Have you been struggling to get resources assigned to tasks in Microsoft Project 2007 or 2010? Are you constantly over allocating resources and then beating your head against the wall as you attempt to resolve those over allocations?
Although there are many different ways to assign resources, my favorite is to use the Assign Resource Dialog box for two main reasons. First, you can easily assign multiple resources to multiples tasks at one time and second, you can search for resources based on their availability before you assign them. Follow the steps below to learn how:
1. In the Gantt Chart view, navigate to the Resource Ribbon and select Assign Resources.
2. Simply click on the task(s) you want to assign to and then select the resource name(s) in the dialog box. Once they are both highlighted, click Assign.
3. If a task has a duration estimate, you can search for a resource based on his/her availability. Highlight the task you need to assign someone to and then click +Resource List Options.
4. In the Resource List Options, check Available to work and then enter the number of hours (or person days) you need from someone over the specified task duration. As soon as I enter 1d, you can see the list of resources is reduced because Cindy, Student01 and Student02 are not available. They are already assigned to tasks during this time period.
5. What I like most about this feature is that it doesn’t just look at the resource assignments in this one project. It will look at all assignments for the resources across all the projects in the enterprise. Note: This is only true if you chose to Load Summary Resource Assignments when initially launching Project Professional. To learn more about Loading Summary Resource Assignments, click here.
So there you have it. Use the Assign Resources Dialog Box to quickly and easily assign one or more resources to one or more tasks at a time and don’t forget to check for availability while you’re at it.
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Happy Scheduling! 
