Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual

Importing and Exporting Data

Arranging columns in the right order, selecting data, and copying it to the right place can be tedious and error-prone. A more dependable way to get data from one place to another is importing or exporting, depending on which direction the data is headed. In this book, “importing” means pulling data into Project from another program—for instance, importing data from an Excel spreadsheet or an Access database. “Exporting,” on the other hand, refers to pushing data out of your Project file to another file format like Excel or XML. Unlike linking and embedding (Sending Project Files Via Email), importing and exporting convert data from one file format to another, so the data is the same as what you enter directly in the destination program.

The great thing about importing and exporting is the control you have over the data you transfer and where it goes. Because you map fields in one program to fields in the other, you can make sure the right types of data go where you want.

Project provides wizards for importing and exporting data to and from your Project files. The wizards start automatically when you open a file in another format or save to another format (as the box on Creating Pictures of Project Information explains). For example, if you open an Excel spreadsheet in Project, then the Import Wizard starts up. And if you save a Project file as a text file, the Export Wizard launches.

Maps are sets of settings that match up Project fields with fields or ...