Article ID: 97831 - Last Review: September 18, 2011 - Revision: 6.0

Importing a Project outline structure

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SUMMARY

When you import files from a different application to Microsoft Project, you can include information that will allow Microsoft Project to generate a project outline structure for the imported file.

You cannot directly import the Outline Number field from a file saved in a format other than the standard Microsoft Project format. However, it is possible to import a different field that will correctly generate the same outline structure.

Microsoft Project uses a task field called "Outline Level", in conjunction with the order tasks are imported, to determine where tasks fall in a project outline structure. Tasks with Outline Level=1 are at the highest level in the project outline. Tasks with Outline Level=2 are subordinate to level 1 tasks, level 3 tasks are subordinate to level 2 tasks, and so on, for example:

A comma separated values (CSV) file contains the following text:

   1,Summary Task 1
   2,Task A
   2,Task B
   2,Summary Task 2
   3,Task C
   3,Task D
   1,Summary Task 3
   2,Task E
   2,Task F

If this file is imported into Microsoft Project using a task table with Outline Level and Name as its first two fields, the tasks will be imported with the following outline structure:

      Outline
      Level      Name
      --------------------------
         1       1 Summary Task 1
         2          1.1 Task A
         2          1.2 Task B
         2          1.3 Summary Task 2
         3             1.3.1 Task C
         3             1.3.2 Task D
         1       2 Summary Task 3
         2          2.1 Task E
         2          2.2 Task F

NOTE: The Outline Number and name indentation are shown to clearly illustrate the structure.