How to Import MS Project File into Smartsheets, but with the Time stamps from MS Project?

Bhavya1322

When I try to import MS Project File into Smartsheets, it automatically treats the import as a project and hence the result only appears with the Start Date and Finish Date, and I lose the time stamps in from my MS Project File.

I also tried taking an export of excel file first from mpp., but as I export to Excel, I lost the tasks/subtasks, which does not make sense.

So, is there any way, we can directly import a project plan from the mpp. file, but also retain time stamps somehow from the plan?

Michelle Choate 2

Hello @Bhavya1322 !!

I have experience using Microsoft Project and importing large schedules into Smartsheet. In theory, if the schedule in Project has been fully calculated and saved before importing, Smartsheet should replicate the dates accurately.

However, Smartsheet’s scheduling engine is significantly less sophisticated than Microsoft Project and lacks certain key features, such as Constraint Types, Constraint Dates, Task Types, and Effort-Driven scheduling. As a result, Smartsheet may adjust the imported dates based on its more basic scheduling logic.

To mitigate this, I recommend saving the Start and Finish dates—including timestamps—in spare fields within Project, such as Start1 and Finish1, formatted as text. After importing the schedule into Smartsheet, you can compare these fields to the original Start and Finish dates to identify any discrepancies while also preserving the original timestamps.

Hope this helps!

Here is also an article that might give some guidance if you need it! https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/504553-import-files-to-create-new-sheets