Exporting to XML in MS Project 2007 creates a bad XML file?

[Zone99]

Hi,

I'm using MS Project 2007 and I have a fairly large Project (around 1000
tasks) that I would like to export to XML to import into another application.

When I export the XML, the application can't seem to read it.

I then tried to IMPORT the XML file into MS Project 2007. Project sees it's
and XML, starts the import dialog box and then tells me that it's a bad XML
file and to try a back up.

Looking at the XML file it seems OK although it's 4Gig worth of XML!

How do I tell what's wrong with the XML so I can import it?

 

[Jack Dahlgren MVP]

4GB of XML does NOT seem OK for a 1000 line schedule.
That works out to 4,000,000 bytes per line.

Your schedule may be corrupted in one way or another.

Try opening the project, copying all tasks and pasting into another
schedule. Then export from that file.

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[Zone99]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I tried just what you suggested and got a 4 GB XML file again.

How can I find out what might be corrupted?

Thanks.

 

[Jack Dahlgren MVP]

There are a few different appoaches you can take. They are covered in detail
at the Project MVP's FAQ site here:
http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm


Item #43 is applicable to your situation:

43. Handling project file corruption and/or bloat

Project files can become corrupt or bloated for various reasons. This FAQ
focuses more on how to deal with the problem if it has already occurred
rather than ways to avoid it in the first place. Due to the nature of
corruption/bloat there is no guarantee that any one of these methods will in
fact resolve the problem, but they have proved successful in many cases. No
one method is necessarily better than the others - it is suggested you try
as many as needed.

Method 1 -

Because of the way Project stores files, file fragmentation may be the basic
cause. To make sure this isn’t the problem: open your .mpp file then select
File/Save immediately before doing any other action. Only if you save
immediately after opening does Project defragment its .mpp file. If you do
not have external links in your file, (i.e. resource pool, master with
subprojects, etc.), then a good practice is to always use Save As instead of
a straight Save with your file after editing. This helps keep editing
clutter from being appended to the file. However, be advised that using
Save As with linked files can actually create corruption/bloat due to
multiple link paths being created IF the file is not saved back to its
original name and path.

Method 2 -

Save the file in the Microsoft Project Database format:

1. Open your problem file (it may help to turn off automatic calculation if
the file is reluctant to open).
2. Select File/Save As...
3. Save as type: Project Database (*.mpd) then click Save.
4. Close the file.
5. Re-open it from the .mpd file.
6. Select File/Save As... and save it as an .mpp file again.

Method 3 -

Repeat the above steps except for step 3, Save As to .xml.

Method 4 -

Re-create a whole new file from the corrupted/bloated file:

1. Open a new blank project file without a project summary task.
2. Go to Insert/Project and insert the problem file.
3. Select the first task which will be the insertion point summary line.
4. Go to Project/Task Information/Advanced tab.
5. Uncheck the "Link to Project" button and hit "OK".
6. If the file isn't already expanded, expand it.
7. Select all tasks below the top level summary line.
8. Outdent the selected tasks.
9. Delete the first task which previously was a summary line.
10. Save the resulting file.

Method 5 -

If none of the above is effective, a more advanced approach is to re-create
the file from Project's underlying database using VBA. Since the details of
this method depend on the structural complexity of the file (e.g. multiple
calendars, progress of tasks, levelling applied, etc.) this method should
only be attempted by those with extensive Project VBA experience.