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What are the Attachment Tools in Primavera P6?

Primavera P6 toolboxBusinesses use a variety of tools to help complete their projects successfully. A tool could be a jackhammer that helps a worker cut through concrete, a bulldozer to help move dirt, or an advanced drill used in underwater oil drilling. Oracle’s Project management software is a tool used to streamline the management of multiple project portfolios. In this blog, we are going to discuss a set of tools within the Primavera P6 Professional Release 8.2 application called the Attachment Tools.

Attachment Tools: Curtain & Text

P6 Professional Rel. 8.2 includes many tools to help you communicate strategic project information effectively.  The Attachment Tools are a set of tools that enable you to insert text and add a shaded “curtain” to the bar area of the Gantt Chart. The two Attachment tools that we are covering in this blog are the Curtain and Text Attachment tools. The Curtain tool allows you to highlight a specific time period on the Gantt Chart. The Text Tool is used to create formatted text and insert it in a layout. The inserted text can be associated with a specific activity and can be customized by adjusting the font and style.  This Primavera P6 training tutorial provides instructions on utilizing the Attachment Tools.

An example of The Curtain & Text Attachment Tools  

Let’s assume that you are responsible for the construction of an Office Building and that one of the activities on this project is Excavation (activity BA2020). During the course of the project, you experience a delay in Excavation due to a snowstorm requiring you to temporarily suspend work on this activity. You can utilize “Suspend’’ and ‘’Resume’’ dates to reflect this work stoppage.  This temporary work stoppage will be displayed as a ‘’bar-neck’’ on the Gantt Chart.  In other words, project team members reviewing the schedule will see that you experienced this delay. Under these circumstances, it is advisable to document the cause of the delay with a Notebook Topic.

You can also use the Curtain Tool to highlight the time range associated with this delay in order to make it easy for team members to quickly focus on the delay and possible impact on the progress of the schedule.  Additionally, text can be added to the Gantt Chart using the Text Tool to provide further explanations. These tools enable you to highlight and focus on problems areas so that decisions (such as Change Orders or date extensions or adding additional resources to bring the project back on schedule) can be made regarding the remainder of the project.

Click here for step-by-step instructions on utilizing the Attachment Tools

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