MS Project and Primavera P6 import and export
Bring the programme in from Microsoft Project (XML) or Primavera P6 (XER) with its work breakdown, dates, progress and links. Keep it up to date from the site, and send it back to the client or main contractor as a Microsoft Project file.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The client's planner sends a P6 programme, and someone retypes 300 activities by hand into the site system.
- The links are lost on the way, so a slipped slab moves nothing after it.
- Progress goes back to the client in their scheduling tool, so the same programme is kept twice and drifts apart.
- Spreadsheet imports flatten the work breakdown into one long list.
How it works
- In Microsoft Project, save the plan with File > Save As > XML. From Primavera P6, export the project as XER.
- On the Construction project, a Construction Manager presses Import Schedule and chooses the file.
- Choose Replace the Project's Activities (on to start with), or turn it off to add the file to what is there. Set Hours in a Working Day (8 to start with) and whether to Work Out the Dates After.
- Press Import. Summary tasks and WBS nodes become summary activities, tasks become activities, and the links come with their type and lag. Each one becomes a schedule activity of the project, and the Gantt opens.
- Add places and the people responsible, set the baseline, and let the daily site report move progress and actual dates on.
- When the client wants an update, press Export to MS Project. The XML file downloads and a copy stays on the project.
Everything it does
Files it reads
- Microsoft Project XML (MSPDI), made with File > Save As > XML
- Primavera P6 XER export
- The file type is recognised from its content; the file name only breaks a tie
- Not read: native .mpp files, MPX, P6 XML, Excel or CSV; save them as XML or XER first
What comes in
- The outline: summary tasks (MS Project) or WBS nodes (P6) become summary activities, with activities under them
- For each activity: the WBS or activity code, name, duration, planned start and finish, actual start and finish, % done
- P6: % done is the physical % complete, or 100 when the activity is complete
- Links: Finish to Start, Start to Start, Finish to Finish and Start to Finish, with their lag
- Durations and lags in hours become days by Hours in a Working Day; durations round up, lags to the nearest day
- Links to an activity not in the file, or given twice, are left out and counted in the project's history
- Not brought in: places, resources and assignments, costs, calendars, constraints, notes and the file's own baselines
Import options
- Replace the Project's Activities: on to start with; off adds the file to the activities already there
- Hours in a Working Day: 8 to start with
- Work Out the Dates After: off to start with, so the file's dates stay as they are. On, it runs Schedule with the project's Weekly Off and Site Holidays
What goes out
- Export to MS Project writes Microsoft Project XML. It has every activity in outline order, summaries, codes, dates, durations, % done, actual dates and links with type and lag
- Activities of zero days go out as milestones
- Days are written as 8-hour days, five days a week
- The file downloads and is kept as an attachment of the project
- Microsoft Project opens it, and Primavera P6 can import it
- There is no XER export
Who can do it
- Import Schedule and Export to MS Project are for Construction Managers
- Everyone on the project sees the imported activities in the schedule, the look-ahead and the Gantt
Who uses it
Planning engineer or Construction ManagerImports the client's programme, chooses replace or add, and exports updates back.
Site engineerWorks from the imported programme through the look-ahead and reports progress in the daily report.
Client, consultant or main contractorSends the programme as MS Project or P6 and gets progress back as an MS Project file.
Where you use it
- Web: Import Schedule and Export to MS Project at the top of the Construction project form
- The imported programme: Construction > Projects > Planning > Schedule > Schedule and Gantt, and Site Work > Look-ahead
- Not in the app and not on the portal
What you control
Settings
- Per import: Replace the Project's Activities (on), Hours in a Working Day (8), Work Out the Dates After (off)
Questions
Can I import an .mpp file directly?
No. Open it in Microsoft Project, use File > Save As > XML, and import the XML. Native .mpp files are not read.Which P6 files work?
XER exports. P6 XML is not read; export the project as XER instead.Are places brought in from the WBS?
No. The WBS becomes summary activities. Set the place (tower, floor, flat) on the activities after the import if you want the place on the schedule and the daily report.Can I send progress back to Primavera P6?
Export writes Microsoft Project XML, which P6 can import. There is no XER export.Has it been tried with real programmes?
It has been tried on sample Microsoft Project and P6 files and on its own exports read back in. It has not yet run on a customer's file, so we go through your first import with you.Which plan has it?
Scale. The schedule, critical path, baseline, Gantt and look-ahead themselves are in Growth.Related features
PLANT, SCHEDULE, QUALITY, SAFETYSchedule, critical path, Gantt and look-aheadPlan the building as linked activities by place, with durations in working days. Schedule works out the dates, the float and the critical path, and a baseline shows every slip. The daily site report moves progress on, and the look-ahead shows the next three weeks.SITEDaily site report with auto-submitThe site enters the day once: work done by place, labour, material, plant, weather, issues and photos. A report still in draft at the project's cut-off is submitted by itself, so the company and client updates go out on time.PROJECTS AND SET-UPKey events: slab casting, handoverBhoomi pooja, foundation pour, slab casting, topping out and handover run as key events. Each has readiness checks counted back from the day, bookings for ready-mix and pump, and invitations the client answers from a link. Curing and cube results follow by themselves.MONEYWork orders and subcontractor billsA work order to each subcontractor with items, rates and terms, approved before work starts. Running bills come from certified measurements. They take off retention, advance, back-charges and TDS, and become the vendor bill.PROJECTS AND SET-UPDashboards: Site, Projects, QualityReady dashboards open first in Construction: Site for every site engineer, Projects and Quality for managers, and Sales for the sales team. Every number counts only what the viewer may open, and a click shows the records behind it.
See your next site report on it.
Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.