Copy WBS

What a planner means

Copy WBS is Edit > Copy then Edit > Paste of a WBS element in Project > WBS. Oracle does not print a menu item named Copy WBS. The dialog Oracle names is Copy WBS Options. If Activities is marked, Oracle then opens Copy Activity Options and Renumber Activity IDs. It is a command. It is not stored data. It is not Copy Project, not Copy Activity, not Cut and paste a WBS, not Delete WBS, not Dissolve, not Add WBS from Template, not a WBS Summary activity, and not Fill Down.

Oracle Copy and paste a work breakdown structure element: "Choose Project, WBS." "If you are copying from one project to another, ensure that the View, Group and Sort By option is set to Default." "Select the WBS element you want to copy, then choose Edit, Copy." "Select the WBS element to which you want to copy the element, then choose Edit, Paste." "In the Copy WBS Options dialog box, mark the items you want to include in the copied WBS, then click OK." "If the Activities checkbox is marked, the Copy Activity Options dialog box appears." "In the Copy Activity Options dialog box, mark the checkbox next to each type of information you want to copy, then click OK." "In the Renumber Activity IDs dialog box, select how to create activity IDs for copied activities, then click OK." "If you selected the Replace Beginning Characters option on the previous dialog box, the Duplicates dialog box may appear after clicking OK."

Quote that how-to. Pasting into another project is this command with Group and Sort By set to Default. It is not a second menu named Copy WBS from another project / EPS. Do not invent that menu.

Professional — Work Breakdown Structure window: "Use the Edit menu on the Menu bar, the Edit toolbar, or shortcut (right-click) menu to add, delete, cut, copy, and paste WBS elements." That is shortcut Copy / Paste, not a printed item titled Copy WBS. Edit Menu: Copy "Copies the selected data object." Enabled when the active window is "All." Corresponding toolbar: Edit Toolbar. Paste "Pastes a copied or cut data object. This command is enabled after you copy or cut a data object." Enabled when "All." Edit Toolbar. This is the same Copy/Paste as any other data object. Copy WBS is that command when the selected object is a WBS element in the WBS window.

Edit Toolbar Copy: "Copies the selected data object." Yes (displays by default). Enabled when "All except Tracking." Ctrl+C. Edit > Copy. Edit Toolbar Paste: "Pastes a copied or cut data object. This icon is enabled after you copy or cut a data object." Yes. Enabled when "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments." Ctrl+V. Edit > Paste. Do not collapse Edit Menu "All" and Edit Toolbar "All except Tracking" / "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments" into one invented window list.

Hot keys: Alt-E, C = Copy. Alt-E, P = Paste. Quote both the toolbar Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V and the hot keys. Do not collapse them.

Copy Project is a different command. Oracle Copy and paste a project: Enterprise, Projects → Edit, Copy → Edit, Paste → Copy Project Options. That is not Project > WBS Edit > Copy of a WBS element. See Copy Project. The EPS/project how-to also names Copy WBS Options and Copy Activity Options as the other optional-information dialogs on that paste. Do not collapse Copy Project Options onto this command.

Copy Activity is a different command. Oracle Copy and paste activities in the Activity Table: select activities → Edit, Copy → select a WBS band → Edit, Paste → Copy Activity Options → Renumber Activity IDs. Activity Network has its own copy-and-paste how-to. Neither opens Copy WBS Options. Neither copies a PROJWBS node.

Cut and paste a WBS is a different command. Oracle Cut and paste a work breakdown structure element: Project, WBS → Edit, Cut → Edit, Paste. Oracle: "When you cut and paste a WBS element, the element's activity assignments are also pasted." That how-to does not open Copy WBS Options. It is a move, not a copy.

Delete WBS is a different command. Oracle Delete a work breakdown structure element: Project, WBS → Edit, Delete. If the WBS is assigned to activities, Oracle prompts to delete the WBS and those activities or reassign the assignments to the parent WBS. "If you delete a parent WBS element, all elements contained in the parent element are also deleted." See P6 WBS.

Dissolve is a different command. Edit > Dissolve removes an activity and joins its predecessors to its successors. It is not a WBS command. See Dissolve Removes an Activity and Joins Its Predecessors to Its Successors.

WBS Summary is not this command. WBS Summary is a TASK activity type that rolls up a WBS. It is not a PROJWBS node and not Edit > Copy of a WBS. See P6 Activity Types (Six) — Not MSP Task Type and P6 WBS.

Fill Down is a different command. Edit > Fill Down copies first-selected-row text down a column. See Fill Down Copies First-Selected-Row Text Down a Table Column.

Professional dialog fields Oracle names

Oracle Copy WBS Options dialog box: "Use the Copy WBS Options dialog box to specify which optional WBS information you want to copy when you copy a WBS element." Quote the checkboxes Oracle printed. Do not invent others. Do not copy the EPPM Activities-page list onto this dialog.

• Notebook — "Mark this checkbox to copy notebooks to the new WBS."
• WBS Milestones — "Mark this checkbox to copy WBS milestones to the new WBS."
• WPs & Docs — "Mark this checkbox to copy work products and documents to the new WBS."
• Activities — "Mark this checkbox to copy activities to the new WBS."
• Do not show this dialog again — "Mark to indicate that you do not want this dialog box to appear next time you copy WBS data."

What gets copied vs not: Oracle said "optional WBS information" and "mark the items you want to include in the copied WBS." Oracle printed no "always copied" field catalog (no WBS Code, WBS Name, child-WBS, calendar, or Responsible Manager list that is copied regardless of checkboxes). Do not invent one. Unmarked optional types are the types you did not mark to copy. Oracle did not print a "never copied" list on this dialog. Do not copy the EPPM same-project / different-project exception lists onto this Professional dialog.

Notes Oracle printed on the how-to (quote Oracle):

• "If you select Do Not Show This Window Again in the Copy WBS Options or Copy Activity Options dialog box, the dialog box settings are retained until you reopen the module." Quote Do Not Show This Window Again (how-to) and Do not show this dialog again / Copy WBS Options (dialog page). Do not collapse the names.
• "When connected to a P6 EPPM database: When you copy and paste a WBS within the same project, the WBS, activities, and associated risks from P6 are copied; risks are not copied if you copy and paste the WBS to a different project."

Oracle Single-project mode versus multiproject mode also prints a Professional-database sentence the WBS how-to fetched does not: "When connected to a P6 Professional database: When you copy and paste a WBS within the same project, the WBS, activities, and associated risks are copied; risks are not copied when you copy and paste the WBS to a different project." Quote both pages. Do not collapse "from P6" (EPPM-database how-to) and the Professional-database sentence into one invented note. Do not invent that the WBS how-to printed the Professional-database sentence.

Copy Activity Options — opens on this paste only if Activities is marked. Quote only the checkboxes Oracle printed on that dialog page. Do not invent that they are the Copy WBS Options list.

Oracle Copy Activity Options dialog box: "Use the Copy Activity Options dialog box to specify which information should be copied when you copy an activity."

• Resource & Role Assignments — "Mark to copy resource and role assignments (including future period assignment values)."
• Relationships — "Mark to copy activity relationships."
• Only between copied activities — "Mark this checkbox when you want to preserve relationships between copied activities, not relationships to other activities that are not being copied."
• Expenses
• Activity Codes — "Mark to copy activity code value assignments."
• WPs & Docs
• Notebook — "Mark to copy activity notebooks."
• Steps
• Financial Period Data — "Mark to copy stored past financial period actual values."
• Do not show this dialog again — "Mark to indicate that you do not want this dialog box to appear next time you copy an activity or work breakdown structure element."

Do not copy Copy WBS checkbox names onto Copy Activity Options. Do not copy Copy Activity Options names onto Copy WBS Options. Do not copy Copy Project Options names onto either.

Renumber Activity IDs on this paste is the dialog that opens after Copy Activity Options. Oracle Renumber Activity IDs dialog box: "Use the Renumber Activity IDs dialog box to specify how to renumber selected activity IDs in the current project and, if applicable, to renumber the same activity IDs in all applicable baselines for this project." Edit > Renumber Activity IDs (Activities window only) is a different command that opens the same-named dialog without copying a WBS.

EPPM — do not copy Edit > Copy onto the web

Do not copy Professional Project > WBS / Edit > Copy / Edit > Paste / Edit Toolbar / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V / Alt-E, C / Alt-E, P / the two Professional dialogs onto EPPM web.

Oracle EPPM Copy Project Options Dialog Box of the EPS Page or Copy WBS Options Dialog Box of the Activities Page: "Use this dialog box to select the project or WBS data that will be copied along with the project, WBS or template." Getting Here on the Activities page: "Select the WBS to copy, click Context and select Copy." "Select a project or WBS node to past the WBS into, click Context and select Paste." That is Context Copy / Paste, not Edit > Copy.

EPPM dialog groups Oracle named (quote Oracle; do not copy this list onto Professional Copy WBS Options):

Project & WBS Data or WBS Data options: Documents; Funding Sources ("only visible if you are copying a project or template"); Issues ("only visible if you are copying a project or WBS"); Risks ("only available if you are copying a project or WBS"); Activities; Notebooks; WBS Milestones; High Level Resource Planning Assignments; Reports ("only visible if you are copying a project or template"); Summary Data ("only visible if you are copying a project or template"); Project Codes ("only visible if you are copying a project or WBS"); Secure Project Codes (same visibility; "You must be signed in as a user with privileges to view and edit secure codes for both the source and destination to be able to copy secure codes.").

Activity Data options: Activity Codes ("If selected, global and project activity codes are copied. EPS activity codes are only copied if the data is pasted within the same EPS node as the data you copied."); Secure Activity Codes; Copy EPS codes at project level ("only visible if you are copying a WBS"); Expenses ("only visible if you are copying a project or template"); Notebook Items; Relationships; Only between copied Activities; Resource and Role Assignments; Assignment Codes; Secure Assignment Codes; Steps; Financial Period Data; Risks; WP and Docs ("only visible if you are copying a project or template").

Baselines options and Enable publication for copied projects option — "only visible if you are copying a project or template." They are not on a WBS paste.

EPPM tips Oracle printed (quote Oracle):

• "You can copy multiple projects or WBS elements, or a single EPS element. You cannot copy multiple EPS elements."
• "When you copy and paste some types of data, including when you copy multiple WBS nodes, or when you copy a project, the new data might not appear immediately. The process runs as a background service and you will see a notification once it has completed."

Oracle EPPM Working with WBS Elements: grouping Level 1 Field must be WBS. "When you copy WBS elements, all activities and child WBSs are also copied." Same-project paste copies all data except: Summary data; Activity feedback; Relationships to activities that were not included in the copied WBS; Documents from the content repository; Status update history (for P6 Team Member interfaces). Different-project paste copies all data except those plus: Project and EPS activity codes; Risk assignments; Work products and documents (WP & docs). You cannot copy a WBS if all open projects are checked out in P6 Professional or opened exclusively, if you lack the required privileges, or if you have Contributor project module access. Cut cannot move a WBS to another project — copy, then delete the original. Do not copy "all activities and child WBSs are also copied" or those exception lists onto Professional Copy WBS Options. Professional names an Activities checkbox. EPPM Working with WBS Elements names an always-copied activities/child-WBS sentence and the Activities-page dialog still has an Activities option. Oracle printed both. Do not invent a reconciliation.

Oracle EPPM Copying and Pasting Activities is a different path: Context Copy of activities, then Copy Activity Options. Notes on that page (quote Oracle; do not copy them onto Professional): "When you copy an activity, the following data items are not copied: Issues, Assignment UDF values, Expense UDF values, Step UDF values, Activity Feedback, and Status Update History (from Team Member interfaces only)." "If you copy a WBS that includes activities, then Issues, Assignment UDF values, Expense UDF values, and Step UDF values are copied for each activity." "Risk Assignments are copied for each activity when you copy activities or WBS elements to the same project. If you copy activities or WBS elements to a different project, Risk Assignments are not copied."

Creating a WBS from a Template is a different command. Oracle EPPM Creating a WBS from a Template: Activities page → Context Add WBS from Template → Select WBS → Copy WBS Options. "The new WBS element is created and saved automatically as a child of the selected WBS element." That is not Context Copy of a WBS already in the open project. Do not copy Add WBS from Template onto Professional Edit > Copy. Do not copy Professional Edit > Copy onto Add WBS from Template.

Oracle EPPM Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Data: Context Copy or Cut, then Context Paste. "WBSs, including their activities and other associated data items." "When you copy and paste projects, WBS nodes, activities, resources, or roles you can choose to exclude secure codes from being pasted with the rest of the data."

Professional Copy WBS Options names Notebook, WBS Milestones, WPs & Docs, Activities. The EPPM Activities-page dialog fetched names Issues, Risks, High Level Resource Planning Assignments, Project Codes, Secure Project Codes, Copy EPS codes at project level, Assignment Codes, Secure Assignment Codes, and more. Professional Copy WBS Options does not. Do not collapse the two dialogs.

XER

Copy WBS is a command. It is not an XER table. After it runs you see another PROJWBS (and the TASK rows that WBS carries if Activities was marked). Do not invent a COPYWBS / COPY_WBS / COPYWBSOPTIONS table.

Oracle's project XER data map TOC lists no COPYWBS, COPY_WBS, or COPYWBSOPTIONS table. Oracle did not name an XER column for "the planner used Copy WBS."

PROJWBS is the WBS node. TASK.wbs_id is the owning WBS. See P6 WBS. Do not treat a new PROJWBS row as "this row was created by Edit > Copy."

A Viewer parse of one XER cannot reconstruct whether the planner used Edit > Copy / Paste of a WBS, Add WBS from Template, typed a new WBS, or imported.

Microsoft Project

Desktop Project has no WBS table and no Copy WBS Options. Microsoft Copy a task, resource, or Project element: right-click Copy of a task row, then Paste. "Project copies or moves the following associated information with the task or resource: notes, linked or embedded objects, and subtasks, if the selection is a summary task." "When copying a task within the same project, the task's ID numbers are regenerated." Autolink inserted or moved tasks is a Schedule option; Microsoft printed it for moving, not as Copy WBS Options.

Microsoft Organizer copies reports, calendars, and views. Microsoft: "You can’t copy task information using the Organizer." That is not Copy WBS.

They are not the same command. P6 Copy WBS is Edit > Copy / Paste of a PROJWBS element plus Copy WBS Options checkboxes Oracle named. Project copies a task (and, if the selection is a summary task, its subtasks). Microsoft did not print Copy WBS Options, Copy Activity Options, or a WBS node distinct from a summary task. Do not invent an analog named outline copy. Do not claim MPXJ can write a real MPP.

Don't

• Treat Copy WBS as Copy Project, as Copy Activity, as Cut and paste a WBS, as Delete WBS, as Dissolve, as Add WBS from Template, as a WBS Summary activity, or as Fill Down.
• Invent a COPYWBS / COPY_WBS / COPYWBSOPTIONS XER table, or treat a new PROJWBS / TASK row as "the planner used Edit > Copy."
• Invent Copy WBS Options checkboxes Oracle did not print. Professional names Notebook, WBS Milestones, WPs & Docs, Activities, Do not show this dialog again.
• Invent an always-copied Professional field catalog (WBS Code, child WBS, calendar, Responsible Manager) or a never-copied list. Oracle said optional WBS information.
• Copy the EPPM Activities-page checkbox list (Issues, Risks, High Level Resource Planning Assignments, Project Codes, Secure codes, Copy EPS codes at project level, Assignment Codes) onto Professional Copy WBS Options.
• Copy EPPM "all activities and child WBSs are also copied" / same-project vs different-project exception lists onto Professional, or invent a reconciliation with the Professional Activities checkbox.
• Copy Professional Edit > Copy / Edit Toolbar / Ctrl+C / Alt-E, C / the two Professional dialogs onto EPPM, or treat EPPM Context Copy / Add WBS from Template as Edit > Copy.
• Invent a Professional menu named Copy WBS or Copy WBS from another project / EPS. Oracle printed Edit > Copy / Paste and, for another project, Group and Sort By Default.
• Collapse Edit Menu "All" and Edit Toolbar "All except Tracking" into one invented window list.
• Claim a Viewer reconstructed that the planner last used Copy WBS from an XER.
• Map P6 Copy WBS to MSP Copy of a summary task / Organizer as the same command.
• Claim MPXJ writes a real MPP.