Use the e-mail link in the sidebar (at left) to share your own tips and tricks with other SLIM users.  We also welcome your comments and suggestions. 

PC Tip of the Week

Use Alt + PrintScreen to copy dialog boxes to the clipboard. 
Have you ever wished you could preserve a dialog box or show an error message to someone else?  You can copy modal dialog or message boxes to the Windows clipboard by holding down the Alt key, then pressing the PrintScreen key. Once the image has been copied to the clipboard, you can paste it into applications such as MS Word or PowerPoint.  This is a great way to report error messages or capture screen shots.

In SLIM-Metrics, SLIM-Estimate, and SLIM-MasterPlan 5.0, you can also use the export to Windows metafile option to copy charts or screens to the clipboard.  Graphics can be inserted into e-mail clients such as MS Outlook Express or attached to your e-mails.

SLIM Control Tip of the Week

Track incremental builds for an ongoing project in SLIM-Control by setting milestones at the points on the cumulative code curve that correspond to the amount of code completed at the end of each build.  Before beginning, add in as many build milestones as you need in Project Options.  Type in a phase percentage for each milestone (don't worry about getting the exact value - you will change this later).

Once your milestones are set up in Project Options, you may need to add a Cum Code chart to the view by selecting Options -> Current View -> Layout.  Double click on the Size chart in the Master List to add the chart to the view. Bring up the view, then slide the red anchor along the cum code curve to find and record the dates that correspond to the desired % code complete at the end of each build.  Finally, select Edit -> Current Plan and type in the actual dates for each build milestone. Don't forget to go back to Edit -> Project Options -> Milestones and update the milestone percentages using the Calculate %'s from Current Plan button.  

Tip Archive

Past tips and tricks will be archived here.