This window has 3 parts: The title bar, the Project Selection area (step 1) and the Project Information area (step 2).

• The title bar tells you where you are in AceProject. At the end of the title bar you will find the link to the contextual help. 
• The Project Selection area (step 1) lets you choose whether to create a blank project or to borrow an existing project's structure by copying a project template.
  • The Create a blank project option lets you create brand new project. This option should be used if you need to "start from scratch".
    • The "Create Default Values" checkbox lets you define default task groups, task types, task statuses and task priorities for your blank project. 
  • The Copy a project from this template option lets you "borrow" configuration parameters from an existing project template. This option is useful to avoid user re-assignment and project structure creation. Simply select the project template from the drop-down list. Note that when a project template is copied, the "Contact", "Dependencies", "Settings" and "Default Values" information is carried over automatically into the new project.
    • The Copy project documents option lets you copy all documents that are associated with the project itself. All locked documents in the original project will be unlocked in the new project. This option does not let you include files attachments, which are associated with tasks.
    • The Copy tasks option lets you copy all tasks that belong to the project template.
      • The Copy file attachments option lets you copy all files that are associated with tasks in the project template to the new project.
      • The Adjust task dates based on project start date option lets you keep the same time interval between the project's start date and the tasks' dates. For example, if a task starts 6 weeks after the beginning of the project template, the dates of the new project's tasks will be adjusted to start 6 weeks after the new project's start date. This helps you to keep your time-based structures intact. A project template must have a start date if you wish the task dates to be adjusted accordingly.
• The Project Information area (step 2) displays basic information about your project.
  • The information is organized in 5 groups: General, Contact, Task Dependencies, Settings, and Default Values.
    • Fields in bold with an asterisk* are mandatory.
  • The "General" group contains information about the project itself.
    • The project's name and number must be unique. Two projects cannot have the same number or the same name.
    • A project's number can be alpha-numeric (letters and numbers). 
  • The "Dates" group lets you enter a start date and a due-date for your project. You can enter a date manually in the field or reach a date from the calendar, by clicking the icon next to the date fields.
  • The "Contact" group contains the name and contact information of the person who is in charge of the project.
  • The "Task Dependencies" group is used to decide whether weekends will be included in the business days calculation or not, when task dates are adjusted. By default, task dates are adjusted excluding weekends (Monday to Friday).
    • For example, if the end date of a predecessor task is moved one day later, its successors' start and end dates will be adjusted accordingly. This means that a task that ends on a Friday will be adjusted differently depending on the selected option. If weekends are excluded, its end date will be moved to Monday. If weekends are included, its end date will be moved to Saturday.
                                              M  T  W  T  F  S  S  M  T  W  T  F  S  S 
      Weekends included                             X--X   
      Weekends excluded                            X-------X
  • The "Settings" group contains detailed project information.
    • The "Project Type" drop-down lets you associate your project with a specific type.
    • The "Client Name" drop-down lets you associate a client to the actual project. Click the icon next to the drop-down list to display the client's contact information.
    • The "Priority" drop-down lets you define a priority for your project.
    • The "Next Task Number" field is used to define a number for the next task that will be created for the actual project. 
    • The date fields let you enter a start date and a due-date for your project. You can enter a date manually in the field or reach a date from the calendar, by clicking the icon next to the date fields.
    • The "Project Template" box lets you mark this project as a template. The actual project's structure (assigned users, groups, types, statuses and priorities) and tasks will be available for copy into a new project afterwards.   
    • The "Parent Project Name" field lets you know the name of the parent project you are copying the project from. You can link the child project you are creating with its parent by checking the corresponding box. Linking a child project to its parent ensures that the child project's structure will always be identical to its parent's. Note that this option is available when a project template is copied only.
    • The "Task History Enabled" box lets you keep the history of all changes made to all tasks within the actual project.
  • The "Progress" group is used to provide users with the progress information related to the actual project.
    • The "Status" drop-down lets you associate a status with the actual project. For example, a project can be "To Do", "In Progress" or "Completed".
    • The "% Done" field lets you know the average percentage of completion of all tasks that belong to the actual project.
    • The "Actual Hours" field lets you know the total number of hours that have been entered by users who are assigned to the actual project, through the time sheet module. Actual hours correspond to the number of hours filled in the time sheets for all tasks in that project. This only includes time sheet items with in progress, submitted and approved status. Rejected time is not included in the computation.
    • The "Actual % Done" field lets you know the quotient of actual hours divided by estimated hours.
  • The "Default Values" group is used to set date and time defaults for that specific project. You can set the default task start and due dates as well as the default estimated hours for a task.
• Click the "Save" button to save your project information or click the down arrow to expand a drop-down list that will let you perform the following actions:
  • "Save + Assign Users" lets you save your project information and reach the "Assigned Users" tab.
  • "Save + View Task Groups" lets you save your project information and reach the "Task Groups" tab.
  • "Save + View Task Types" lets you save your project information and reach the "Task Types" tab.
  • "Save + View Task Statuses" lets you save your project information and reach the "Task Statuses" tab.
  • "Save + View Task Priorities" lets you save your project information and reach the "Task Priorities" tab.
• Click the "Back to Projects" button to return to the "All Projects" page.

How do I copy a project's structure and tasks?
A project's structure can be copied to another project upon the creation of a new project only. A project's structure and tasks cannot be copied to an existing project. To copy a project's structure and tasks, it must be configured as a template. To configure a project as a template, open the project's parameters and check the "Project Template" box in the "Settings" group. Then, to copy this project template to a new project, click the "Add a project" link in the" My Assigned Projects" page. You will be redirected to the "New Project Information" page. Fill in the mandatory fields, then select the project to copy from in the project template drop-down list. Note that when a project template is copied, the "Contact", "Dependencies", "Settings" and "Default Values" information is carried over automatically into the new project. Your project must be marked as a template to be available for copy.

What is the next task's number?
Task numbers are generated automatically by AceProject, using the next task number provided in the Edit Project Information page. You can change this generated task number when creating a new task. To change the number of the next task to be created, simply type in the number in the "Next Task Number" field and save your changes.  

How do I assign a user to a project?
To assign a user to a project (including yourself), click the "Assigned Users" tab. Then, click the "Assign a New User" link to select user(s) to assign to this project, then grant the proper access rights. A user must be configured in your AceProject account in order to be assignable to a project. To create users, click the "All Users" link on the left panel.

What is a project template?
A project template is useful if you would like to reuse a project's structure (groups, types, statuses and priorities) as well as tasks in a new project, To make a project's structure available to be copied, make sure you check the Project Template checkbox at the bottom of the table under the Project number tab.  

A project template can become a parent, and therefore, be linked with child project(s). As a result, changes made to the parent project's structure (task groups, task types, task statuses and task priorities) will also be applied to all its child projects, in order to preserve structure integrity.