Microsoft Project is a tool used by enterprises and project managers to plan projects. Sometimes these files need to be shared with your co-workers. But you cannot expect everyone to have Project installed, right?
Guess what everyone already has in your organization? It’s Microsoft SharePoint. So, whoever needs these files can access them from your SharePoint site.
SharePoint’s features just do not cease to amaze us, right?
So, let’s jump right in and see how it is done.
There are some prerequisites when bringing your Microsoft Project data into SharePoint. You must sync it to an empty list on a SharePoint server. If there are existing data present, you will face an error due to differences in the type of data present.
This does not mean you need to create a new SharePoint site. If you have an existing site present, this should work too.
Next, you must log in to the same Microsoft account in Microsoft Project. Then it will use the same account to locate your SharePoint site and sync the data there.
Finally, you should aim to sync the project files after you have made the final major changes. This means you will save it to SharePoint and delete the main files on Microsoft Project. Because once you add some stuff to the main file, SharePoint may not understand that and just duplicate it again during the sync process. You surely do not want anything like that.
Once you have ensured these, follow the steps listed below.
These steps will sync Microsoft Project into your SharePoint site:
- Open Microsoft SharePoint and click on the site where you want to save the data. All the sites that you access are linked to the SharePoint homepage.
- Click on New and select List.
- Click Blank List.
- Give the list a name and some description.
- When done, click Create.
Our work on SharePoint is done. Now we need to link this SharePoint list with the Microsoft Project file.
- Open the file you want to sync in Microsoft Project.
- Click on File.
- Navigate to Save As > Sync with SharePoint.
- Under Sync with, select Existing SharePoint Site.
- Copy your SharePoint site URL and paste it under Site Address. The URL should be something like this: sharepointname.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename.
- Click the Verify Microsoft Project can prompt you to log in to your account. Provide the email and password and press the Ok button.
- Under Task List, select the list you just created on SharePoint.
- Finally, click the Save button.
This process can take some time, depending on how much data you save to the cloud.
Let’s move on to SharePoint now. The Project data should be present there.
Now let’s go through what happens if you make some changes to the file on Microsoft Project. Well technically, it should sync the changes, but instead, you will get the duplicated data uploaded on SharePoint.
This is because SharePoint treats the data as a simple list. So, if you add formulas or dependencies to a task, the changes are not reflected in the cloud. It just acts as a simple table or container to hold the data.
[Important] You really should perform the sync when you are done working with the files and share it with your boss or team members.
Microsoft provides some known issues that can happen when you cannot sync your Project data to SharePoint. I have described this below, which should help you if you face an error.
If your project has lots of tasks (exceeding 1000), SharePoint can have trouble syncing them all. In that case, breaking the large file into smaller files and then syncing them is a better idea. For example, create separate plans and files for different departments. This clears up your site too.
Sometimes SharePoint lists require a mandatory field to be present. This is usually the very first field that is automatically created. If the field is missing, try adding the same field, and now the data should sync.
As mentioned earlier, SharePoint list does not like formulas. In that case, remove the formulas from the Project file and then try to sync.
Summary tasks containing certain characters /:*?<>| do seem to introduce errors during Sync with SharePoint. Try removing them or renaming the folder, which is supported in SharePoint.
If you have mentioned people in your Project files, they must have an account on your Office 365 account. When SharePoint does not find these, it can throw out errors during the syncing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Microsoft Project be used on SharePoint?
Yes, you can use a SharePoint list to save a Microsoft project file. That way, anything you update there will be reflected in the Microsoft project file.
How do I open a Microsoft project file on SharePoint?
Once inside the Project file, navigate to File > Save As > Sync to SharePoint. Here choose between a new site or an existing one, providing your SharePoint site address. After this, the file will be saved on the SharePoint site as a list.
Closing Words
SharePoint, as its name implies, makes file sharing among your colleagues effortless. That is no different when you bring your Microsoft Project files too.
I hope this article provides you with some valuable knowledge on SharePoint.
See you in some other guide in the future.
