Exporting a Fluid Schedule to Microsoft Project (MPP Export)

Fluid lets you download any project schedule as a Microsoft Project file (MPP). You can build and manage your plan in Fluid - tasks, milestones, phases, dependencies, assignments, progress and calendars - and export it whenever you need to review it, share it, or continue working on it in Microsoft Project. No local installation of Microsoft Project is needed to create the file.

In this article, you will learn:

✔ What the MPP Export feature is and when to use it

✔ Where to find the export option and how to export a schedule step by step

✔ Which schedule information is carried into the MPP file, and what is not

✔ How the exported schedule appears when it is opened in Microsoft Project

✔ The permissions, prerequisites and limitations you should know about

MPP Export creates a Microsoft Project file (.mpp) from the schedule of a Fluid project. The file contains the schedule exactly as it is configured in Fluid at the moment you export it, so when you open it in Microsoft Project you see the same tasks, hierarchy, dates, durations, dependencies, progress, resources and working calendars.

Typical reasons to export a schedule:

• A stakeholder, contractor or PMO team works in Microsoft Project and wants to review the plan there.

• You want to use Microsoft Project features such as detailed critical path analysis or printed Gantt layouts.

• You need a point-in-time copy of the plan in a standard file format for archiving or contractual reporting.

• You want to make a batch of changes in Microsoft Project and then bring them back into Fluid using MS Project Upload.

Important: MPP Export is a one-time file export. Fluid does not keep the file in sync with Microsoft Project. Changes you make in Fluid after exporting are not reflected in the file, and changes you make in Microsoft Project do not flow back into Fluid unless you upload the edited file again. See One-time export, not a live sync below.

Check the following before you export:

The export lives in the Gantt view of the project schedule, in the same dialog as MS Project Upload:

1. Open the Project Workspace of the project you want to export.

2. Scroll to the Schedule section (or select Schedule in the left navigation) and click Edit in Gantt View.

3. In the Gantt view, open the Tools menu at the top right of the screen.

4. Select MS Project Upload / Download.

The MS Project dialog opens with two actions: Download (export the schedule to an MPP file) and Upload (import an MPP, MPT or XML file into the schedule).

1. Open the project's schedule in the Gantt view and choose Tools > MS Project Upload / Download, as described above.

2. Read the notes in the dialog. If some tasks have never been exported before, a yellow message tells you how many tasks will be linked to the MS Project file - for example "Downloading will link 12 of 12 tasks to this MS Project file." This link is what allows a later upload of the same file to update tasks rather than duplicate them (see One-time export, not a live sync).

3. Click Download.

4. Fluid prepares the file. The progress panel shows Preparing your MS Project file and then lists what was exported, together with any messages about rows that were skipped or values that could not be carried across.

5. Your browser saves the file. It is named after the project, for example Office Relocation.mpp.

6. Review the messages, then click Done to close the dialog (or Start again to run another download or an upload).

   

7. Open the file in Microsoft Project. The schedule appears with the same structure, dates and working calendars as in Fluid.

Tip: The whole schedule is always exported. Filters, column choices and the zoom level of your Gantt view do not affect what goes into the file.

The table below lists the schedule information Fluid writes into the file and where you will find it in Microsoft Project.

When you open the exported file, the schedule information configured in Fluid is reflected directly:

• Structure: Phases and other parent tasks appear as summary tasks with their sub-tasks indented beneath them, in the same order as your Fluid Gantt.

• Dates and durations: Each task keeps its Fluid start and end dates. Durations are shown in working days, calculated on the calendar that was assigned to the task in Fluid.

• Calendars: The Fluid Project Calendar becomes the project's calendar in Microsoft Project, so weekends and holidays are greyed out in the same places. Tasks that use a different calendar in Fluid keep their own calendar (visible in the Task Information dialog, Advanced tab).

• Dependencies: Link lines and the Predecessors column show the same relationships and lags as Fluid.

• Progress: The % Complete column and the progress bars inside the Gantt bars match Fluid, and summary tasks roll progress up from their children.

• Resources: The Resource Sheet lists everyone assigned in Fluid, and the Resource Names column shows who is assigned to each task.

• Baseline: If your schedule has a baseline, Tracking Gantt views show the baseline bars beneath the current plan.

Note: The file is written without triggering Microsoft Project's own re-scheduling, so it opens exactly as Fluid saved it. If you later change dates or links in Microsoft Project, its scheduling engine takes over for those changes in the normal way.

Microsoft Project has no equivalent for some Fluid information, so it stays in Fluid only:

• RAG status, priority and task status (Not Started / In Progress / Completed). Microsoft Project derives a task's state from % Complete instead.

• Scheduling constraints such as Must Start On or Finish No Later Than (see Task Scheduling Constraints). Tasks are exported with the dates the constraints produced.

• Checklists, status updates, comments, documents, linked Project Impacts and linked board tasks.

• Task colours and Gantt display settings.

• Time of day. Fluid schedules whole days; the file uses the standard 08:00 to 17:00 working day with an hour for lunch.

• Some custom properties. Person, project, cascading option and table-type properties are not exported. Microsoft Project also has a fixed number of custom field slots (30 text, 20 number, 10 date and 20 flag fields); if your schedule has more properties than slots, the extra ones are left out and named in the export messages.

The download is a snapshot. Fluid does not connect to Microsoft Project and does not push later changes into the file. Treat the MPP file as a copy of the plan at the moment you exported it.

If you want changes made in Microsoft Project to appear in Fluid, upload the edited file using the Upload button in the same MS Project dialog. Because every exported task carries a hidden identifier, Fluid recognises the tasks and updates them instead of creating duplicates. Full details of the upload rules are in Importing MS Project plans.

Two things to keep in mind once a schedule has been exported:

• Exported tasks become linked to the file. If you later upload a version of that file which no longer contains one of those tasks, the task is removed from the Fluid schedule. Tasks created in Fluid that have never been exported are never touched by an upload.

• Take a backup before uploading. The MS Project dialog offers a Download backup button that saves the current schedule as an Excel Bulk Edit file, so you always have a copy to restore from.

This short example creates a small plan in Fluid and exports it. The project is called Office Relocation.

1. Create the schedule in Fluid

1. Open the Office Relocation project workspace, go to Schedule and click Edit in Gantt View.

2. Click Settings and confirm the Project Calendar is Standard Week (Mon-Fri).

3. Use New Task to add a Phase called Design with two Deliverables beneath it: Agree floor plan (5 days) and Order furniture (3 days).

4. Add a second Phase called Move with the Deliverable Install furniture (4 days) and a Milestone Office open. The fitters work Saturdays, so right-click Install furniture's bar and give it the Six Day Week (Mon-Sat) calendar.

5. In the Predecessors section of each task, link Agree floor plan, Order furniture, Install furniture and Office open Finish-to-Start in that order, and fill in the schedule custom properties - here Workstream, Supplier, Estimated Cost, Sign Off Date and Site Ready.

6. Mark Agree floor plan as 100% complete and Order furniture as 50% complete.

2. Export it

1. Open Tools > MS Project Upload / Download.

2. The dialog reports that downloading will link 6 of 6 tasks to the file. Click Download. The messages confirm 6 tasks, 3 links and the custom properties written to the file.

3. Save Office Relocation.mpp and click Done.

3. Open it in Microsoft Project

The Gantt Chart view shows the two summary tasks, the three deliverables and the milestone in the same order. Agree floor plan shows 100% and Order furniture 50%, the Design summary task rolls those up, and the Finish-to-Start links are drawn between the bars. The project calendar is a Monday-to-Friday week, while Install furniture keeps its Six Day Week: it runs Thursday 12 to Monday 16 November, four working days including the Saturday, and Office open falls on Monday 16 November - the same dates as in Fluid. The custom properties appear as named custom fields, as in the Task Sheet shown earlier.

I cannot see MS Project Upload / Download in the Tools menu.

Either you do not have Manage permission on the project, or the Allow MS Project Upload feature is not enabled for your instance. Ask your project administrator or application administrator.

The dialog says downloading will link tasks to the file. Is that safe?

Yes. Linking simply records that the task has been exported, so a later upload of the same file can update it. It does not change any dates or other task data. The only effect is on future uploads: a file that no longer contains a linked task will remove that task from the schedule.

A task is missing from the file.

Tasks without a title, start date or end date are not exported. The export messages list each one. Complete the task in Fluid and download again.

Durations in Microsoft Project differ from Fluid.

Check the calendar Microsoft Project is using for the task (Task Information > Advanced). The export writes Fluid's calendars into the file; if the file has been edited and re-saved with a different calendar, durations are recalculated by Microsoft Project.

Can I export only part of the schedule?

No. The export always contains the complete schedule so that a later upload can be matched safely. If you need a filtered report rather than an editable plan, use Export to Excel or a schedule report template instead.

Do I need Microsoft Project installed to export?

No. Fluid creates the file on the server. You only need Microsoft Project to open it.

• Importing MS Project plans

• Choosing Calendars for a Project Schedule and Individual Tasks

• Creating a New Project Plan Using Gantt Charts

• Project Schedule Bulk Edit

• Managing Project Timelines with Schedule Baselines