P5 - what’s the score? Who’s using it?

P5? not bad...
hard to install on network though.

cheers,
ben

Been using for 3 months, previously using Powerproject V8 and before that P3.

Havnt found anything that is an improvement on P3.
Loss of ability to cahnge bar heights.
Setting baselines seems more complicated.
Strange things happen when copying projects.

Good things:
UNDO function
Storing period perrformance data.
Different layers of activity codes.

Bad or no improvements:
Project specific layouts still can’t be saved (see other discussion in this topic).

I have been using Primavera for 7 years and am now awaiting P6. I have also had several requests for Microsoft Project. I have not been successful at exporting/importing so we may just purchase Project. My question is: does Project even hold a candle to Primavera?!

To answer your question, I have had a rough time with P5. I am not using its’ capabilities because it seems so very difficult. The reports are not good, MyPrimavera is a flop, only code values are displayed as opposed to the Description, Baselining is confusing, the Help Menu only describes steps but no method or explaination! on and on...I get nothing out of the Help Menu. I am hoping that P6 is better; we are really frustrated! Thanks, Jane

Actualy,Primavera’Knowledgebase (http://www.primavera.com/customer/index.asp)has the answer to most of your problems. Regards!

the good thing about using P5 is the ability to create a live data link to excel(P5-excel), thus making custom reports and other calculation much easier.

cheers,
BEN

I cant Get the Summary for Physical Percentage Complete & For User Defined Field, Summay In the Gouping of Activity Codes in P5, hoping to get early reply.

Hi Qutabuddin Ismail,

There is no summary for Physical % Complete and Activity % complete. You can use Performance % Complete instead or Unit %, Duration %, etc...

For User Defined Field it should be number or integer and not text in order to get a summary total on each grouping.

Regards,
Rodel

Dear all

I have not been successful at exporting/importing. Always getting error messages. So I am afraid of my data since I can’t have any backups. Usually I got and application event error code in the form of "CVRJC-3802-1".
(Actually I am exporting to P3 format, from where I could import, in order to have a form of backup).

By the way, has somebody succeed in backing and importing in real P5 format .XER

I never had such problems with MS Project and If haven’t had to submit a Primavera format plan, I would definitely us Ms Project which is much more stable and with relatively more options and capabilities.

Thanks

Thank you IC Quiamco for your prompt kind reply.

I am using a stand alone P5 and I got this message when trying to import an exported *.XER format just created on the same machine.

I have even tried out various combinations of export/import options, but still not successful.

What worries me is that I can’t have backups of my plan, which is expected to include more that 20000 activities, possible much more.

Thanks once again

Hi Ioannis,

Please follow this thread and will help to resolve your problem.

http://www.planningplanet.com/forum/forum_post.asp?fid=1&Cat=8&Top=30094

Regards,
Rodel

Many thanks to both Qiamco & Robel. I went through some of the suggestions, but didnt run the script andI still have the problem. As I would like to solve this problem for ever, the best way is probably to install the latest service pack. By the way has anybody service pack 2?

Thanks

p5 is ridiculous thing to use
about help menu u just can’t extract anything out of it
importing projects is a mess, its engines don’t work or it reports some errors, no shortcut keys available. atleast in p3 we had lots of shortcut keys
also creating a new project is itself bit confusing.

anyway have to work on it due to company obligations

Yasas Ioannis.

After experiencing this CVRJC-3802-1 exceptions many times I’ve wrote utility to fix the XER file structure.
If you give me your address I will send it to you.

Regards,
Andrew

I agree with you Mangesh; hopefully P6 will be better.

Yeah,

There is always a hope for better things, may primavera people improve it.


mangesh

Good morning Andrew Podolny.

Thanks I would be very gratefull to you

Here is my email leonyia@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks to everybody contribution on this matter

Wish you all productive time

Ioannis

Good morning to everybody.

Great thanks to Andrew Podolny. The utility he sent me solved out the problem and now I can fix backup files and restore them. Its really great!!!
Thanks once again everybody for the contribution on this subject.

Wish you all aallways productive time

ioannis

I think inspite of few improvements in P5 I would still prefer to work in P3. Reports are not good at all in P5. Can anybody tell me how we can export reports to Excel as export does only ERP format.
I hope P6 does something better

What a relief to be in this forum.

I cannot add on as those sentiments seemed
to be shared by most and already written by you folks.

I just got on to P5 after working from P3 DOS and then to P3 Windows.

From a time when I could just focus on the problems without having to think of P3 (stuff there second nature to me), I feel like I am wallowing about using P5 now.

Hopefully my transition be over soon. But I doubt I get back then to sing any praises of P5. I still love some features from P3 DOS.

It has been 3 or 4 years ago when this topic was hotly debated. I just can’t believe that the number of people who are dissatisfied with P3e/P4 at that time now P5, is ever increasing not decreasing.

Those doomsayers at that time said that it just a matter of time that P3 will not be in the market anymore and become obsolete. On the contrary I told these doomsayers that it will not happen in the near future for as long as these complaints about P3e/P5(whatever they want to call it) is not addressed.

What I was advocating at that time was to improve P3 instead. But for some technology reasons, these doomsayers said that it’s not possible. Who are we to dispute that. We’re not software specialists.

BTW, these same doomsayers also said that P3 will not run in Windows Vista.

Cheers,

Se