Export Only Selected Tasks from Project 2K to Excel 2002

[Guest]

I use MS Project 2000.

I added column "Flag 1" to the Gantt View and gave it the
name "Display in Status Report." The purpose is to flag
certain tasks to be exported into (or otherwise included
in) an Excel 2002 spreadsheet.

Ideally, the spreadsheet will be "linked" to the Project
Plan, such that changes to the flagged tasks in MS Project
are automatically reflected in the Excel spreadsheet.

Does anyone know how to accomplish this? The goal is
simply to have selected tasks linked to a spreadsheet.

I tried to simply copy and paste the selected tasks, but
when I update the links in Excel, all the value change
to "#NAME."

Thanks.

 

[John]

Depending on how robust you want the updating to be, there are at least
a couple of ways to do what you want, maybe even a third.

The "third" method is generally pretty simple once it is set up. It
involves using an export table to identify fields in Project you want to
match up with fields in Excel. Include Flag1 as one of the fields. If
you haven't used an export table, look in the help file.

The method most closely matched to what you tried is using Paste Links.
However, myself and most others will tell you that using Paste Links is
not a robust method as it is prone to corruption. Basically, instead of
a straight copy and paste, you use a copy and paste special. Paste Links
also tend to get lost if either the Project or Excel file is moved (i.e.
path changes).

The most robust way to accomplish what you want is through VBA. With it
you can export any field in Project to any cell in Excel. The macro can
reside in either Project or Excel and can be set up to run from a
toolbar button. It does take a little more effort to set up but it has
the most versatility of any of the methods. If you have no VBA
experience, there are good resources available on this newsgroup to help
you get started.

John