Export to Microsoft Project - Instructions
This page will assist you in exporting a snapshot of your earned
value plan to Microsoft Project. Follow the steps below:
- Earned value data is exported to a Microsoft Project
CSV file. The download of this file may start automatically; if it does
not, click here. Save this file onto your
computer.
- In Microsoft Project, create a new, empty project.
Choose "Project
Project
Information..." In the dialog that appears, change the
"Schedule from" field to "Project Finish Date" and
click OK.
- In Microsoft Project, choose "File
Open" and select the file you
saved in the first step. You may have to change the "Files of
type" selector in order to see the CSV file. Click the Open
button.
- An "Import Wizard" will appear. When the
wizard asks whether you would like to create a new map or use an
existing map, choose the "New Map" option.
- On the next screen of the wizard, select the option to
"Append the data to the active project."
- Click Next through the remaining screens,
accepting all the suggested default values:
- Import Task data
- The import does include headers
- The text delimiter is the comma (",")
- On the "Map tasks data" page, the
wizard should automatically determine the data fields to use;
nothing needs to be changed
- On the final screen, click the Finish button.
(Optional: Before clicking the Finish button, you can save the map
you just defined for future use. Keep in mind, however, that future
releases of the dashboard may export additional data fields. When you
upgrade the dashboard in the future, it is advisable to recreate a new
map, as described on this page.)
- You may see a warning that task start dates precede
the start date of the project, or that task end dates fall after the
finish date of the project. These warnings are harmless and can be
ignored.
- A new project will be created and populated with the
current data from your earned value plan. If you wish, you can save
this project for future use. Keep in mind that this is only a
snapshot of your earned value project. The data in this snapshot will
not be refreshed when you make progress in the future. Also, changes
made in this Microsoft Project file will not be reflected in the
dashboard.
The XML file format was introduced in Microsoft Project 2003. If
you are using MS Project 2003 or later, you are encouraged to use the
newer XML format instead.