Microsoft Project Interface

Attention

• In order to use the Microsoft Project interface, you have to license the PLANTA MSP link add-on. If you have any questions, please contact your PLANTA consultant.

Information

• Using the Microsoft Project export functionality, you can make PLANTA project projects available for Microsoft Project.
• Using the Microsoft Project import functionality, you can
  • import projects from Microsoft Project to PLANTA project (initial import), or
  • import projects from Microsoft Project to PLANTA project which have already been exported from PLANTA project to Microsoft Project (reimport).
• Microsoft Project 2010, 2013, and 2016 versions are supported.
• You can only import xml files.
  • In Microsoft Project, you can convert a project to an .xml file via the Save as menu item.

Notes

• A user may only export/import if he/she has modification rights for the project.
• Only project dates can be exported/imported. You cannot export/import resources.

See also: Further Integration of PLANTA project

Export to Microsoft Project

Preparation

Procedure

• Start PLANTA project
• Define a default working week under PM Administration Master Data Calendar.
  • Only the deviations in the calendar for the defined standard work days are exported in order for the file size to be as small as possible.
• Calculate the schedule of the project which is to be exported to Microsoft Project, in the Schedule.

Execution

Procedure

• Activate the Microsoft Project module in the project panel of the required project.
• Click on the Export to Microsoft Project button.
• The export procedure starts and the information window informs about the progress of the export procedure.
  • You can display details of the export procedure via the Details arrow.
• If the export procedure is finished, a saving dialog for the generated MS Project XML file is displayed.
• Save the file in the required directory.
• Close the information window by clicking on the OK button.

Log messages

If particular settings were not made correctly, the following messages are listed in the log:

Message	Cause
Warn: The BC calendar does not cover the project period. In the missing periods, the Standard work days are therefore used.	The calendar either starts after project start or it ends before project end
Warn: Standard work days not defined for BC calendar. Please define the standard work days to reduce the export volume.	In the calendar used, standard work days (checkboxes for Mo, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun) are not activated
ERROR: An unexpected error occurred during export. ValueError("Calendar doesn't cover project + no standard workdays defined	Both conditions mentioned above are not fulfilled: The calendar does not cover the project and there are no standard values which could be used

Import the generated XML file in Microsoft Project

Procedure

• Open the generated XML file in Microsoft Project.
• When you open the file, the import assistant is opened.
  • Import As a new project.
• The import to Microsoft Project is completed and it can be edited.

Import from Microsoft Project

Information

• If the project to be imported has initially been exported from PLANTA project, a reimport is carried out (regardless of whether you have imported to the original or to another project), otherwise, an initial import is carried out.

Please note

• The import is additive, i.e., if the same project is imported twice, all tasks will exist twice as well.
• During the initial import, the data from Microsoft Project is imported directly to PLANTA project tables (DT461 Project, DT463 Task, DT465 Link).
• When reimporting, the data from Microsoft Project is imported to the comparison table (DT805 MSPITask and DT807 MSPIAOB). The PLANTA project data is not overwritten.

The meta data of the XML includes information on whether the project originally stems from PLANTA.

• If you want to import a project, which has already been exported from PLANTA, as a new project anyway (i.e. carry out an initial import), please proceed as follows:
  • Display the following three PLANTA project columns in Microsoft Project:
    • PLANTA MSPID
    • PLANTA TaskHash
    • PLANTA TaskID
  • Delete the contents from the three columns via Cut.
  • Save as an xml file.
  • Open the xml file with an editor.
  • Remove the content between

    <ExtendedAttributes>

    and

    </ExtendedAttributes>

  • Save.
  • Import to PLANTA.

Preparation

Preparation initial import

• In Microsoft Project, save the project that you want to import in PLANTA project as an .xml file.
• Create a new project in PLANTA project and open the Microsoft Project module.

Preparation reimport

• Save the project exported from PLANTA project (and imported to MSP) as an .xml file in Microsoft Project.
• Open the project that you have exported to Microsoft Project in PLANTA project and open the Microsoft Project module.

Execution

Procedure

• Select the Import from Microsoft Project button in the Microsoft Project module.
• Select the required .xml file and click on the Open button in the dialog window.
• The import procedure starts and the information window informs about the progress of the export procedure.
  • You can display details of the export procedure by clicking on the Details arrow.
• If the import is finished, close the information window via the OK button.
• Open the PLANTA project vs. Microsoft Project module:
  • If an initial import is carried out, the imported project is displayed in the left window of the module.
  • If a reimport is carried out, the imported project is displayed in the right window and the initial one in the left window of the module.

Specifics and Problems

Parameter	Specific feature
WBS code	The WBS code is not imported from Microsoft Project but it is newly generated in PLANTA project.
Project name	When importing a project from Microsoft Project to a project in PLANTA project, the name of the PLANTA project project will be overwritten with that of the Microsoft Project project.
Task duration	Tasks which have a duration of 0 days are displayed as milestones in Microsoft Project. You must take this into account when you carry out a reimport, because this way, normal tasks can unintentionally become milestones. Unlike in Microsoft Project, start and end dates set via requested dates can also be set to non-working days (weekend/holidays defined in the calendar), start and end of tasks of projects imported to Microsoft Project can be moved by this since Microsoft Project sets the frame dates to a predecessor/successor date depending on the situation.
Links to external tasks	They cannot be exported due to the local view on the project and different data models used in PLANTA project and Microsoft Project.
Time intervals for links	When you export to Microsoft Project, time intervals are created (although they do not exist in PLANTA project) or, if they are available in the source, they will be displayed incorrectly. However, this is not a bug but a result of different date calculation approaches in PLANTA project and Microsoft Project. Since a particular date constellation is not possible in Microsoft Project, the time intervals are changed during the export process, so that the dates calculated in PLANTA on task level equate to those in Microsoft Project.
Dates in the past with active today line	If the Active today line parameter is activated and the dates from Microsoft Project lie in the past, PLANTA project would move the task dates to the current (today) date. In order to prevent this, the planned dates from Microsoft Project (requested dates in PLANTA project) will be fixed with the Fix parameter during the import procedure.