Portfolio Projects Overview: Make Project Folders & More

The Portfolio Projects page houses all of your projects in one place. Organize those projects into sub-folders for program management or to track projects by department, client, etc.

This view also reveals high-level data for each project, so that you can get a status update for each project at a glance. Finally, you can quickly administrate your project portfolio on this page: change project status, create custom templates, export data and more.

 

Accessing This Feature

Simply click on "portfolio" on the left-hand menu and make sure that you've clicked on "projects" on the upper menu.

 

 

Here, you'll see a list of the project name, progress, project manager, members, status and latest finish. You can hover over the different columns to get additional information. Most users will only see projects they're a member of, however if you have Access All Account Data enabled for your role you will see all projects.

 

Creating Custom Folders in Portfolio Projects

If needed, you can create custom folders within your Portfolio Projects page. Hover over "All Projects" and you'll see the "+" icon appear and you'll be able to add a new folder name.

 

Tip! After naming the new folder, you'll need to click "enter" for it to save successfully. Without pressing "enter," your new folder will not be saved.

Show, Hide or Create Columns

At the top of this page, you can search, filter, adjust columns, import or export. Click on the "settings" option to customize the columns that appear. 

 

 

You can create the following custom columns: text, number, date, currency and dropdown. These columns work the same way as they do on the Gantt view.  Feel free to drag and drop a column to its desired position.

Project Options

Project Name

The project name will be displayed here. You can favorite a project by hovering over the project name and clicking on the green heart icon. Hover over the project of interest to see three ellipses.

• Open: Immediately open the project.
• Move: Move the project into another folder.
• Copy: Create a copy of the project. You will be asked to give your copied project a name.
• Save as template: If your edition allows, you can save your project as a template.
• Rename: Rename the project as you see fit.
• Delete: Apply 'Deleted' status to your project to allow for the ability to later restore, or Delete permanently. Find more details below.
• Notes: Enter additional context or details for any given project.
• Settings: Access and adjust project settings.
• Export: Export tasks or timesheets for particular projects as an Excel, MS Project or CSV file.
• View history: See project history for your particular project.

Default Columns on Your Portfolio Projects Page

Progress

The progress bar is green when the project is in progress.

Project Manager

The avatar of the assigned project manager will appear here. You can change the project manager here, or by navigating to the account menu.

Members

The avatars of all team members assigned to the project will appear here. You'll see up to five avatars, beyond that an icon will appear to tell you the number of additional users that have access to the project. You can add team members to the project here and they will get Editor access, or you can navigate to the project for more control. 

Status

You can create a custom status or choose a status from the dropdown menu: open, on hold, not started or closed. If you've already set a status in the project settings, it'll appear here.

Latest Finish

The date that the project is scheduled to end, or the latest planned task finish date in the project.

Feel Free to Add More Columns Such As:

Earliest Start 

The date that the project is scheduled to start, or the earliest planned task start date in the project.

Budget

The overall budget of the project. If you or a team member already set a budget in project settings, it will appear here.

Cost/Budget

The colored bar compares your actual cost to your budget. You can hover over the bar to see additional details. Here’s what the colors mean:

• Green: The cost compared to your budget is between 1% - 100%
• Orange: The cost compared to your budget is above 100%. This means you have gone over budget.

Charge Code

You can add or edit a charge code here. If you or a team member have already set a charge code in project settings, it will appear here.

Customer

Add or edit a customer name here. If you or a team member have already added a customer in project settings, it will appear here.

Default Rate 

The default rate of the project. If a default rate is entered and a team member doesn’t have an hourly rate assigned, the default rate will be used if entered.

Priority

You can choose a priority from the dropdown menu: unimportant, important, very important, non-critical, or critical. If you or a team member already set a priority in project settings, it will appear here.

Short Name

A project will be given a short name automatically. You can edit the short name here.

Status Update

You can create a custom status update. The status update entered here is exportable, but not visible in reports.

Description

You can create a custom description here. The description will appear in Project Settings and the Project Status report.

Target Date

You can select a target date from the date picker. The target date isn’t tied to dates in your project plan, and it can be edited or modified at any time. You can use the target date to communicate any due date outside of the Planned Start and Finish Dates.

Notes

You can enter custom project notes here.

Deleted Status and Permanent Deletion of Projects

We allow for a Deleted Status and Permanent Deletion of a project:

• Deleted Status - Applying this status is the first step of our project deletion process. The 'Deleted' status removes the project title from the LHS Project Selector and applies the Deleted status on the Portfolio Page. This status allows for a quick and easy restoration of your project and all data, should it be needed.
• Permanent Deletion - the second step of our deletion process is available only after applying the 'Deleted' status.  All project data is permanently deleted from your account after this action, and cannot be restored.
  
  

Note:  Projects in 'Deleted' status count towards the total number of projects in your account, and will impact your project limit for Team and Business Edition accounts, accordingly.

Two-Step Deletion Process

You can apply the 'Deleted' status from three areas in your account.  

In the Project view, click the project name to display the Project Menu, and choose the 'Delete' option. 

 

 

In the Project Settings, which can be opened from the Project Menu or on the Portfolio Page, set the Status field to "Deleted."

 

 

On the Portfolio page, hover over the project name to show the Ellipsis Menu and click.  Both steps 1 & 2 of the Deletion process can be completed via this Delete option, whereas the other 2 options only offer for the "Deleted" status to be applied, and not the permanent deletion.

 

 

Here, you'll see the first click of the Delete option produce the following pop-up.  After accepting, you will see the "Deleted" Status is applied to the project, and the project details are inert and displayed in grey-out text.

 

 

Permanently Deleting a Project

To permanently delete your project and all related data, you'll need to use the delete option on the Portfolio Page once more. You'll receive a warning pop-up before the permanent deletion proceeds, and then a confirmation pop-up:

 

 

Filtering Deleted Status Projects

Use the RHS filter icon to filter out, or in, your Deleted status projects.  Having all options checked or un-checked will display all projects, regardless of status.

 

 

Contact Support with Questions!

If you have any unanswered questions on Portfolio Projects, don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@projectmanager.com.