Publication

What a planner means

Enable Publication is a project flag (Project Preferences → Analytics & Services → Publication). Oracle: it determines whether the project is able to be published. By default all projects are enabled. You only change it to disable or re-enable. Clearing it does not delete previously published data. Delete with Delete Published Data on the EPS Actions menu.

Publication Priority is queue rank when more than one project is submitted at the same time. Oracle: 1 is highest, 100 is lowest, default 50. P6 adds 1, then 2, then 3, … up to 100. REST: the Project Arbiter uses this value to order the service queue. This is not float, not WBS sort, not Project Leveling Priority (priority_num).

Publication Services gather and calculate data as close as possible to real-time into P6 Extended Schema reporting tables. Oracle: reports need published project data and published global data. Team Usage and Resource Analysis use published project data. Application setting Enable Publish Projects must be on to publish projects and to run Check Overallocation.

Oracle on live vs published vs summarized:

• Most Activities / EPS rows are live.
• Reports (all data), Team Usage, Resource Analysis, and some unit/cost spreads are published.
• The Summarizer is a different service (Enable Summarization). Typically less frequent.
• Approvals Status Updates and Timesheets are live. Do not treat publication as P6 Team Member.

How a project enters the queue:

• Automatic: Number of changes exceeds, or Time since last publication exceeds (and the project changed). Tracked: activities, resource/role assignments, relationships, risk assignments, UDF values, activity code assignments, project code assignments, WBS.
• Automatic also if you change the project baseline, calendar, or data date; or Calculate Activity % Complete from activity steps; or the default price/unit for assignments without activities.
• On demand: Actions → Publish Projects. Not immediate — next Publish Projects run. Only enabled projects. Enabled baselines go with them.

Publishing baseline data is not creating a baseline. Oracle: you must also publish the project. Application option Enable Baseline Publication. Define Baselines has a Publish checkbox per baseline.

Oracle: publisher and summarizer always use the project baseline for earned-value calculations, regardless of the project's "Baseline to be used for earned value calculations" setting.

This is not Check Out, not Exclusive, not Store Period, not Apply Actuals, not Calculate schedule. Changing the data date can queue publication; publication does not move schedule dates.

Professional Tools > Publish > Project Web Site writes HTML files for an intranet or Internet site. That is not Publication Services.

XER

Oracle's cited map truncates the Enable Publication parenthetical as ( only). Do not invent the missing words.

priority_num is Project Leveling Priority. batch_sum_flag is Enable Summarization. Neither is publication.

A Viewer XER with the flag set is a status, not proof the Extended Schema is current. Do not invent that px_last_update_date is the EPS Last Published On column (Oracle did not say that).

Microsoft Project

Desktop Project has no Enable Publication, Publication Priority, or Extended Schema publication service. Do not invent one. Do not map these columns to MSP file save, publish, or Project Server / Online. Do not claim MPXJ can write a real MPP.

Don't

• Treat Enable Publication as Check Out, Exclusive, Store Period, or Apply Actuals.
• Treat Publication Priority as float, WBS sort, or priority_num leveling priority.
• Treat publication as creating or updating a baseline, or as changing calculated dates.
• Treat Team Member status or timesheets as published (Oracle: those pages are live).
• Confuse Team Usage (published) with Team Member.
• Confuse Professional Project Web Site publish with Publication Services.
• Invent that px_last_update_date is EPS Last Published On.
• Claim MPXJ writes a real MPP.