During MS Project import or export, note the following items:
- General
The internal mapping should not be changed. You cannot mark tasks as NA in MSP, but you can delete NA tasks in MS Project.
You cannot change the currency in MS Project.
If you change the mode from External to Internal in EnterpriseTrack, you can lose the data entered in the External mode for efforts/durations/cost.
- MS Project Version
For the MS Project file to be opened by other users, you must save the file in the lowest compatible version of MS Project.
- Summary Tasks
EnterpriseTrack allows dates of summary tasks to be editable and does not calculate them from its child tasks. However, MS Project calculates summary task dates, which are read-only, from its child tasks. Therefore, MS Project always overrides the summary task dates provided by ET.
If child dates are not set, they are defaulted to the project start date, the duration is set to 1, and the end date is set to the same date as the start date. This rolls into summary task/phase as 1 day overriding any dates of summary tasks.
- Dates
An error is displayed if the start date is modified in MS Project. You can only modify the project finish date in MS Project.
After exporting to MS Project, you cannot have the start date of a child task be earlier than the start date of the parent task.
- Activities
You cannot close the last top level activity in the MS Project. Use the close project/complete project to close or complete the project
If you add new tasks in MS Project, EnterpriseTrack picks up the first available activity type and first sub type for those tasks that allow hierarchy during import to EnterpriseTrack from the set of available activity types at top level, or set of available activity type at other level depending on where the new task is getting added.
- Resources
You cannot create new resources of type Work in MS Project. You can only use existing team members, or create material and cost resources.
When importing to EnterpriseTrack, the first name and last name of the resource are not imported.
When a resource is changed, additional information associated with that resource is not retained in EnterpriseTrack.
- Effort
Planned overtime effort on a weekly basis is a read-only value in the MS Project and cannot be set. If PET is resource detailed data, then the planned overtime effort at the owner level is set directly. This might change the planned overtime distribution.
For activities with AET set to timesheet or finances, the actual effort/cost is ignored when importing data back to EnterpriseTrack from MS Project
If in EnterpriseTrack the Efforts cost mode is set to Internal, then the costs (planned and actual) will always be a multiplication of the corresponding effort in EnterpriseTrack. Any value edited in MS Project is lost when importing back to EnterpriseTrack.
If in EnterpriseTrack the Efforts cost mode is set to External, then the costs (planned and actual) will always be taken from MS Project. Any value present in EnterpriseTrack will be lost, only MS Project values are preserved.
If you change the PET or AET, you could lose data when the system recalculates the data based on the new PET/AET type.
If an activity has AET as timesheet, when a timesheet gets approved the efforts are updated in the activity_resources and the activity_finances tables. In case the fintrack date and activity dates do not overlap completely, there could be mismatch between activity_resources and activity_finances.
Finance elements of type Timesheet Standard Effort or Timesheet Overtime Effort are never editable from the resource finances, they are editable in project finances if resource computation enabled flag is off
- Permissions
Import MS Project permission overrides all other permissions.
- Rates
MS Project does not give overtime cost in detailed mode and also does not allow it to be set. So the value going from EnterpriseTrack can change based on MS Project's calculations.
MS Project does not allow setting overtime cost fields, so the value from EnterpriseTrack can change if MS Project changes the overtime cost.
For resource type Work, the standard and overtime rates are ignored when reading data from MS Project.
Changes made to the standard/resource calendar in MS Project are ignored during export to EnterpriseTrack.
- Inter-Dependencies
Inter project dependencies are not exported.