Import projects in XER format

1. Choose File, Import.
2. Choose Primavera PM (XER). Click Next.
3. Choose Project.
4. Select the file you want to import.
5. Double click the Import Action field to select how the project data is imported, then specify where to import the projects in the Import To field.
   
   Select Update Existing Project to add any new/modified data in the XER file to an existing project.
   
   Selected Create New Project to create a new project while the existing project's data remains the same.
   
   Select Replace Existing Project to delete the existing project and replace is will the project imported from the XER file.
6. Choose the data to import by modifying the layout configuration in the Update Project Options dialog box (if necessary).
   
   In the Modify Import Configuration dialog box, select the data you want to modify. If resource security is enabled, some restrictions apply when importing activity resource assignments.
   
   Select the action to perform during the import process. Mark the Delete checkbox to remove unreferenced data (i.e., data in the project you are updating but is not included in the import file) from the project. (The Delete field applies only to relationships to external projects, thresholds, activities, activity relationships, and activity resource assignments. Global data types are not affected by this setting.)
7. Select the currency in which to import cost fields. (This dialog box only displays if the import file does not specify a currency, or if the currency does not match a currency defined in P6 Professional when P6 Professional is connected to a P6 Professional database and using P6 when connected to a P6 EPPM database.)
8. Click Finish.
9. Click Close.

Notes

• When you import an XER project file that contains financial periods, the financial periods in the XER file must exactly match the financial periods in the Financial Periods dictionary. If they do not match, no past period actual data will be imported.
• When selecting the import action, you must select the Create New Project option if you want P6 Professional to import past period actual data. If you choose any other option, past period actual values are not imported.
• For projects containing WBS Summary tasks, you should not choose to delete unreferenced data (Step 6 above). If you choose to delete unreferenced data, all WBS Summary tasks will be deleted.
• When you import a project that contains relationships to external projects that do not exist in your database, the module will preserve the external activity dates when you schedule the project if you select the Ignore Relationships To and From Other Projects option in the Schedule Options dialog box.
• If you manually plan future period distribution for resource/role assignments to activities, be sure to select the appropriate import action when importing data; otherwise, manual future period assignment values may be assigned. For example, if you are updating an existing project with imported data and you choose to import activity resource assignments, future period assignment values that exist in the project you are importing will overwrite future period assignment values in the project you are updating. Therefore, if the project you are importing does not contain manual future period assignment values and the project you are updating does contain manual future period assignment values, the manual future period values will be lost when the same assignment exists in both projects.
• The following applies only when you choose Update Existing as the Resource import action: When you import a shared resource calendar and a personal resource calendar with the same name already exists in the database, the data from the shared calendar updates the personal resource calendar by the same name, but the personal resource calendar remains a personal resource calendar. Likewise, when you import a personal resource calendar and a shared resource calendar with the same name already exists in the database, the data from the personal resource calendar updates the shared resource calendar by the same name, but the shared resource calendar remains a shared resource calendar.
• The following applies when you choose Keep Existing as the Resource import action: Subsequent to the import, there may be unassigned personal resource calendars; these calendars can be deleted.
• When connected to a P6 EPPM database: No risk data is imported when using XER format.
• When connected to a P6 EPPM database: The following applies only when you import an XER to an R8.0 application (or earlier) from an R8.1 application: If more than one issue has the same name and is assigned to different activities within the same WBS, the import occurs without error and the issue names are kept the same. However, the rule applicable to version R8.0 and earlier that issue names must be unique for issues assigned to activities within a WBS would subsequently apply. This means, for example, that you would not be allowed to change the name of one of the issues and then change it back to its original name. Doing so would cause the application to issue a message that the issue name must be unique.