The Microsoft Project Conversion Macros: %MSPTOSAS Macro Output :: SAS/OR(R) 9.2 User's Guide: Project Management

The Microsoft Project Conversion Macros

%MSPTOSAS Macro Output

%SASTOMSP macro Once the MDB file conversion is complete, the %MSPTOSAS macro uses the information from the MDB file in a call to the PM procedure. The %MSPTOSAS conversion macro generates the following SAS data sets:

Activity data set: Activity
Calendar data set: Calendar
Holiday data set: Holiday
Workday data set: Workday
Resource data set: Resource
Schedule data set: Schedule
Task attributes data set: Task_Attributes
Preferences data set: Prefs

In addition, the macro generates the SAS code that enables you to reinstate your project in current and future SAS sessions. The name of the file containing this SAS code is callpm.sas. The data sets and callpm.sas file are created in the location specified by the LIBRARY= parameter. For more information about data sets, variables, options, and statements related to the PM procedure, refer to Chapter 3, "The PM Procedure."

The following statements are taken from a callpm.sas file:

  
    Libname mspout "C:\msproj"; 
    PROC PM data = mspout.Activity project=mspout.Prefs 
         caledata = mspout.Calendar 
         workdata = mspout.Workday 
         out=mspout.Schedule 
         interval=dtday 
         date="17DEC06:08:00:00"dt 
         daylength=" 8:00"t 
         suppressobswarn 
         setfinishmilestone; 
    activity ACTID; 
    successor SUCCUID / LAG = LAG; 
    duration DURATION; 
    project PNTUID; 
    id ACTIVITY ACTUID; 
    RUN;

Activity Data Set

Table 4.1 lists and describes the variables in the data set Activity. For more information about the activity data set in the PM procedure, see the section "Input Data Sets and Related Variables" in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure.".

Table 4.1: Variables in the Data Set Activity

Variable	Type	Description
_CAL_	Numeric	Activity calendar variable
A_START	Numeric	Actual start variable
A_FINISH	Numeric	Actual finish variable
ACTID	Numeric	Activity variable; has different values in the data set schedule
ACTIVITY	Character	Activity name variable; used as an ID variable in the PM procedure
ACTUID	Numeric	Variable uniquely identifying activities in the data sets Activity, Schedule, and Task_Attributes
ALGNDATE	Numeric	Alignment date variable
ALGNTYPE	Character	Alignment type variable
ASSN_WORK	Numeric	Resource work variable
B_START	Numeric	Baseline start date variable
B_FINISH	Numeric	Baseline finish date variable
DURATION	Numeric	Duration variable
LAG	Character	Lag variable
PNTUID	Numeric	Parent variable
SUCCUID	Numeric	Successor variable
TASK_ID	Numeric	Position identifier of the current activity in the list of activities

Calendar Data Set

The data set Calendar contains basic calendar data used by the PM and CPM procedures. If a task has "elapsed" duration in Microsoft Project, a special calendar is defined on 24-hour days and 7-day weeks, including holidays and other nonworking days. This calendar is associated with the tasks that have "elapsed" durations. For more information, see the section "Multiple Calendars" in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure."

Holiday Data Set

Table 4.2 lists and describes the variables in the data set Holiday. For more information, see the section "Multiple Calendars" in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure."

Table 4.2: Variables in the Data Set Holiday

Variable	Type	Description
_CAL_	Numeric	Holiday calendar variable
HFINISH	Numeric	Holiday finish variable
HOLIDUR	Numeric	Holiday duration variable
HSTART	Numeric	Holiday start variable

Workday Data Set

Each variable in the data set Workday defines a shift in the workday. For more information, see the section "Multiple Calendars" in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure."

Resource Availability Data Set

The data set Resource contains information about the resources required by the activities in the project. In addition to resource variables, the variables in Table 4.3 are included in the data set Resource. For more information, see the section "Resource Usage and Allocation" in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure."

Table 4.3: Variables in the Data Set Resource

Variable	Type	Description
AVAILDTE	Numeric	Resource availability date/time variable
OBSTYPE	Character	Observation type variable

Schedule Data Set

The data set Schedule contains the schedule determined by the PM procedure. This data set is described in the section "Schedule Data Set" in Chapter 3, "The PM Procedure." In addition to the standard schedule variables, the Schedule data set created by the %MSPTOSAS macro contains the variables ACTUID and ACTIVITY. Since ACTUID and ACTIVITY are also present in the Activity and Task_Attributes data sets, these variables enable you to identify activities and select a subset of the variables in these three data sets to create your report.

Task Attributes Data Set

The data set Task_Attributes stores task attribute variables. The variables in Table 4.4 take their names from Microsoft Project custom fields. If you have renamed a custom field in Microsoft Project, then the name you specified for that field is used as the label for the corresponding SAS variable. A custom field can be converted only if it has at least nondefault values for at least one task or if the field has been renamed in Microsoft Project. The variables in the Task_Attributes data set can have enterprise versions (e.g., Enterprise Cost1) and enterprise project versions (e.g., Enterprise Proj Cost1) if your project has enterprise fields defined with the Microsoft Enterprise Global Template.

Table 4.4: Variables in the Data Set Task_Attributes with Available Enterprise and Enterprise Project Versions

Variable	Type	Description
Cost1 - 10	Numeric	Custom cost fields in Microsoft Project
Date1 - 30	Numeric	Custom date fields in Microsoft Project
Duration1 - 10	Numeric	Custom duration fields in Microsoft Project
Finish1 - 10	Numeric	Custom finish date/time fields in Microsoft Project
Flag1 - 20	Character	Custom flag fields in Microsoft Project
Number1 - 20	Numeric	Custom number fields in Microsoft Project
Outlinecode1 - 10	Character	Custom outline code fields in Microsoft Project
Start1 - 10	Numeric	Custom start date/time fields in Microsoft Project
Text1 - 10	Character	Custom text fields in Microsoft Project

In addition to the variables in the preceding table, the data set Task_Attributes converts the following variables from Microsoft Project: HYPERLINK, HYPERLINKADDRESS, HYPERLINKSUBADDRESS, NOTES, TASK_COST, TASK_WBS, TASK_PCT_COMP, TASK_PCT_WORK_COMP, TASK_PRIORITY, and TASK_REM_DUR.

In the data set Task_Attributes, the variable DURATION_ELAPSED indicates whether the task duration is "elapsed" in Microsoft Project. When a task duration is elapsed, the special calendar 099999 is associated with this task in the Activity data set. See the section "Calendar Data Set" for details.

Finally, the Task_Attributes data set contains the ACTUID and ACTIVITY variables. These variables are also contained in the Activity and Schedule data sets.

Note: For MDB files created in Microsoft Project 98, the only variables present in the data set Task_Attributes are ACTUID, ACTIVITY, DURATION_ELAPSED, TASK _COST, TASK_PCT_COMP, TASK_PCT_WORK_COMP, TASK_PRIORITY, TASK _REM_DUR, and TASK_WBS.

Project Preference Data Set

The data set Prefs is created by the PM procedure to save and restore preferences that control the project view. For more information, see the section "Saving and Restoring Preferences" in Chapter 3, "The PM Procedure."

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