issues with Microsoft Project

Hello Andy and Tom,

I suggest that you change the default scheduling option to "Auto Scheduled" in the "Options" screen, "Schedule" tab; this way, you will not have to change it for each new project at the bottom of the screen.

I fully agree with Tom, the "Manually Scheduled" option is stupid, for two reasons: a) it is the default option when you have just installed the software, b) it is so useless and bizarre that Microsoft did not explain why it was implemented before twelve months after MS Project 2010 was on the market. Only MS Project possess such an option.

Good luck, Alexandre

Hi Andy,

Welcome to PP!  I don't have MSP 2016, but the questions you raise seem typical for previous versions; I'll give it a shot, presuming you are not a long-time user of MSP suddenly encountering unexpected behavior in the 2016 version.

1. Unlike recent versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Project does not allow multiple sessions of the program to be opened at the same time.  You can arrange multiple windows within an overall "Microsoft Project" window, but they can't go off on their own like in the rest of Office.  You may save and close one project file while leaving others open - but if you click the red x you are indeed closing the whole application/session.  (Each file has its own "x" to close, but it doesn't turn red.)
2. MSP is notoriously tricky about appearances and formatting - such things are not its strong point.  I can't diagnose the problems you are having, but I would suggest that print-preview is the only way to guess what the finished print will look like.  Formatting is typically the result of applying many styles and then adding exceptions to those styles - with exceptions to exceptions piling up.  Any time you try to affect the appearance of the table or a bar, you may be applying an exception with unintended consequences....  
3. It looks like you are another victim of the ugly "Manually Scheduled" task mode.  I would suggest you ensure that all tasks are set to "Auto Schedule" such that their start and finish dates are driven by logic and durations.  Also ensure that all new tasks are set to "Auto Scheduled."  The default setting (typically shown at the bottom of the lower pane) is "Manually Scheduled," and you'll need to change this whenever creating a new project.  If you insist on using "Manually Scheduled" tasks anyway, then you can automate your current process by selecting all the tasks and then clicking the "Respect Links" button on the Schedule group of the Task ribbon.  This is not the way professional planners use MSP, however.  If you persist then I may have to withdraw the "Welcome to PP" above.

Good luck, tom