Cut Activity

What a planner means

Cut Activity is Edit > Cut then Edit > Paste of activities in the Activities window (Activity Table or Activity Network). Oracle does not print a menu item named Cut Activity. The Activity Table and Activity Network cut how-tos name no dialog. They do not open Copy Activity Options or Renumber Activity IDs. Oracle sources the command as a move. It is a command. It is not stored data. It is not Copy Activity, not Copy WBS, not Cut and paste a WBS, not Dissolve, not Delete Activity, not Fill Down, not Range Copy, not Change an activity's WBS assignment, not Link Activities, and not EPPM Context Copy of activities.

Oracle Cut and paste activities in the Activity Table: "Select the activities you want to cut and paste." "Choose Edit, Cut." "Select the WBS band where you want to insert the cut activities, then choose Edit, Paste."

Oracle Cut and paste activities in the Activity Network: "Select the activities you want to cut and paste." "Choose Edit, Cut." "Select the group band (or another activity box within the group band) where you want to insert the cut activities, then choose Edit, Paste."

Quote both how-tos. Do not collapse WBS band (Activity Table) and group band (or another activity box within the group band) (Activity Network) into one invented paste target. The Network copy how-to also prints "If activities are not grouped in the Activity Network, you do not need to select a group band." The Network cut how-to fetched does not. Do not invent that the cut page printed that sentence.

Notes Oracle printed on the cut how-tos (quote Oracle):

• Activity Table, EPPM-database: "When connected to a P6 EPPM database: When you cut and paste activities within the same project, any associated risks from P6 are also moved; risks from P6 are not moved when you cut and paste activities to a different project."
• Activity Network, EPPM-database: "When connected to a P6 EPPM database: When you cut and paste activities within the same project, any associated risks from P6 are also moved; risks are not moved when you cut and paste activities to a different project."
• Both pages, Professional-database: "When connected to a P6 Professional database: When you cut and paste activities within the same project, any associated risks are also moved; risks are not moved when you cut and paste activities to a different project."

Quote those sentences. Do not collapse "risks from P6 are not moved" (Activity Table EPPM-database) and "risks are not moved" (Activity Network EPPM-database) into one invented note. Do not collapse "from P6" (EPPM-database) and the Professional-database sentence into one invented note. Risks on these pages are moved, not copied.

The cut how-tos fetched print no other associated-data catalog (no relationships, resources, steps, expenses, codes, notebooks, Activity ID, or calendar list). Do not invent what travels with a cut activity beyond the risks sentences Oracle printed.

Professional — Activities window: "Use the Edit menu on the Menu bar or use the Edit toolbar to add, delete, cut, copy, paste, link, renumber, or dissolve activities, and to undo an action." That is shortcut Cut / Paste, not a printed item titled Cut Activity. Edit Menu: Cut "Cuts the selected data object." Enabled when the active window is "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments." Corresponding toolbar: Edit Toolbar. Copy "Copies the selected data object." Enabled when "All." 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 Cut/Paste as any other data object. Cut Activity is that command when the selected object is an activity in Activities. Do not collapse Edit Menu Cut "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments" and Edit Menu Copy "All" into one invented window list.

Edit Toolbar Cut: "Cuts the selected data object." Yes (displays by default). Enabled when "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments." Ctrl+X. Edit > Cut. 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 Paste "All" and Edit Toolbar Paste "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments" into one invented window list.

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

The Activity Table copy how-to prints "To select multiple activities, use Ctrl+click." The Activity Table and Activity Network cut how-tos fetched do not. Do not invent that the cut pages printed Ctrl+click.

Copy Activity is a different command. Oracle Copy and paste activities in the Activity Table: select activities → Edit, Copy → select the WBS band → Edit, Paste → Copy Activity Options → Renumber Activity IDs. Activity Network has its own copy-and-paste how-to (paste target: group band or another activity within the group band). Those how-tos open Copy Activity Options and Renumber Activity IDs. The cut how-tos do not. Risks on the copy pages are copied, not moved. See Copy Activity. Do not rewrite that note.

Copy WBS is a different command. Oracle Copy and paste a work breakdown structure element: Project, WBS → Edit, Copy → Edit, Paste → Copy WBS Options. That is not Activities-window Edit > Cut of activities. See Copy WBS.

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 of a WBS element, not Edit > Cut of activities in Activities.

Dissolve is a different command. Edit > Dissolve removes an activity and joins its predecessors to its successors. See Dissolve Removes an Activity and Joins Its Predecessors to Its Successors.

Delete Activity is a different command. Oracle Delete an activity: Project, Activities → Edit, Delete → Yes. Tip: "To remove an activity, but maintain the relationship between its predecessor and successor activities, dissolve the activity instead of deleting it." Delete does not paste the activity under a WBS band or group band.

Change an activity's WBS assignment is a different command. Oracle Change an activity's work breakdown structure assignment: Project, Activities → Activity Details General tab → WBS field → select the WBS element → Select. That how-to does not print Edit, Cut or Edit, Paste.

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.

Range Copy is a different command. Oracle Copy and paste a range of cells: Range Copy / Range Paste of spreadsheet cell values, not an activity row.

Link Activities / Unlink Activities are different commands. Edit > Link Activities creates a finish-to-start between the activities you select, in list order. Edit > Unlink Activities "Removes relationships between the selected activities." Neither moves an activity.

Dialogs Oracle names

The Activity Table and Activity Network cut how-tos name no dialog. They name Edit, Cut and Edit, Paste only.

They do not print Copy Activity Options, Renumber Activity IDs, Duplicates, or a Cut Activity Options dialog. Do not invent one. Do not invent checkboxes for a cut paste. Do not copy the Professional Copy Activity Options list or the on-paste Renumber Activity IDs options onto this command.

EPPM — do not copy Edit > Cut onto the web

Do not copy Professional Activities / Edit > Cut / Edit > Paste / Edit Toolbar / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V / Alt-E, T / Alt-E, P / the Professional cut how-to paste targets onto EPPM web.

Oracle EPPM Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Data: Context Copy or Cut, then Context Paste. "activities, including their steps and other associated data items." Steps: Context and select Copy or Cut → "Navigate to the supported destination for the new copied item" → Context and select Paste → "If it becomes active, click Save." That is Context Cut / Paste, not Edit > Cut. Oracle printed "new copied item" on that paste step. Do not invent a "new cut item" sentence.

Notes on that EPPM page (quote Oracle; do not copy them onto Professional):

• "You cannot cut an activity and paste it to another project if timesheet actuals are applied and you do not have the 'Delete Project Data with Timesheet Actuals' privilege."
• "Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking to select multiple rows in a table. Hold down the Shift key to select contiguous rows."
• "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. This includes secure assignment codes where the data you copy includes assignments."

The secure-codes sentence is printed for copy and paste. Do not invent that the EPPM page printed it for Cut. The Professional cut how-tos fetched do not print the timesheet-actuals privilege, Ctrl/Shift row select, or secure codes. Do not copy those EPPM sentences onto Professional Edit > Cut.

Oracle EPPM Copying and Pasting Activities is a different path: Context Copy / Paste of activities, then Copy Activity Options. That how-to does not print Context Cut. Do not invent that EPPM cut opens Copy Activity Options. Do not treat EPPM Context Copy as this command. See Copy Activity.

Oracle EPPM Working with WBS Elements Cut and Paste WBS Elements: "You cannot cut WBS elements from one project and paste them to another project." That is Context Cut of a WBS, not Context Cut of activities. Do not copy that sentence onto this command. See Copy WBS.

XER

Cut Activity is a command. It is not an XER table. After it runs you see the activity under the paste-target WBS band / group band (or, if pasted to a different project, in that project). Do not invent a CUTACTIVITY / CUTACT / CUT_ACTIVITY / CUTACTIVITYOPTIONS table. Do not invent that Cut creates a new TASK row, or that it preserves TASK.task_id. Oracle did not print either.

Oracle's project XER data map TOC lists no CUTACTIVITY, CUTACT, CUT_ACTIVITY, or CUTACTIVITYOPTIONS table. Oracle did not name an XER column for "the planner used Cut Activity."

TASK is the activity. TASK.wbs_id is the owning WBS. See P6 Activity Types (Six) — Not MSP Task Type and P6 WBS. Do not treat a changed TASK.wbs_id as "this row was moved by Edit > Cut."

A Viewer parse of one XER cannot reconstruct whether the planner used Edit > Cut / Paste of an activity, Change an activity's WBS assignment, typed a new WBS, or imported.

Microsoft Project

Desktop Project has Cut of a task. Microsoft Copy a task, resource, or Project element: "To move the task or resource, right-click, and then choose Cut." Then Paste. "Although you can copy or move a task or resource at any time, it's best to do so before you establish task dependencies. When you copy or move a task or resource, Project, by default, reestablishes task dependencies." "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." Autolink inserted or moved tasks is a Schedule option: "You can set Project to not reestablish task dependencies when moving a task or resource. Choose File > Options > Schedule, and then clear the Autolink inserted or moved tasks check box."

Microsoft Organizer copies reports, calendars, and views. That is not Cut Activity.

They are not the same command. P6 Cut Activity is Edit > Cut / Paste of a TASK (a move; no Copy Activity Options / Renumber Activity IDs). Project Cut moves a task and, by default, reestablishes task dependencies. Microsoft did not print WBS band, group band, or Cut Activity Options. Do not invent an analog. Do not claim MPXJ can write a real MPP.

Don't

• Treat Cut Activity as Copy Activity, as Copy WBS, as Cut and paste a WBS, as Dissolve, as Delete Activity, as Fill Down, as Range Copy, as Change an activity's WBS assignment, as Link Activities / Unlink Activities, or as EPPM Context Copy of activities / Context Cut of a WBS.
• Invent a CUTACTIVITY / CUTACT / CUT_ACTIVITY / CUTACTIVITYOPTIONS XER table, or treat a changed TASK.wbs_id as "the planner used Edit > Cut."
• Invent that Cut creates a new TASK row, or that it preserves task_id. Oracle did not print either.
• Invent a Cut Activity Options dialog, or invent that this paste opens Copy Activity Options, Renumber Activity IDs, or Duplicates.
• Invent an associated-data catalog for Cut (relationships, resources, steps, expenses, codes, notebooks, Activity ID, calendar) beyond the risks sentences Oracle printed.
• Collapse Activity Table WBS band and Activity Network group band (or another activity box within the group band).
• Collapse Activity Table EPPM-database "risks from P6 are not moved" and Activity Network EPPM-database "risks are not moved".
• Collapse Edit Menu Cut "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments" and Edit Menu Copy "All" into one invented window list.
• Collapse Edit Menu Paste "All" and Edit Toolbar Paste "All except Tracking and Resource Assignments" into one invented window list.
• Copy Professional Edit > Cut / Edit Toolbar / Ctrl+X / Alt-E, T / WBS band / group band onto EPPM, or treat EPPM Context Cut / Context Copy as Edit > Cut.
• Invent that EPPM cut opens Copy Activity Options. The EPPM copy how-to is Context Copy.
• Copy the EPPM timesheet-actuals privilege, Ctrl/Shift row select, or "copy and paste … exclude secure codes" sentence onto Professional Edit > Cut.
• Copy EPPM "You cannot cut WBS elements from one project and paste them to another project" onto this command.
• Claim a Viewer reconstructed that the planner last used Cut Activity from an XER.
• Map P6 Cut Activity to MSP Cut of a task / Autolink / Organizer as the same command.
• Claim MPXJ writes a real MPP.