Microsoft® Project 2013

Lesson 9
Sharing Project Information

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Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain how to share data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with Excel, Visio,
SharePoint, and other Microsoft Office applications

• Describe how to link and embed Microsoft® Project files to other

applications and vice-versa

• Identify the ways to extend the capabilities of Microsoft® Project 2013

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Sharing Data with Excel

Microsoft® Project 2013 provides wizards for importing data from and exporting data to your Project files. The wizards
start automatically when a file is opened or saved in another format.

Steps to export data from Microsoft® Project 2013 to Excel 2013:

Click the Save Project as File

Click the File tab. Choose the Export option.
option.

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Sharing Data with Excel

The images below show the steps to export data from Microsoft® Project 2013 to Excel 2013:

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Sharing Data with Excel (contd.)

Maps in Microsoft® Project 2013:

Microsoft® Project 2013 provides maps for exporting cost data, earned values, or basic task information. Here’s how
these maps can be utilized:

These maps (new or built-in) help to create customized data settings for mapping data from the fields.

Initiating Planning
Project information such as task information, resource information, or resource assignments can be selected.

Export filters such as completed tasks, milestones, and resource costs can be set while exporting data to Excel.

Closing Executing
The Project Manager needs to choose the fields or columns which have the data that should be exported to Excel.

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Sharing Data with Other Office Apps

Following are the key points related to sharing data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with other office apps:

Microsoft® Project 2013 allows a Project Manager to share project schedules, Excel spreadsheets, and other documents easily.

Tasks can be shared with and imported from Outlook by right-clicking the task name in Gantt Chart view and selecting copy.

Tasks can also be exported to Outlook by clicking the Import Outlook Tasks menu item from the Tasks icon in Gantt Chart View.

Microsoft® Project 2013 helps in copying and pasting tasks from an email or a Word document.

Outdented and indented tasks are automatically converted into summary and subtasks when pasted in Microsoft® Project 2013.

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Sharing Data with Other Office Apps (contd.)

The following are a few examples of sharing data with other Office apps.

Importing data from Outlook Exporting data to Outlook

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Sharing Data with Other Office Apps (contd.)

The Project Manager can share project information as an attachment in an email directly from Microsoft® Project 2013.

Following are the steps to follow when sharing data from Microsoft® Project 2013 in an email:

Click the File tab. Click the Share option. Click the Email icon. Send as Attachment icon.

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Sharing Data with Other Office Apps (contd.)

The Project Manager can use the Outlook address book to add resources from Outlook to Microsoft® Project 2013. To
do this, he needs to follow the steps given below:

Click the Add

Click the Resource Click the Team Click the Resource Click the Address
Resources
tab. Planner icon. Sheet menu item. Book menu item.
dropdown menu.

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Sharing Data with Other Office Apps (contd.)

The Project Manager can also share documents on a network drive, Office 365 SharePoint, or SkyDrive.

The file storage location can be selected by following the steps given below:

Click the File tab. Click the Open command. Click the Add a Place command.

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Embedding and Linking Files to Other Office Apps

The Project Manager can link and embed data present in Microsoft® Project 2013 to share information with
stakeholders. Following are the steps to embed Microsoft® Project 2013 files in other applications:

Select the required view in Right-click a few cells in

Microsoft® Project 2013 and
copy the view.
Click the Paste radio button
Excel and click the Paste Click OK.
and select the Microsoft
Special… option.
Document object. object.

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Embedding and Linking Files to Other Office Apps (contd.)

To link files in Microsoft® Project 2013 to other applications, the Project Manager needs to click the Paste Link radio
button from the Paste Special dialog box before selecting the Microsoft Project Document object.

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Embedding and Linking Files from Other Office Apps

Following are the steps to embed/link files from Other Office apps to Microsoft® Project 2013:
Select the field where Click the Create from
Click the Information Click the Notes tab
information needs to Right-click to get the File radio button,
option from the and then click the
be embedded or context menu. browse the required
context menu. Insert Object icon.
linked. file, and click OK.

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Embedding and Linking Files from Other Office Apps (contd.)

To link a file from other Office apps to Microsoft® Project 2013, the Project Manager needs to select the link checkbox
before clicking OK.

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Embedding and Linking Files from Other Office Apps (contd.)

Following are the steps to embed a part of a file from other Office apps (e.g., Excel) to Microsoft® Project 2013:
Click the Paste Special
Select a cell in Microsoft® Click the Information Click the Notes tab and option, select Microsoft
Open Excel, select rows,
Project 2013 and right- option from the context then right-click the Notes Excel Worksheet from
and press Ctrl+C.
click. menu. section. the Paste Special
Window, and click OK.

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Exporting Data from Microsoft® Project 2013 to Visio and Vice Versa

Project managers use Visio during the initial phase of a project to ensure that they can create visual reports for
stakeholders and communicate processes with flowcharts or other diagrams.

Sharing data with Visio:

● Sharing of information between Visio and Microsoft® Project 2013 takes place in Visio.

● Visio’s Schedule template category comprising templates of Gantt Charts, timelines, PERT Charts, and calendars can
be used for data sharing.

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Exporting Data from Microsoft® Project 2013 to Visio and Vice Versa (contd.)

Sharing of data between Microsoft® Project 2013 and Visio takes place in 2 ways:

•The Project Manager can import information to Visio to automatically

create a timeline diagram.
Export a Gantt Chart from Microsoft® Project •To import the timeline, the Project Manager needs to open Visio and click
2013 to Visio File -> New -> Timeline Categories -> Schedule, then double-click timeline,
and select Import Data.

Import Visio Gantt charts to Microsoft® •The Project Manager needs to use the Export Data feature in the Timeline
Project 2013 tab in Visio to export data to Microsoft® Project 2013.

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Sharing Data with SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is a collaboration platform that allows users to store, share, and work on different types of data.

Features that help share data with SharePoint:

• A file in Microsoft® Project 2013 can be saved directly to a document library in SharePoint.
• To provide the path to the document library, click the File tab and then the Save As command in
Document library Microsoft® Project 2013.
• Clicking a plan within the SharePoint library will open the file in Microsoft® Project 2013.
• Any change made in the file is synced back to the server once the file is saved.

• When you select a SharePoint list, the tasks in a project are synced to the list.
• Anyone with access to the SharePoint list can make changes in the list even if they do not have
SharePoint list access to Microsoft® Project 2013.
• The changes are automatically synced to the file in Microsoft® Project 2013.

• On syncing a plan in Microsoft® Project 2013 to a project task list, members can update their task
Project task list progress within SharePoint.
• The plan will get automatically updated with the synced progress.

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Sharing Data with SharePoint (contd.)

The image here shows how to sync data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with SharePoint.

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Ways to Extend the Capability of Microsoft® Project 2013

There are 3 different ways to extend the capabilities of Microsoft® Project 2013. These are:

Ways to extend the capability of Microsoft Project 2013

Acquiring templates from Office.com

Acquiring apps from the Office Store

Automating tasks using Visual Basic for Applications or VBA

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Acquire Templates from Office.com

An easy way to extend the functionality of Microsoft® Project 2013 is to choose templates from Office.com. You can
select any of the templates for free or for a small fee. The following steps will help to choose templates that suit your
needs:

Click the File tab. Click the New command. Use the Search field to look for
templates.

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Acquire Apps from the Office Store

Apps for Office are a new extensibility feature of Microsoft® Project 2013. They are small pieces of code that perform a
particular task for users. Apps are made available by Microsoft ® or by 3rd parties. These are verified and then hosted in
the Office store.

How to acquire apps from the Office store:

Click the Project tab. Click the Apps for Office dropdown Browse and search apps from the
menu. dialog box.

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Acquire Apps from the Office Store (contd.)

The images below show how to acquire apps from the Office Store:

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Automating Tasks with VBA

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the most advanced method of automating custom functionalities within MS
Office.

Facts related to VBA and macros:

● To perform any action repeatedly, write the custom code and test it with VBA.

● Unhide the Developer tab in the ribbon to access VBA and macros.

● Due to security settings, macros written in VBA are disabled by default.

● Macros can be enabled if you trust the location from where the files are obtained.

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Knowledge Check 1

Which feature helps to match data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with fields in Excel?
Select the answer.

a. Maps
b. Wizards
c. Document library
d. Gantt Chart

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Knowledge Check 1

Which feature helps to match data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with fields in Excel?
Select the answer.

a. Maps
b. Wizards
c. Document library
d. Gantt Chart

Answer: a. Maps

Explanation: Microsoft® Project 2013 provides built-in maps to match fields or columns in Excel.

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Knowledge Check 2

Which feature should a Project Manager use to add resources from Outlook to Microsoft® Project 2013?
Select the answer.

a. Team Planner icon

b. Outlook Address Book…
c. Email icon
d. Resource Sheet

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Knowledge Check 2

Which feature should a Project Manager use to add resources from Outlook to Microsoft® Project 2013?
Select the answer.

a. Team Planner icon

b. Outlook Address Book…
c. Email icon
d. Resource Sheet

Answer: b. Outlook Address Book…

Explanation: The Outlook Address Book… feature helps to add resources from Outlook to Microsoft® Project
2013.

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Knowledge Check 3

Which feature is used to transfer data to Microsoft® Project 2013 from Visio?
Select the answer.

a. Export command
b. Export Wizard
c. Export Data
d. Import Wizard

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Knowledge Check 3

Which feature is used to transfer data to Microsoft® Project 2013 from Visio?
Select the answer.

a. Export command
b. Export Wizard
c. Export Data
d. Import Wizard

Answer: c. Export Data

Explanation: The Export Data feature in the Timeline tab in Visio helps to transfer data from Visio to
Microsoft® Project 2013.

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Knowledge Check 4

Which is the best way to extend the functionality of Microsoft® Project 2013?
Select the answer.

a. Sharing data with other Office apps

b. Choosing templates from Office.com
c. Installing apps from the Office store
d. Visual Basic for Applications

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Knowledge Check 4

Which is the best way to extend the functionality of Microsoft® Project 2013?
Select the answer.

a. Sharing data with other Office apps

b. Choosing templates from Office.com
c. Installing apps from the Office store
d. Visual Basic for Applications

Answer: d. Visual Basic for Applications

Explanation: Visual Basic for Applications is the best way to automate custom functionalities within
Microsoft® Project 2013.

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Knowledge Check 5

Which feature in Microsoft® Project 2013 should be unhidden to enable the creation of VBA macros?
Select the answer.

a. View tab
b. Developer tab
c. Project tab
d. Resource tab

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Knowledge Check 5

Which feature in Microsoft® Project 2013 should be unhidden to enable the creation of VBA macros?
Select the answer.

a. View tab
b. Developer tab
c. Project tab
d. Resource tab

Answer: b. Developer tab

Explanation: The Developer tab in Microsoft® Project 2013 must be unhidden to ensure that VBA macros can
be created.

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Summary

Let us summarize the topics covered in this lesson:

● Microsoft® Project 2013 provides wizards for importing data from and exporting
data to your Project files.
● Microsoft® Project 2013 offers built-in maps for exporting cost data, earned
values, or basic task information to Excel.
● When data in Microsoft® Project 2013 is linked to other applications, it remains in
Microsoft® Project 2013, but the information in the application gets updated
automatically as soon as the data is updated.
● The features that help share data in Microsoft® Project 2013 with SharePoint are
document library, SharePoint list, and project task list.
● There are 3 different ways to extend the functionality of Microsoft® Project 2013.
These are acquiring templates from Office.com, acquiring apps from the Office
store, and automating tasks using Visual Basic for Applications.

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 Thank you

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