Users can edit the plan inside of ALICE Core or using Excel via the Edit Data in Excel feature.
How to use the Excel export and import
In the upper right corner of the Plan page click the Edit data in Excel button.
A window will appear to guide you through the 3 steps:
Click the 'Download' button in the window above to initiate the download, and use the 'Upload' button when you are ready to upload the updated plan.
Working with the downloaded plan in Excel
The downloaded file is formatted to help you understand how to use it.
- Columns with an asterisk (*) after their name are considered as required by the platform and need to be filled in order for the spreadsheet to upload correctly.
- Columns with “read only” after their name are considered to be read only by the platform and they serve mainly as reference to the user. Changing them in the spreadsheet won’t have an effect.
The downloaded file contains 10 tabs, that each allow you to update a different data type in your ALICE plan.
- WBS. Lists all WBS categories. Users can update the WBS name or level. Keep the sort order the same upon export and import.
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Tasks. Lists all of the tasks in the plan. Each row corresponds to one task. Tasks are identified by their Task Code.
- The duration equation field can be used to create formulas using numbers or variables from your schedule using the duration formula format.
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Task Relationship. Lists the relationships between tasks. Tasks can have multiple relationships between them.
- To create a new precedence relationship between tasks, add a row.
- To remove a precedence link between tasks, remove the corresponding row.
- To edit a precedence link (ex SS to FS), edit that row.
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Crews, Equipment, and Materials. These tabs list the resources available for use on the project, similar to the information in the project resources section in the application.
- To create a new resource, add a row.
- To remove a resource, remove that row.
- To edit the name, quantity available or other information, edit the that row.
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Task Crew, Task Equipment and Task Material. These tabs list out the assigned relationships between tasks and resources. A task can have multiple assigned relationships, so for example one task can have two crews assigned, and this will be represented by two separate rows in the task crew table.
- To create a new task resource assignment, add a new row.
- To remove a task resource assignment, remove that row.
- To edit details about the resource assignment, edit that row.
- In the Task Equipment and Task Material tabs, the required amount field can be configured as an equation using numbers or variables from your schedule. Input formulas using the same format as is used for duration formulas.
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Production Rate.
- To create a new production rate, add a new row.
- To remove a production rate, remove that row.
- To edit details about a production rate, edit that row.
Considerations for editing data via Excel Export/Import
Tip 1: Keep your data clean
There are two types of fields in the spreadsheet that you can update:
- Data points: These are values that you can input to tell ALICE information about your plan. Things like, crew name, UDF field, start date, quantities. You can change these values directly in the spreadsheet as you like.
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Reference Values: These are values that reference another component of your plan in ALICE, usually these are fields that contain a unique ID number.
- For example, in the task relationship tab there are columns to identify the task IDs of the two tasks that you are defining a relationship between.
- Ensure that the IDs match - the “From Task ID” and “To Task ID” columns need to reference a task that exists in the Tasks sheet by its Task ID.
Tip 2: Don't change the format of your excel sheet.
Don’t move or delete columns as this will cause import errors.
Tip 3: Take care not to overwrite important data
When uploading the Excel back into ALICE, it will overwrite the previous data with the data in the spreadsheet. Ensure that the Excel has the most up-to date information. If you have multiple colleagues working on a schedule at once, we recommend editing inside the application and not using the Excel export/import to prevent overwriting.