I can see two lists of projects in the Summary View with duplicate entries of projects - once under the 'localhost' and the other under 'server localhost'. I am not clear about this.

The projects that you have configured and added to the 'My Projects' list are the ones that will be listed under the 'My Projects on localhost'.
The same list can be seen in the menu option 'Options - My Projects'. Please select the project from here and use the Remove option and then it should get deleted from the list in the Summary View.

All the projects that are present in the database will be present under the 'Projects at server localhost'. As and when the projects get deleted from the server, the project names under this list shall get deleted too.

How can I set up buffer time in case of task dependency?

Lead/lag can be used if there are dependencies set between the tasks. The tasks can have predecessors of 2 types: FS ( Finish to Start ) and SS ( Start to Start )
These dependencies decide the Start date of a task, i.e. if task A is FS dependent on task B, it means that the task A can start only after task B is completed.
In this case even after setting the dependency, if you want a change of the dates, then you can make use of the Lead/Lag options.

For example, consider task 5 is FS dependent on task 4 . The Finish date of task 4 is 19-01-2006 and hence the Start date of task 5 is 20-01-2006. This is how the dates due to dependencies are set. But due to some reason you do not want task 5 to start on 20-01-2006.
In this case, you can set the dependency for task 5 as 4FS(3),  which means that the task 5 will start on 23-01-2006 .
Similarly lag can also be set for task 5 by having the dependency as 4FS(-3). In that case task 5 will start on 17-01-2006.

Note that here 3 is taken as 3 days. The unit of the duration depends on the duration of the dependent task.

I cannot edit the dates of the tasks that are shown in gray in Plan View. Why is that ?

The tasks that are shown in gray color are the Summary tasks and they are non-editable. Going by their name, they only represent the sub-task under them. The date represents the minimum of the Start dates and maximum of the Finish dates of all the tasks that come under this Summary task and hence cannot be edited.

The resources need to be assigned a cost first. To do so, go to the Resource view. Double-click on the task to get the Resource Details dialog. The cost pertaining to the resource can be filled in here. Then the cost will be reflected in the Plan view if these resources are assigned to the tasks.

I can see a red triangular mark in the task ID column of some tasks. What does this represent?

The red symbol indicates that the task has some notes associated with it. Take the cursor on the symbol to read the task notes.

I have logged in as “admin” and I have added several global users. However, when Managers log into projects, they are not able to see any of the global resources via their resource button on the left. How can they assign tasks to resource, without having to enter the global resource for a second time?

After adding global users, Project manager has to make them a part of their project from global list.
To add user to a project from a global list, please login with Manager status to the project. Go to Resource View. Click on 'Select One' under the User Id column. You will get a drop-down list of the resources that you have added in the Global Resources.
Please contact our customer support office by filling in the support form from http://www.smartworks.us/htm/prodsupport.htm

How can I customize the 'My Projects' list to add my list of projects?

Login and use the menu 'Options - My Projects'. Use the 'Add New' option and add the project and provide the correct User Id and Password and click on 'Save List'.
If you want all the projects that you login to, to be added to the 'My Projects' list, then this setting can be done from the Warning Messages. Use the menu 'Options - Preferences - Warning Messages'. Select the suitable option under the option 'Add to my project details at login'. If you choose the 'Ask me later' option, then each time you login to the PC, you will be prompted to add the project to the 'My Projects' list.

How do I delete a project from My Projects list?

Projects added to 'My project list' are shown in summary view. These projects can also be viewed by selecting menu 'Options - My Projects'. Please select the project, which needs to be deleted from my project list, and select remove button.

I get an error 'Member not found' every time I open Project Planner client. What is wrong?

SmartWorks Project Planner needs a COM component called AccordSpots.Dll. If this dll is not registered properly for any reason, you get this error.
Please follow the steps given below to register the dll on your workstation where you are getting this error.
1. Close the SmartWorks Project Planner if running
2. Go to the directory where you have installed the SmartWorks Project Planner, you can find a folder by name 'Common'. Within this folder you will find a file by name accordspots.dll. Note the path of this file.
3. Go to the Start button and select Run.
4.Please type regsvr32 'path' and click on OK . Here 'path' is the path of the accordspots.dll file on your machine. For e.g., it could be regsvr32 D:\installed\pereal\common\AccordSpots.dll
5. If it is successfully registered, you will receive a message for the same
6. Now invoke the client application and it should work fine.

How to set all Saturdays as weekly holiday in one click?

Only a user with Manager or Leader with 'Can plan' status can set calendar.
To set a particular day of the week as a holiday, please select menu 'Calendar - Set Calendar'. Double click on the blue bar showing names of the days to get a dialog, which can be used to set all days as holidays.

How do I change the date format? It is in DD/MM/YY

Manager can change format of date for a project.
Select Options - preferences - Project Privileges - drop down to select any of the date formats

I want to add a task and give sub tasks under it. How do I do it?

After adding tasks, select a set of tasks, right click on the selected tasks and choose Indent or select the short cut or use Ctrl + right arrow key. This will make all the selected tasks as the Sub tasks of the task preceding them. The background of summary tasks in the plan will be gray in color.

Some tasks in my plan have red background. What does that mean?

It means that those tasks are lagging behind schedule.

The task I want to set, as predecessor for a task is not listed in the list of predecessors nor I can type in the id of the task, why?

Because the task you want to set as predecessor is a summary task. Summary tasks cannot be set as predecessors.

When a new task is added, its previous task is assigned as the predecessor for the new task automatically. It would have helped if I could decide predecessors for my tasks…

This setting can be disabled. Please go to menu Options - Preferences - Project privileges and uncheck the 'set previous task as predecessor' option. For subsequent new tasks added, predecessors will not be set.

Can I get to see task names along with task bars in Gantt view?

Please select menu in GANTT view, Options - preferences - user preferences and check the option 'Show task name in Gantt chart'

I have assigned few human resources as owners of tasks. The owners don't seem to be getting mails for the tasks that they are assigned to.

It may be possible that you have not saved the plan after assigning the owners. Mails are sent only when the plan is saved /committed to the database. So please save the plan. If the mails are still not being sent please check that the user has a valid mail id in the Resource List. The user should be having a valid mail id.

How do I associate a cost with a task?

Project Planner allows associating of cost to the resources when they are being added to the resource list. When these resources are assigned to tasks, the corresponding cost automatically gets associated with the task.

I have added a resource to a project but I want to delete it now.

From resource view, select a resource; right click to get the 'Delete Resource' option and click.

The plan doesn't seem to take care of Sundays, holidays, etc.

You have to configure the project calendar provided in Project Planner for Sundays and for other holidays and save this configuration. Then Project Planner can recognize them as holidays when the plan is being prepared and adjust the plan accordingly. Project Planner also has the ability to reschedule the plan if the calendar is reconfigured at a later stage.

Can I set warning messages for some particular task in a plan?

No, you cannot. Warning messages can be set for individual projects and not for individual tasks. Once enabled, Warning mails are sent as scheduled to the owner of the task and the project manager until the task status is changed to complete.

I have changed the status of a task for which I was constantly getting a warning mail. But I'm still getting the warning mail. Why?

If you want to stop receiving warning mails, you need to change the status of the task to closed status. Status 'Complete', 'Obsolete' and ‘Others' are considered as closed status in Project Planner. Please refer users guide to get to know more about ‘open’ and ‘close’ status. The status you have changed to may not be a closed status; hence you are getting warning mails.

I want to save my existing plan as a version and work on a new version. How do I do that?

Ensure that you have made the complete plan and have saved it by choosing menu File/Save. Now you can go to 'version - save version' and save the plan with a new version by giving a name and a brief description. This will save your current plan as new version with the given name.

Can I use an existing project plan created using some other planning software with Project Planner?

Yes you can, please save the existing plan as excel sheet and use the import excel feature of Project Planner to import it to Project Planner.

Can I export the plan done in Project Planner to some other application?

Yes. You can export a project into MS-Excel format, XML format, HTML format by selection menu option - 'File - Export data'.

I have a plan in MPP format, is it possible for me to import the plan to Project Planner?

Yes, you can import the plan, which is in MPP format to Project Planner format by selecting menu option 'file - Import data'.

What is the risk management feature of Project Planner all about?

Risk management is an important feature of Project Planner, with which risk management is made easy. Once a project plan is prepared and saved as a baseline version, an option "Log risk info" is enabled automatically. After this any changes made to the plan which affects scope, resources and schedule or cost will be logged and an exception will be raised. Manager can add the list of risks (s)he at the beginning of the project which he foresees for a project and give a contingency and mitigation plans for each risk.