# MS Project - merging info from separate files



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

Quick query... is there means to easily combine different MS Project files? For example, I have a number of different projects going on, and a couple other people do too, and we all have separate MS Project files for each separate project. Is there means to capture all of the info into one master Project file, w/o creating a mess? So then, when we have meetings to discuss all of the individual projects, we can then see how all projects overlap, any interference, scheduling issues, etc. Or, in other words, the "master" Project file would just like mirror any changes we made to these separate Project files, as they were done, individually. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense - I have an idea of what I want to see, but hard to type it out...


----------



## ddockstader (Oct 21, 2004)

Microsoft Project will let you merge projects together. You even have the correct naming convention. Microsoft calls them Master Project and subprojects. You can look it up in the Help file. However ....
There are a few caveats to be considered. First, it won't necessarily point out conflicts between what was originally multiple, independently developed projects. It won't show where you have conflicts and, since it concatenates resource tables, it may not even tell you where you have the same resource overcommitted between projects. Since it can't intuitively link the projects and identify dependencies (wouldn't THAT be nice) (although it would probably do it wrong and you'd have to go back and correct all of it), that all has to be done manually. Also, project managers set up projects differently. If you have one who puts in hard dates and doesn't use dependencies while all the rest do, it becomes a nightmare. Then sometimes the Master Project gets so large that things get lost in the middle and you don't catch critical issues in a timely manner. In short, the maintenance can (and often does) go up exponentially. If you still want to do this, look up "consolidated project" and "merge project" in the Help file. Good luck.


----------



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

Thanks, appreciate the reply/info!


----------

