IMAGINE that you’re starting a new project plan, and you realize there are a series of tasks in another project you worked on that you want to copy over. Or maybe another project has a handful of resources you want to copy and use, along with their accounting codes, calendars, and costs. In Microsoft Project 2010, you can copy task or resource information, or the contents of specific fields, from one project to another. Copying this information can save you a lot of time in data entry.
Another tremendous timesaver is the ability to copy major customizations between two project plans. You might have created a custom view in one project that displays your frequently used columns in the order you like. You can copy that view and make it available in all your other projects. The same goes for many other elements you can customize, including tables, filters, macros, reports, and more.
Beyond copying tasks, resources, fields, or custom elements, another means of exchanging project information is to create links between tasks in different project plans. If the project you’re managing is a piece of a much larger project, it might be advantageous to link to dependent tasks in other plans and show the interdependencies that exist. Creating these links can be vital in modeling the schedule when a task in one project depends on the start or finish of a task in another project.
With Microsoft Project 2010, you can easily exchange different types of information between project plans, which enables you not only to model your project appropriately, but also to increase your efficiency by decreasing duplicated entries or development.
Suppose that a project you just finished has a set of resources you want to use in a project you’re starting to plan. You can copy the resource information from one project to another by using the Copy and Paste commands.
Maybe you’re working with a huge project, and you need to break it up into a master project and subprojects. Or maybe several people are managing different pieces of a single project, and you’re trying to pull together fragments of the different project files related to that one project. You can move task information from one project to another by using the Cut and Paste commands.
You can copy or move entire sets of task or resource information. You can also copy individual fields of information, such as task names and durations, or resource names.
When you want to copy or move complete task information—including the task name, duration, predecessors, dates, notes, progress information, resource assignments, and so on—you need to select the entire task. Likewise, you can copy or move complete resource information—including maximum units, availability dates, costs, and calendars—by selecting the entire resource, not just the resource name.
To copy or move task or resource information from one project to another, follow these steps:
In the source project, apply a task sheet or resource sheet.
It doesn’t matter whether the sheet contains all the information fields you want to copy or move. All information associated with the task or resource will be copied or moved.
Click the row heading for all tasks or resources you want to copy or move.
If the tasks or resources are adjacent, simply drag across the row headings to select them. You can also click the first row heading, hold down the Shift key, and then click the last row heading. (See Figure 16-1.)
If the tasks or resources are nonadjacent, click the row heading of the first task or resource you want to select, hold down the Ctrl key, and then click the row headings of all other tasks or resources to be copied or moved. (See Figure 16-2.)
On the Task tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy.
If you’re moving rather than copying the information, on the Task tab, in the Clipboard group, click Cut.
Open the destination project.
Display a view compatible with the information you’ve copied or cut.
That is, if you’re copying or moving task information, display a task sheet view, such as the Gantt Chart or Task Usage view. If you’re copying or moving resource information, display a resource sheet view, such as the Resource Sheet or Resource Usage view.
Click anywhere in the row where you want to paste the first of your selected tasks or resources.
When you paste full rows of task information or resource information, they are inserted within existing tasks or resources. No information is overwritten.
On the Task tab, in the Clipboard group, click Paste.
The copied or cut information is pasted into the cells, starting at your anchor cell.
Instead of copying all information about tasks and resources, you can simply copy the contents of a field, such as task names, resource names, or a custom text field. This procedure can be handy if you need to copy just a set of resource names, for example, or a set of task names with their durations.
Note
Although you can move (rather than copy) fields from one project to another, it isn’t all that useful to do so. For example, if you cut resource names from one project, you’d be left with a set of resource information that has no names associated with it.
To copy the contents of a field, do the following:
In the source project, apply the view containing the fields you want to copy.
Select the fields.
If the fields are adjacent, simply drag to select them, or click the first field, hold down the Shift key, and then click the last field. (See Figure 16-3.)
If the fields are nonadjacent, click the first field, hold down the Ctrl key, and then click all other fields to be copied. (See Figure 16-4.)
On the Task tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy.
Open the destination project.
If necessary, apply a table that contains the same or compatible fields as the information you’re pasting.
For example, if you’re pasting text information, such as task names, be sure that the Task Name or another editable text field is available. If you’re pasting cost information, you need to paste it into an editable currency field, such as Standard Rate or Cost1. If necessary, add a field to a current table. Click a column heading, and then press the Insert key. Click the name of the field you want to add from the list that appears.
Click the anchor cell, which is the cell in which you want to paste the first of your selected fields.
On the Task tab, in the Clipboard group, click Paste. The copied information is pasted into the cells, starting at your anchor cell.
The information overwrites any existing information; it does not insert new cells. In light of this, be sure that you have the right number of blank cells in which to paste the information.
Troubleshooting: Your pasted information deleted existing information
When you paste selected fields of task or resource information, those fields flow into any existing cells, starting with the anchor cell and continuing to the cells below. If any of those cells contain information, that information is overwritten.
If this wasn’t your intention, and if you haven’t saved your file since you inserted the information, click Undo on the Quick Access Toolbar to undo the paste operation. If you have performed other operations since you pasted the fields, repeatedly click Undo until the overwritten information returns.
You cannot undo operations that occurred before the last time you saved the file. If you saved your file after you pasted the fields, you might have to re-create the overwritten information or use your backup project file.
Note
You can copy and paste project information into other applications and paste information from other applications into your project plan. For more information, see Copying Information.