exporting into ms project

[richard d]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about writing an application which will produce a project
plan which I would like to be able to export into MS Project.

I know other project planning tools, such as Primavera, can do this.

I actually don't have a copy of MS Proj at present, but I'm going to
invest in one soon (any advice on where to get the best price in the
uk? I qualify for an academic licence if such a thing exists for MS
Proj). Question is, will the application's documentation contain
everything I need to be able to write my export-to-MS-Proj feature, or
do I need to get something else.

many thanks

Richard

 

[John]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about writing an application which will produce a project
plan which I would like to be able to export into MS Project.

I know other project planning tools, such as Primavera, can do this.

I actually don't have a copy of MS Proj at present, but I'm going to
invest in one soon (any advice on where to get the best price in the
uk? I qualify for an academic licence if such a thing exists for MS
Proj). Question is, will the application's documentation contain
everything I need to be able to write my export-to-MS-Proj feature, or
do I need to get something else.

many thanks

Richard

Richard,
Project has the ability to import different formats. For example, it can
import Excel, Access and other data via an import map. Project also
includes Visual Basic for Applications as part of the basic package.
Based on that it's not real clear why you want to "write an application"
to do something that may already be available.

Since various schedule planning applications already exist (e.g.
Primavera, MS Project, OpenPlan, etc.), why not just use one of those to
create and track a schedule. They are customized for managing projects
and have a lot of power built-in. Generally, some type of translation is
only needed if schedule type data already exists in generic form (e.g.
spreadsheet, database, whatever).

If you are "academically qualified", you should be able to get Project
from any reputable software retailer. You could also try one of the
on-line auction sites (e.g. eBay) but be careful that you know what you
are getting, some offers are for upgrade versions only.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP