact replies to the email, Project Center uses this tag to know which project and action item the email refers to.

When you enter information and send the email message to contacts included in the action item, you can file it to the action item’s Email Log by clicking the Send and File in Action Item button. After it is filed, click to display the email message.

Add

Click to open the Add Email Messages dialog box select an email message to add to the current action item.

Remove

Click to remove the selected email message from the action item.

 

Supporting Documents tab

The number in parentheses indicates the number of files that are attached to the action item.

Use this tab to attach files to the selected action item, and to view attached files. For example, if you create an action item regarding a drawing, you can use this tab to attach the drawing file to the action item. Also, files sent using the Add to > Action Item task from other activity centers are added to this tab.

Change Version

If you are using an EDMS, click to select a specific version of the file to link to the action item.

Set Order

Click to open the Set Document Order dialog box to set the order of the documents.

Add Files > Another Project File

Click open the Add Supporting Documents dialog box to locate and attach a file to the action item.

Share with External > Yes

Click to allow the selected files to be shared with external project team members through Info Exchange.

Remove

Click to remove the selected supporting file from the action item.

 

The left side lists the supporting files attached to the action item.

Preview tab

A preview of the selected file appears here.

Related Items tab

This tab lists all related Project Center items for the file.

This tab lists all related Project Center items for the selected action item.

Click to open the Identify Action Item dialog box to create a new action item and link it to the current action item.

Click to open the Send Files to Email Recipients dialog box to send project files via email. Nothing is logged in this tab.

Click to open the Transfer Files to a Newforma Info Exchange Server dialog box to transfer project files via your Newforma Info Exchange Server and link the transfer to the current action item.

Click to open the Send Files and Create an Outgoing Transmittal dialog box to send project files via email, file an outgoing transmittal for a file transfer, and link the transfer to the current action item.

Click to open the Transfer Files and Create an Outgoing Transmittal dialog box to transfer project files via your Newforma Info Exchange Server, create a new outgoing transmittal for the file transfer, and link the transfer to the current action item.

Click to open the Create Contract Management Item dialog box for the type of contract management you selected to create a new contract management item and link it to the current action item.

Click to open the Create Web Link dialog box to enter a web link and automatically relate it to the selected Project Center item. After it is created, the Relation Type column will indicate Web Link, and users can double-click on it to open the website.

Relate to >

Click to select an existing project item and establish a relationship between it and the currently selected action item. This gives you the ability to link two items that are related together (for example, a markup session that is related to an action item). Select Another Project Item to open the Select Project Item dialog box to locate an item that is not in the list. When you create a relationship between two items, each item’s icon is added to the other item’s Related Items column and tab.

Share with External

Click and select Yes to allow the selected web link to be shared with external project team members through Info Exchange.

Remove

Click to unlink and remove the selected project item from the Related Items tab.

Removing a related item from the Related Items tab does not remove it from the database.

The Relation Type column  has two icons to indicate the relationship type:

The icon indicates that the relationship was created by a user and can be deleted (such as an action item related to an RFI).

The icon indicates that the relationship was created by Project Center and cannot be deleted (such as a transmittal or record copy related to a submittal).

Change Log tab

This tab displays a history of the actions taken on the selected action item, including when it was created, modified, who was involved, and any details.

 

To access this activity center

Click Action Items from the Activities list or from the Project Home activity center.