Most pages in Primavera P6 feature a table that displays specific types of data. For example, you’ll find a table on the left side of the Activities, Projects, and WBS pages. These tables typically show data for the selected page, organized by column headers. The displaying columns determine what information shows within the table. On the Activities screen, you can add columns such as Start and Finish, which will show the dates for each activity in the project. On the other hand, in the Projects screen, you can add columns for Total Activities, showing how many activities are in each project.

There are a lot of adjustments that you can make within these columns. You can expand and contract them, rearrange them, and show and hide them. You can even adjust the titles of the columns. Adjusting column titles can be useful if you plan on exporting your project to a spreadsheet and have a premade spreadsheet template. For example, let’s say that I have a spreadsheet template where I refer to the baseline duration as Planned Duration. In P6, however, this column has the title of Original Duration. In order to match the columns together, I may want to adjust the Original Duration title to Planned Duration. To do this, I can adjust the displaying column titles.

In this article, we will go over how to adjust column titles in Primavera P6. The following examples are from Primavera P6 Professional 20. However, these tools are available in all versions of P6.

Editing Column Titles

To adjust a column title, select View > Columns. You can also open this window by right clicking within the table and selecting Columns.

In the Columns window, there are sections for Available Options and Selected Options. Available Options are columns that you can add to the table, organized by category. Selected Options, on the other hand, are columns currently displaying in the table. You can move a column from one section to the other by dragging and dropping it, or using the arrow tools within the window.

Select the column whose title you want to change. You can choose columns from either Available Options or Selected Options. In this case, I’ll select the Original Duration column. With the column selected, press Edit Column on the right side of the window.

In the Edit Column dialog box, you can type in a new title for the column. Here, you can choose a new width and alignment for the column, as well.

In this example, I’ll select the New Title field and type in Planned Duration.

Then, press OK to close out of the Edit Column box, and Apply to apply the changes to the activity screen.

The column will automatically display the new title in the table.

It’s important to note that changing the column’s title does not change what data displays in it. The column will always display the same information – this only adjusts how it displays in the table.

Restoring Columns Titles Back to Default

Any changes made to the column titles will apply to the layout you’re using. If you’re using a Global or a Personal layout, these titles will display this way in any project you open. However, these column titles will revert back to default when you switch layouts.

If you want to restore the default column title without switching your layout, select View > Columns. Select the column whose title you adjusted and once again select Edit Column. Here, select Default. The column title will revert to its default display.

Summary

You can make a variety of adjustments to Primavera P6 columns. For example, you can choose which columns display, change the arrangement of the columns, and adjust their widths. If you need to customize your columns further, you can even adjust the column titles. Adjusting a column’s title will change just the text within the column – it will not affect the data that the column displays. To adjust a column title, select View > Columns and use the Edit Column button. Changes made to a column’s title can be saved to the layout you’re using, allowing you to use it with other projects as well.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please use the comment section on the bottom of this page. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get more Primavera P6 tips & tricks directly in your inbox!

Lauren Hecker is the instructor for the Primavera P6 Professionals training courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!