MS Project and Primavera P6 import and export
Bring a schedule in from Microsoft Project (XML) or Primavera P6 (XER) with its outline, dates, progress and links. Send your work plan back out as a Microsoft Project file.
PLANSScale only
Why it matters
On engineering and implementation work, the schedule often arrives from the client as a Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project file. Progress has to go back in the same form. Retyping a 300-line programme takes days and breaks the links. So the plan stays in the scheduler's file, and the team works from a printout. Most project tools take only a spreadsheet, and the outline and dependencies are lost on the way. SmartMy Projects reads both file types directly and keeps the work breakdown and all four link types with their lags. It writes a file Microsoft Project opens.
The problem it solves
- The client's planner sends a P6 programme and someone retypes it, line by line, into the project tool.
- The dependencies are lost on the way, so moving one activity moves nothing else.
- Progress has to go back to the client in their scheduling tool, so the same plan 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 project in SmartMy Projects, press Import Schedule and choose the file.
- Choose Replace the Project's Activities (on to start with) or turn it off to add the file next 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. The project's history records how many came in, and the Gantt opens.
- Keep working in SmartMy Projects: schedule, set a baseline, record actual dates and % done.
- When the client wants the plan back, 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 tasks 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 that point to an activity not in the file, or that appear twice, are left out and counted in the project's history
- Not brought in: 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 are kept as they are; on runs Schedule with your working days
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 so do Primavera P6 and most planning tools that read MS Project XML
- There is no XER export
Who can do it
- Import and export are for managers with the Projects Manager role
- Everyone on the project sees the imported plan in the Work Plan tab and on the Gantt
Who uses it
Planner or Projects ManagerImports the client's programme, chooses replace or add, and exports the plan back when asked.
Project managerWorks from the imported plan: records progress and actual dates, and reads the Gantt.
Client or main contractorSends the programme as MS Project or P6, and receives progress back as an MS Project file.
Where you use it
- Web: Import Schedule and Export to MS Project at the top of the project form
- The imported plan: the project's Work Plan tab, Projects > Work > Tasks and Plans > Work Plan and Gantt
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 and use File > Save As > XML, then 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 resources and costs brought in?
No. The outline, activities, dates, progress and links come in. People, costs and calendars are set in SmartMy Projects.Can I send the plan back to Primavera P6?
Export writes Microsoft Project XML, which P6 can import. There is no XER export.Has it been tried with real schedules?
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, with the work plan and the Gantt.Related features
PLANNINGWork plan and Gantt with the critical pathPlan a project as linked activities with durations in working days. Schedule works out the dates, the float and the critical path. Set a baseline and see every slip against it on the Gantt.MONEYSubcontract work orders with certified measured workGive work to freelancers and subcontractors on a work order with item lines and rates. Work done is measured and certified by a Projects Manager. Running bills work out retention, advance recovery, back-charges and withholding tax.PROJECTSKey events with readiness checksKick-offs, steering reviews and go-lives run as key events. Each has readiness checks counted back from the day and invitations the client answers from a link. Reminders, follow-ups and the report come by themselves.PROJECTSStages you leave only when the checks passEvery project moves through your stages, such as Planning, Execution and Closure. It leaves a stage only when its checks pass: tasks done, time approved, the payment received. Passing a check anyway takes an approval, with the reason on record.PROJECTSClient projects with team, value and healthEvery project holds its client (or marks it internal), Entity, currency, value, dates and the team with their roles and dates. The project manager sets its health, On Track, At Risk or Off Track, with one line on why.
See your next project on it.
Tell us how many people keep time, how you bill your clients today (hours, fixed price, retainers) and what you use now. We will set up one of your real projects with you.