From time to time I’m asked about loading spread curves into Deltek Cobra from outside sources. There isn’t much documentation about this topic other than a few mentions of the basics. Otherwise the Deltek Cobra online help system is very comprehensive.
The help system did say a few things that helped me get started. Particularly with the latest capabilities available with Deltek Cobra 8. Though I should also say you can do this with the single file version of Cobra 5.+ too.
“The curve name entered in the resource file must match the curve name on the Spread Curves tab of the Application Preferences dialog box.”
“Select this check box to specify a spread curve in the resource assignment file by entering the spread curve in the resource assignment file.”
“Note: This option applies only if the Spread resource across activity dates check box is selected.”
“Curve – This value is only available when you are importing data from a single file. If the Curve column is not selected, the values are spread using the linear curve.”
So with that information, I’ve been able to actually load resource curves using the following method.
I created a basic data file for loading project data into Cobra using a single file Integration Wizard load method. The file looked like the following:
As you can see, it was simply a case of adding a column named ‘Curve’ to the end of my data file. You then using the exact same name as the spread curve as listed in the Cobra Curves list. This is under the Add Work Package dialog and the Application Preferences dialog.
Don’t forget that Deltek Cobra allows you to create your own custom spread curves in the preferences dialog too. So, you would simply use your custom name in the ‘Curve’ column of the project data spreadsheet in order to access these too.
Summary
So there you have it. The ability to load spread curves from outside systems, or at least via the spreadsheet file load process. In short, if you have a column headers of “Curve” and you use identical names to the Deltek Cobra spread curves in that column, you can load standard or customized spread curves via this mechanism.
Click on this link to download the sample spreadsheet used in this article. You may find it useful as a template.