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FastTrack Analytics - Managing Chart and Attribute Colors in Reports

Default Color Palette
☑ Added in RPM Analytics 2.2.

The default color palette is configurable for all FastTrack reports in the "Global Defaults" branch of the FastTrack Report Configuration (RpmCfg) alternate structure- this is generally set to: "color_palette=Planview" (see below).

Color Palette.png

These colors are used, in order, by charts when a custom color palette is not assigned to a report or when a color is not explicitly assigned to the category/slicer/dimension. Colors can be assigned to alternate structure values only using the "Charting" link available on the Alternate Structure administration page.

If the "Planview" color palette has not been activated, the default color palette will be Microsoft's "BrightPastel". The color palette configuration value can be updated to any of the standard Microsoft color palette names, or alternatively any number of custom color palettes can be configured and used globally or for specific reports. 

 

Adding a Custom Color Palette

Added in RPM Analytics 2.2.

Multiple custom color palettes can be configured, and can be applied to specific reports as a global default override. The process for adding a custom color palette is detailed below: 

  1. Administration > Attributes and Column Sets > Alternate Structure > FastTrack Report Configuration (RpmCfg) > Show Deactivated Elements
  2. Reactivate Color Palettes
  3. Add Custom Color Palette (palette name should not include spaces and should be less than 30 characters long)
  4. Under the palette name, create entities using the color HEX code value. IMPORTANT: the order in which the colors are added will determine the order in which they are used for reports- it is recommended that a variety of distinct colors is used in the palette to ensure the readability / clarity of reports. 

 

Applying Custom Color Palettes to Reports

Note: Applying a custom color palette will only affect report charts (not table cell background colors etc. - see below for further details on how to apply specific attribute colors to alternate structure / report table columns).

To apply a custom color palette to a report: 

  1. Administration > Attributes and Column Sets > Alternate Structure > FastTrack Report Configuration (RpmCfg) > expand options for relevant report
  2. Add a global default override for the report: "color_palette=PALETTENAME"

 

  • Applying a custom color palette can help to improve the readability and clarity of a report chart. This is particularly true for those reports which display a chart but do not use alternate structures as attributes, and therefore cannot apply color charting to the attribute values.
  • Examples of this include WRK32 - Work Portfolio Financial Burndown Comparison,  STR32 - Strategic Portfolio Financial Performance, and OUT32 - Outcome Portfolio Revenue / Cost Performance which compare multiple versions of the financial plan in a clustered bar / line chart. To ensure that it is easy to distinguish between the bar / lines representing each financial plan version, it is recommended that a custom color palette (with a variety of distinct colors) is applied to the reports. 
  • Note, custom color charts cannot be used in any bubble charts (e.g. WRK01- Project Pipeline Matrix) - bubble charts will only respect the color charting of the alternate structures being displayed.

 

Applying Specific Attribute Colors - Alternate Structures
For alternate structures the default palette can be overwritten by using the attribute charting color configuration.

The example below shows how you might use this is to force specific values to show with logical colors. In Planview Enterprise 11.5 the range of colors was extended to include the corporate color palette and also to allow the entry of a specific HEX code value.

 

Attribute: Overall Status Assessment Charting Colors Assigned to Attribute Values Charting Colors Appear in Report Output
  Color Palette2.png

 

Assigning Charting Colors to an Attribute
Administration > Attributes and Column Sets > Alternate Structures Select 'Charting' against the structure you wish to assign colors Select Charting Colors
Color Palette3.png

 

Applying Specific Attribute Colors - Alternate Structures Used as Table Columns
Alternate structures displayed in table columns can be configured to display with the column background and/or text using the color defined in the Display Settings. This is done by modifying the table column configuration entry;
  • |fc (font color)
  • |bgc (background color)
These options are applicable to report such as WRK14 - Project Highlight Report (header section that lists attributes as table columns), WRK12 - Portfolio Project Health Report, and other reports where the detail table includes configurable table columns, excluding the following reports: FM31, FM32, FM33, and FM34.

For additional information refer to the Managing and Formatting Attributes topic.​​​​

 

Controlling Other Colors Used in Reports
The FastTrack Analytics utilize colors to visualize data types and conditions, Examples include: effort types (actual, allocation, reserve, requirement), and timesheet statuses (approved, overdue, disapproved, etc.).

☑ Added in RPM Analytics 2.2.

Configuration entries in the Global Defaults area of the FastTrack Configuration structure are used to control these colors. Default values are added through the installation process. For further detail on the different color controls options refer to the Global Defaults topic.