Windows Authentication issue open up Project Server from Project Professional

[Steve Chermak]

I am in a group that is set up to use Project Server 2007 through the Project Professional program. When I set up my connection (my Project Server account) I put in my URL, specified that I use my Windows user account, and that I would manually control the connection state, in order to be able to work locally if need be

This works fine. I can not remember now if the first time I did this whether it asked me for my Windows logon ID and password or not

I have been asked to research a problem. A co-worker has to enter her Windows logon ID and password each and every time she opens up Project Professional and selects the Project Server account. I am new to this and do not know where to investigate, does anybody know what setting in Project or elswhere in Windows might cause this situation where Project does not seem to remember her Windows logon ID and password like it does for me and also anybody else in our group using this program

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
Steve Chermak

 

[Chak]

Steve,

At the time of launching Project Professional 2007, on login window
(where you choose the account to work locally vs server), make sure
check box was unchecked for the option "Enter user credentials"

Thanks
Chak
pVector Technologies
http://www.epmcentral.com
http://www.pvectortech.com

 

[Marc Soester [MVP]]

Hi Steve,

I assume that you guys use Windows authentication. In this case, your
resource does not need to enter her credentials. All she needs to do is
click OK and make sure that the "Enter user credentials" is not selected.
That should do the trick
Thanks
Marc

 

[Steve Chermak]

I went back and went through with her and had her uncheck the "Enter User Credentials"....it was selected, as compared to my machine where it is not selected....

But, it would not let her in, it gave an error message along the lines of "Unable to connect max retry exceeded

Complicating the issue is that we are connecting now through a VPN, having been moved off-site. When I was on site, with the PC I had there, I logged onto the machine with the Windows logon each morning...with this setup I do not log onto Windows, just the VPN through an access client and then a telnet command at the command prompt. At those times I put in my windows ID but not the password, instead a Secure ID code

Yet somehow MS Project knows me and my Windows logon and password, but not hers

She had difficulty setting up to begin with and the help desk through a remote connection changed a lot of settings on her machine to get this to work. She does not know what all these settings were, and we are not in the same location where I can go look at her machine

This is starting to sound like something other than a MS Project issue. Do either of you know where Project gets the Windows Authentication information or what setting in Windows may cause Project not to have that info unless she enters it in each time, that I could check and look into further

Thanks again
Steve Chermak

 

[Chak]

Steve,

It seems to be this is a cross domain/network access issue not a
Project Server issue. It happens when user credentials used to logon
the machine is different from credentials you are using to connect
Project Server are different.

You can try the following:

1) Set the auto login setup on Project Server windows id (Depends on
OS you are using, you can set this under Control Panel -> User
Accounts -> Manage Network Passwords); basically you have to set
remember password option for windows id

2) Add the PWA URL as trusted site

3) On IE, Tools-> Internet Options -> Security -> Trusted Sites ->
Custom Level -> User Authentication -> Logon -> Automatic login with
current user name and password

I hope this address the issue.

Thanks
Chak
pVector Technologies
http://www.pvectortech.com
http://www.epmcentral.com

 

[Gary Chefetz]

Steve:

It sounds to me like you have different IE settings or a stored password in
your system or both. If you don't logon to the domain when you VPN into the
network, then you should select the Enter Credentials options unless you use
the Windows Password management feature to store them. You also need to make
sure that your system is in the trusted sites zone and set the automatic
logon options for this zone in IE.