1. Importing Data from Excel (XLS) into P6 Client
Tips, Tricks, and Traps
Importing Data from Excel (XLS) into P6 Client

2. What XLS Importing Cannot Do
XLS Importing will not create a schedule.
The import must be to an existing schedule, although the schedule need not have any activities prior to the import. i.e. it can be an empty shell but, it must exist before the import.
XLS importing will not add, edit, or delete any object not completely contained inside of the schedule to which the import is being made
* Except for some resource data.
While the functioning of the Expense data import sheet has not been tested as yet, it probably cannot make any changes not completely inside the target schedule.

3. What XLS Importing Can Cannot Do (cont.)
XLS importing will not add, delete, or edit:
Codes (neither Global, EPS, nor Project)
Calendars (neither Global, Resource, nor Project)
Resource IDs
Caution ! XLS importing CAN :
Modify/edit resources
including those not in the schedule being imported into.

4. What XLS Importing Can Do
XLS importing can create and/or update most but, not all, data internal to a schedule.
XLS importing can map to (use/assign) existing objects (codes, calendars, resources, etc.) it cannot create including those outside of the schedule being imported into.

5. Can You Do XLS Importing
If you are not a Super User (Admin) what are the minimum permissions you need to do XLS importing?
You need the XLS importing permission enabled in your Global Profile
and
The <Project Super User> Project Profile permission to the node/schedule you want to import to

6. Checking If You Have The Global XLS Importing Permission
Go: Menu->File->Import
If the XLS format is available to select you have the Global permission you need.

7. Checking If You Have the Project Profile XLS Importing Permission
You need an importable XLS to perform this test.
If you cannot get one, come back to this slide after you have made the export template discussed in the following slides and use it for the test

8. Checking If You Have the Project Profile XLS Importing Permission
Open schedules in the various EPS areas you want to check if you can do XLS importing to.

9. Checking If You Have the Project Profile XLS Importing Permission
Go though the import steps until you come to
Click in Import To

10. Checking If You Have the Project Profile XLS Importing Permission
Only those schedules were you have the necessary permission are available to pick
In this example, NEWPROJ and STT-8_L are NOT in EPS areas the user has the needed permission in.

11. Importing Mechanics Overview
Importing requires that the XLS file be in a particular format.
This is easily accomplished by doing an XLS export of whatever fields the user wants to import in order to create the XLS file (template) in the correct format.

12. Exporting to Create Import Template
Open a schedule to export from
Can be more than one but, exporting one at a time usually makes it easier to control the destination directory.
Any will do but a small (few activities etc.) one will work faster.
A schedule with data in the fields you want to import is desirable but, not necessary as the export will generate the selected columns in the XLS file (importing template) even if those fields are empty in the exported schedule.

13. Exporting to Create Import Template
User Preferences
The template remembers what these are at export
What they are on import affects how some data is imported.
Some preferences can override the settings in the template. (a Trap discussed later).
If the Preferences at Import do not match what the preferences were at export you will get this warning:

14. Exporting to Create Import Template cont.
Menu->File->Export:
Select Export Type:

15. Tip Select Only Data You Want To Modify
Note: As a data safety precaution, do not export the Resources sheet unless you definitely intend to use XLS importing to modify some of the resources you have edit rights to:

16. Exporting to Create Import Template
Select schedule(s) to Export

17. Exporting to Create Import Template
Select an existing or add and modify a P6 Export template.

18. Exporting to Create Import Template
Select Fields to export for each sheet (tab) you want to export:
The three fields highlighted are the minimum P6 requires you export for activities.

19. Filtering The Export
The filter conditions in the export template are the only conditions applied
i.e. any filter on the schedule itself is ignored.

20. Exporting to Create Import Template
Select Fields to export for each subject area (sheet) you want to export:

21. Tip: Export More Fields
You can remove fields from the exported file but, adding them is not so easy:
Export ALL the fields you think you MAY want to import to create a master template
Then create a particular template by deleting the fields you do not need from a copy of the master

22. Export

23. Looking At The Exported XLS File
Formatting for Readability we see:
Row 1 lists names used internally by the system for the fields listed in row 2.
Row 2 lists the field names you see in P6.
The data begins on row 3.

24. Possible Trap If you work in multiple P6 databases
It is best to have separate import temples for each as the row 1 values for the same row 2 values are likely to be different for Codes and UDFs even though the codes and UDFs have the same row 2 names

25. Structure of the Exported File
The tabs in the exported file are
Data Sheets
TASK = Activity data
TASKPRED = Activity relationships
PROJCOST = Expenses
RSRC = Resources
TASKRSRC = Resource Assignments
Preferences Sheet
USERDATA = Some of the User Preferences at the time of export.

26. Columns In The Exported XLS Although the examples are from the TASK sheet, the explanations apply to all the sheets.
The columns on the data sheets can be divided into 4 groups
Required for Importing
Available for importing
Read Only
Functional

27. Columns Required for Importing
TASK =>Activity ID
TASKPRED => Predecessor and Successor
PROJCOST => Activity ID and Expense Item*
* Omitting the Expense Item column may result in creation of new unnamed Expense Items
RSRC = Resource ID
TASKRSRC = Activity ID and Resource ID (or Role ID?)
Note: Other fields needed to make a valid entry use defaults if not included in Import file.
which may result in nonsense.
Required fields that have values that do not match existing entries in the target schedule create new entries.
Example: New Activity ID’s on the TASK tab create new activities

28. Columns Available for Importing
These columns are the ones you can use to update the activities, expenses, resources, etc. referenced by the Required Fields
They are the ones that are NOT “Read Only” or “Functional”.
They can and should be deleted if you do not wish to update the values in the field they reference
Tip: Import anything you do not want to create or change is asking for trouble !

29. Read Only Columns
P6 will export to XLS many more fields than it will import to P6 from XLS
Most non-importable fields are identified with a *.
Some are not
Priority is a Project Level code
Updating it at the Activity level
Would create the possibility of value conflicts.

30. Functional Column XLS importing can be used to delete objects in P6
The “Delete This Row” column is available on all data sheets except the Resources (RSRC) sheet.

31. Tip: DO NOT Import Anything You Do not want to Change
The reason is that when the export file is made it has a copy of the schedule as it existed at that moment.
It is possible, particularly in a multi-user environment, that some of the data the importer does not want to update has been changed since the export.
Wholesale importing of the export file will reset the data to what it was at export destroying post export updates.

32. Tip: DO NOT Import Anything You Do not want to Change (cont.)
This is particularly important if Resources are Imported
Using XLS importing a use can edit EVERY Resource they have edit rights to in the database NOT just the ones in the schedule they are importing to.
If importing (updating) Resources, be sure to delete all the rows (Resource IDs) of those resources you do not want to update !

33. How to Exclude From Updating
You can delete any rows (except 1 and 2) that have data (activities, Resources, etc.) you do not want to update
You can delete all but the Required Columns
The import will stop on the first row without a value in a required field.
So do not leave any blank required field(s) in the middle of your data

34. Tip: P6 Tends To Be Blank Hostile
P6, like the old P3, tends to be hostile to blanks
If you are having problems with your data importing, look for and eliminate blanks as much as possible.
Tip: Finding blanks
Select cell at top of a column
Press Ctrl+down arrow
First blank cell will be selected
If not at the end of your data, fix
Repeat in same and other columns as needed.

35. Trap: Data NOT Excluded
A blank in a column is NOT EXCLUDED
Example: you want to update the values in the UDF “My Text” for only 8 of 20 activities in you exported file
If you leave all 20 activity IDs in the file but, blank the UDF values you do not want to change they will be updated to blanks, NOT left out of the update
To only update the 8 UDFs you must delete the ROWS of the UDFs you do not want to update
To update the 12 other activities that you do not want to update the UDF values on
Delete the UDF column

36. Importing
Fill in the data you want to import per the column types discussed above.
Save
Must keep the XLS format
Open the schedule you want to import the data into and step through the import
Menu->File->Import-> Spreadsheet – (XLS)
Select the file to import

37. Importing (cont.)
You will be allowed to select any data sheets in the import file.
You need not select more than one
And, as discussed, should not select the Resources sheet unless you definitely want to update the ALL the resources on it

40. Traps User Preferences Miss-matches
If you get this warning
There are Mismatches between your current User Preferences and the ones recorded in your import file.

41. Traps User Preferences Miss-matches (cont.)
In some cases the warning can be ignored, in others it can corrupt the import.
Some but not necessarily all problems are listed here:
If the units do not agree apparently the P6 preferences control.
So if the current setting is days but the setting in the import was hours, the import will be treated as in days resulting in far more hours than in the import

42. Traps User Preferences Miss-match Problems (cont.)
Another potential problem is with date formats
mm/dd/yy vs
mm/dd/yyyy
dd-mmm-yyyy
Etc.

43. Traps WBS Importing
If you do not import the WBS Code field (column) the WBS assignments of the activities imported to will be erased (i.e. set to the project level)
The same occurs if the WBS (WBS Code) does not exist in the schedule at the time of import
Note: The WBS (WBS Code) includes the Project ID
So while importing to a different Project ID will work it will results in all of the WBS assignments being erased.

44. Trick Preserving WBS Assignments
Export all your WBS assignments
Delete all the columns except the Activity ID and the WBS Code on a saved copy.
After all importing, import the above to restore the WBS assignments
For a different Project ID, just do a find and replace on the WBS Code column to set it to the correct Project ID value.