Category Archives: Integrating Merlin to…

Merlin – attaching emails onto project structures

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As a project manager working with Merlin I would like to know if there are any quick and easy means of adding emails as attachments onto my project plans?  I am using Apple’s standard Mail.app on a contemporary Mac OS X version.

Sure, just drag and drop emails from Mail directly onto activities of your Merlin project. Merlin will insert them as elements and list them in the according elements area as file elements. Should you want to read the contents of this email message later on, just select it in the elements area, and use the inspector to ‘open’ it again in Mail.app. It’s as simple as that.

Merlin Applescript – Am I on time?

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When scheduling a project in Merlin and want to know whether you are on time or in delay… just watch the Gantt chart.

ScreenSnapz006

Grey bars show planned values, coloured your actual progress as you go. Is the last activity of your project displayed in the timeline earlier than its according grey element? In this case you may expect to be finished before the planned end. Is your last activity displayed later than its grey pair? So you are late.

If you prefer numbers than visual information, just enable the display of the columns “expected end date” and “planned end date” in the outline. As you update your project and enter actual values on it, expected values change to show the new updated situation. Check those values on the top most row of the outline (which is a handle to your project) and subtract them manually to have an numerical answer to the question: Am I on time…

ScreenSnapz003
In case you do prefer using your time for PM tasks and not for simple maths, you may call the following AppleScript and let it do the necessary subtraction for you.

(* 	Scripting with Merlin 2

	You may incorporate this ProjectWizards sample code into your program(s) without
	restriction.  This ProjectWizards sample code has been provided "AS IS" and the
	responsibility for its operation is yours.  You are not permitted to
	redistribute this ProjectWizards sample code as "ProjectWizards sample code" after having
	made changes.  If you're going to redistribute the code, we require
	that you make it clear that the code was descended from ProjectWizards sample
	code, but that you've made changes.

	Copyright ©2010 ProjectWizards, Melle, Germany. All rights reserved.
*)

(*
	This script checks planned and expected end dates of the top most opened project and informs about it being on time, in delay, or earlier as expected.
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Merlin – Creating tasks out of an iCal calendar

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With Merlin you can create proffessional project schedules. You can export or sync your tasks to iCal and have them in you calendar application. We have posted an AppleScript showing how one could export the tasks of the current selection.

You also know how to import an iCal calendar as exceptions to your project or resource’s calendar.

What should you do, in case you would like to import the events of your iCal calendar as tasks?

You can create tasks out of the following formats:

  • MS Project (.mpx, .mpp, .xml)
  • OmniOutliner (.ooutline, .oo3)
  • OmniPlan (.omniplan)
  • NovaMind (.nmind)
  • MindManager (.mmap)
  • Merlin 1 (.merlin)
  • Merlin 2 (.xml)
  • Text files (.txt, .csv, .tsv)
  • OPML files (.opml)

Unfortunately iCal (.ics) is not one of them, you may however write an AppleScript creating tasks out of events of selected iCal calendars.

To make a long story short… here is such a script…

(*
	This script requires iCal. It prompts the list of your iCal calendars for you to select the calendar out of which new tasks should be created in Merlin. It writes in the top most opened Merlin project.
	Written by Vicky Stamatopoulou
	For ProjectWizards
	Nov 3, 2010
*)

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Applescript – Merlin Dictionary

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We often post here Applescript samples for Merlin. They are an excerpt of scripts we write from time to time as ad-hock solutions simplifying batch actions. Feel free to use them if they come in handy. You may also forward them to other Merlin users automating their everyday work.Merlin AppleScript Dictionary

For a complete list of Merlin’s Applescript dictionary, start AppleScript Editor* and call there File > Open Dictionary > Merlin

Merlin specific classes, commands, properties and elements are listed in the ‘Merlin Suite’.

__

*) /Applications/Utilities/AppleScript Editor

Can I use Merlin for project management on Windows?

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A question we receive eventually in support is the following:

We have seen Merlin running on mac and are pretty sure it covers our needs for project management. Where do we find download files for Windows or Linux? We have no Macs in our company.

Our answer:

Merlin is a native Mac OS X application and Merlin Server is implemented as a MAC OS X system preference pane. Following system requirements apply:

  • Mac OS X, version 10.4.9 or newer
  • Mac OS X, version 10.8.x recommended

There is no Windows or Linux version available, sorry, but should you have at least one mac in your company you may install and use Merlin to share your projects for access over a web browser*, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch**.

(In case you’ve missed the “Get a Mac” ads series of 2008 here is a link on YouTube  ;-))

___

*) Supported browser: IE7, IE8 in compatibility mode, Safari 4, Firefox 3

**) Merlin Server or additional Merlin sharing licenses required.