Use the Project Service Automation Add-in to plan your work in Microsoft Project

Applies to Project Service app versions 2.x and 1.x

Project Service makes it easier for you to do your project planning, including estimates. You can define the work so that costs, effort, and sales value are clear as the final proposal is submitted.

Now you can install the Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Add-in for Microsoft Project and do your planning work in the familiar environment of Microsoft Project. Use the robust planning and management capabilities of Microsoft Project and then update your project plan in Project Service Automation.

Download and install the add-in

Have your Project Service sign-in information ready. You will need this information to connect from Microsoft Project to Project Service.

1. From the Download Center, download the add-in for your supported version of Project Service, either V2.X or V3.4+.

2. Click the download link.

3. When the download is complete, click Yes to install the add-in.

Configure the add-in

1. Open Microsoft Project and click the Project Service tab.

2. Click Connect.

3. Enter your sign-in information and then click Sign in.

   Now you can start using the add-in.

Read from a template

Read from a template that you created in Project Service and copied into Microsoft Project to start your project planning. More information: Create a project template (Project Service Automation)

1. From the Project Service tab, click Read > Project Service Automation Project Template.

2. Choose a project template from the list and then click Open.

   Note

   By default, the tasks that are copied from the template into Project are set as manually scheduled.

Assign Project Service roles to project resources

1. Open a project and click the Task ribbon.

2. Click the Gantt Chart menu and then choose Resource Sheet.

3. On the Resource Sheet, click the Project Service Resource Role drop-down menu and choose a Project Service Automation role.

Staff your project with resources

1. From the Project Service tab, select a row and click Find Resources.

2. On the Book Resource screen, select the resource that you want to use for the project.

3. Click Book and then click OK.

Publish your project

When your project planning is complete, the next step is to import and publish the project in to Project Service.

The project will import into Project Service. The pricing and team generation process are applied. Open the project in Project Service to see that the team, project estimates, and work breakdown structure have been generated. The following table shows where to find the results:

To import and publish your project

1. From the Project Service tab, click Publish > New Project Service Automation Project.

2. On Publish to a new project in Project Service dialog box, enter the Project Name and select the Customer.

3. Optionally check the Link project plan to Project Service Automation to link the plan Project file to Project Service Automation.

4. Click Publish.

   Linking the Project file to Project Service makes the Project file the master and sets the work breakdown structure in Project Service to read-only. In order to make changes to the project plan, you need to make them in Microsoft Project and publish them as updates to Project Service.

Edit a project that’s been imported

To make changes to a project plan that's been imported into Project Service, you have two options:

• Open the master file and edit it in Microsoft Project.

• Unlink the file and edit it directly in Project Service. By default, a project that’s been uploaded from Microsoft Project is locked and can only be edited in Project. To edit the file in Project Service, the file has to be unlinked.

Edit in Microsoft Project

1. From the main menu, click Project Service > Projects.

2. From the list of projects, open the one you created in Microsoft Project.

3. Click Open in MS Project from the ribbon. This will open the linked master file in Microsoft Project.

Unlink a file and edit in Microsoft Project Service

1. From the main menu, click Project Service > Projects.

2. From the list of projects, open the one you created in Microsoft Project.

3. Click Unlink from MS Project from the ribbon.

Upload a Project file to SharePoint or Office Groups

You can upload your Project file to SharePoint and find it under the Associated Documents for your Project Service project. You need to have your administrator configure SharePoint document management and turn it on for the Project entity.

You can also upload your Project file to OneDrive for Business if you have Office Groups set up.

Upload a file for SharePoint

1. From the main menu, click Project Service > Upload.

2. Select To Project Service Automation Project Documents.

3. On the Enable Open in Microsoft Project dialog, select Yes or No.

   • If you click Yes, you'll be able select the Open in Microsoft Project button in Project Service Automation, launch Microsoft Project, and load the Project file from the SharePoint document library.

   • If you click No, the link for the Open in Microsoft Project button won't work.

4. The Microsoft Project file can be found in Project Service under Documents for the specific Project Service project.

Upload a file for Office Groups

1. From the main menu, click Project Service > Upload.

2. Select To Project Service Automation Project Documents.

3. On the Enable Open in Microsoft Project dialog, select Yes or No.

   • If you click Yes, you'll be able to select the Open in Microsoft Project button in Project Service Automation, launch Microsoft Project, and load the Project file from the SharePoint document library.

   • If you click No, the link for the Open in Microsoft Project button won't work.

4. The Microsoft Project file can be found in Project Service under Documents for the specific Project Service project.

Publish your project as a template

You can save your project and reuse it by saving it as a project template in Project Service. Project templates are reusable project plans in Project Service. More information: Create a project template (Project Service Automation)

1. From the Project Service tab, click Publish > New Project Service Automation Project Template.

2. On the Publish to a new project in Project Service template dialog box, enter the Project template name.

3. Optionally, check the Link project plan to Project Service Automation to link the Project file to Project Service.

4. Click Publish.

Linking the Project file to Project Service makes the Project file the master and sets the work breakdown structure in the Project Service template to read-only. In order to make changes to the project plan, you need to make them in Microsoft Project and publish them as updates to Project Service.

Read a resource loaded schedule

When reading a project from Project Service Automation, the resource's calendar isn't synchronized to the desktop client. If there are differences in the task durations, effort, or end, it's probably because the resources and the desktop client don't have the same work hour template calendar applied to the project.

Data Synchronization

The following table outlines how data is synchronized between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

See Also

Project Manager Guide