Formula : [Costs incurred]=(TotalResourceCost*Progress)+(GeneralCost*[ToDo]) From Calculation Webina

ablq892 shared this question 20 months ago
Answered

I am looking at the MindMap from the Webinar and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxhyaMHeuEM time aprox time= 26 min. It seem to imply that [ToDo] is the number of tags with labe ToDo but when I break it down a little further it seems that [ToDo] is zero or does not exit.

[ToDo1]=COUNT([ToDo])

What I trying to do is use the formula to get something similar ie Count the Priority 1 , Count the numbero of [ToDo] tags. Is this possible.


Replies (2)

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Great question Ablq892,

Note: I've attached the map I've used for my explanation. The map also calculates the number of Priority 1.

Explanation:
In MindManager, calculations are created from property values; we need to generate a property value from, e.g., a tag or specific progress.

Step one is to create the hidden property we will use in our formula:
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The ToDo, Doing, and Done properties created in the above image and that are being used in the MtE video you refer to
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- gets their value (1) from a SmartRule set up to insert property ToDo with a value of 1 IF a task contains progress of 0%:
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Important: With the risk of repeating myself, to use a property in a SmartRule, the property must exist in the map before setting up the SmartRule.

It is wise to create such a property in a topic called "data container," making it clear that the topic should not be deleted as it is set to be hidden. When possible, I usually create them in the Central topic, as Central topics can not be deleted.

Note: If a "data container-topic" containing a hidden property should be deleted by mistake, the SmartRules will still work and insert the property and property value, BUT the property will not be hidden.
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Please let me know should you have any other questions.

Best
Joel Averheim @ MindManager


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Thank you for a very clear and detailed explanation.

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Hi Joel,

Thanks for the detailed explanation - I forgot to mention in my response that you could use task progress as a trigger both for the Kanban tag and the corresponding topic property.

However, I don’t think this is the first time that a MindManager video has used a Kanban property in a formula without fully explaining how the property was created. In this case it was even more confusing because the property name was “[ToDo]” which made it look like all you had to do was type in the Kanban tag name.

It might be an idea in future to include in these videos a brief explanation of how the Kanban topic properties were derived.

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I can't speak for all webinars but feel free to point me toward those videos when you come across them, and I'll see what I can do. What I can say is that participants of the Meet the Expert (MtE) webinars always get the material after each webinar; each example contains a detailed explanation of how the maps were created. They are also provided other examples not shown in the webinars with similar examples (also containing detailed descriptions of how the map was built). We even share all past MtE webinars in our follow-up. https://share.mindmanager.com/#publish/dZA7SdgFKgY6vNazQX0h0cZzq8RNa7go0WYqp0FO
Borderline perfect if you ask me. ;)

To bring some additional value to this post, here are some nice to have info frequently shared in the MtE follow-up:
Formula knowledge dashboard: https://share.mindmanager.com/#publish/HAL3KzjUTzMGE4mEasnWG5OD5CzZoX4a9JrY3WlZ
Our Knowledge base: https://share.mindmanager.com/#publish/vBSqE4HJFRMfsxb-FfGRWOdfzEWEIkDiUeezGEEu
My favorite showcase maps: https://share.mindmanager.com/#publish/HYUCGMj2wjx0yBwKmMxiPhlzBqQ4AKtT3y6U5Egq
Some brand new Use case video for new(er) users: https://share.mindmanager.com/#publish/pEB9u3HrT5L2fj6zhcpR5-KWJQpg_noMY_TZibHM

We also need to remember that we categorize our online events differently:
Online Training (not webinars) where content is shared before the training, and participants use their maps simultaneously as the trainer.
Meet the Experts is a hybrid; we do not provide the material in advance, but afterward, together with the recording allowing participants and no-shows to watch and study the material.
Webinars, inspirational, for showcasing possibilities with MindManager. Features and functions are (usually) not explained in detail; we refer users to MtE for more in-depth explanations or to contact us for training.
Webinars with External Peakers, where they show fantastic use cases.

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Thanks Joel, these are great resources. I only raised the tag/topic property issue because it is easy for people to confuse.

I think the formula knowledge dashboard was first released around the same time as I stumbled across MindManager's formula features in early March 2021. I wrote a two-part series on using formulas with some practical examples for my blog at the time:

https://sociamind.com/2021/03/28/logic-time-and-money-some-mindmanager-formula-surprises-part-1/

https://sociamind.com/2021/03/28/logic-time-and-money-more-mindmanager-formula-surprises-part-2/

The current version looks great, except for one problem. When I click on a topic link in the map it takes to the relevant topic, but then MindManager suddenly shuts down. I don't have this problem with internal map links in maps which I've created and the HTML5 version of the formula knowledge dashboard map seems to work OK. What could be causing this?

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I had a look at that video which is interesting but very dense. They skimmed over a few things like for example the creation of the Kanban board. And as you say the video seems to imply that formulas can recognise Kanban tags directly, when as far as I know they aren't numeric task attributes and therefore aren't recognised in formulas.

What you need to do is write three SmartRules which use the tags as triggers to create task property values, one for each Kanban status. First, create the three task properties - ToDo, Doing and Done - and copy them to all the tasks you want to include. Then create the three SmartRules, which should look like this:

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- repeat for Doing and Done (the value is always 1).

You can now use the topic properties derived from the Kanban tags in formulas, I've attached a simple map as an example. You can also follow the detailed discussion on this approach in my response to similar question a year to two back: https://community.mindmanager.com/topic/332-how-do-i-use-kaban-tags-in-formulas

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