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project professional 2010: linking tasks to tasks in a different project

Answered project professional 2010: linking tasks to tasks in a different project

  • Tuesday, April 05, 2011 12:19 PM
     
     
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    Hi,

    Is it possible to link tasks to tasks in different projects? I know you can link projects and add a subproject to a project, but is it possible to create task links on the task levels in different projects?

    Regards,
    George 

     

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  • Tuesday, April 05, 2011 12:33 PM
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    Yes, you can do it. Say you have 2 projects P1 & P2, to link tasks of P1 to P2. Insert P2 as subproject in the P1, then link tasks between the two, by simply clicking on 2 tasks and then click on Link icon. Once done, delete the inserted Project P2 from P1. Such linkage is called as External Linking/Tasks or Predecessors.

     Else you can open 2 Projects and type in Project Name slash task ID to which you want to link e.g. Project2\54 that means linkage to Project 2's task id 54.

    REfer : http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/create-task-dependencies-links-across-projects-HA010130865.aspx

     

    Sapna S
     
  • Tuesday, April 05, 2011 12:47 PM
     
     
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    Hi Sapna,

    Thanks for the help. I'm not sure I used the work link in the right sense. I don't mean link in the predecessor/successor sense. I meant that the tasks would become the same task but in 2 different projects. Just as a subproject is part of a master project and at the same time a project by itself in which any changes in the project itself or in the master project results in the same changes in the other location. I need the same task to be in 2 different changes and the changes to this task in any of the projects would result in the same changes to the other project.

    Thanks,
    George 

     
  • Tuesday, April 05, 2011 1:14 PM
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    Hello George,

    You cannot have same Task in 2 different Project with bi-directional updates, when you say of a master and sub-projects existing independently that is because each of them act as a schedule in itself, but for a task it need to be a part of some schedule. 1 of the Plan has to be the holder for that Task, before it could be pulled into other plan. So any update done on the task in originator plan always update it in this plan (where it is an external link).

    You can't see the bi-directional effect as in Master and Sub-projects case, becuase when you open a Master Plan, it actually opens all the Sub-Projects in backend (which a user working on the MAster remains unaware of). So it takes up the Bi-directional updates.

    If you want to update this external task, double click on it (from the plan in which it is inserted), this will open up the Original plan to accept any updates. Hope this explains.

    Sapna S
    • Marked As Answer by geo_d Tuesday, April 05, 2011 1:17 PM
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  • Friday, June 03, 2011 2:19 PM
     
     
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    Hi Saphna,

    how can i create link between two tasks in independent projects, when projects are on the project server ?

    Regards,

     

    Tom

     
  • Friday, June 03, 2011 2:25 PM
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    Hi Tom,

    The process is same as above post in which I have given a link too.

    Sapna S
     
  • Friday, June 03, 2011 3:12 PM
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    Tom --

    Refer to the following FAQ:

    http://www.projectserverexperts.com/ProjectServerFAQKnowledgeBase/interprojectlinks.aspx

    If you are using Project Server 2010, you can infer the correct steps from the 2007 section of the page.  Hope this helps.

    Dale A. Howard [MVP]
    VP of Educational Services
    msProjectExperts
    http://www.msprojectexperts.com
    http://www.projectserverexperts.com
    "We write the books on Project Server"

     
  • Tuesday, June 28, 2011 3:25 PM
     
     
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    Hello I'm having the exact same issue, Could you provide a link or a step by step to help me better understand how to establish the bi-directional links as you mentioned? I'm hoping that I can have a Master file where I can pull task data from other external project files (slave files); as a result, when task fields are updated on the slave files, those updates will update on the master file in their respected links. I'm able to do this with copy (task from slave files) and paste special (on master file) but this has proven to cause issues due to the links corrupting. Any help with be greatly appreciated. Best Regards, Detwenty
     
  • Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:47 AM
     
     
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    Hi

    This is not working for me in 2010. Please advise.

     

    Thanks

     

    Valerie

    Valerie Farber
     
  • Thursday, December 29, 2011 1:54 PM
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    Hi,

    Bi-directional links in Project do not exist.

    The copy/paste special solution is the only one I'm afraid, and yes, it's "proven to cause issues" as you say so well.

    Sorry!

    Greetings,

     
  • Wednesday, April 18, 2012 7:23 PM
     
     
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    Hello all,

    I'm having an issue with linking an external task. I've followed the guides available but the link does not get established. The link appears to be correct in the Task Information box, but as soon as I hit OK, the link disappears. Any thoughts?

    Thanks

    Tony

     
  • Wednesday, April 18, 2012 7:59 PM
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    Tony --
     
    Why are you doing anything in the Task Information dialog?  You do not need to do this.  Instead, follow these steps to create a temporary master project in which you can set the cross-project link (assuming you are using Microsoft Project 2010):
    1. Open a new blank project and select the first blank row.
    2. Click Project > Subproject.
    3. Navigate to the folder containing the project that holds the external predecessor task.
    4. Select that project and then click the Insert button.
    5. Click the next blank row (DO NOT expand the inserted project yet).
    6. Click Project > Subproject.
    7. Select the project containing external successor task and click the Insert button.
    8. Expand the bottom subproject and then expand the top subproject.
    9. Select the predecessor task in the first project, press and hold the CONTROL key, then select the successor task in the second project.
    10. Release the CONTROL key and then click the Task tab to display the Task ribbon.
    11. Click the Link Tasks button to set the cross-project link.
    12. Close the temporary master project file and click the No button so that you do not save the master project.
    13. When prompted to save each subproject file, click the Yes to All button.
    When you open either of the two projects containing the cross-project link, you will see a ghost task (gray task and gray Gantt bar) representing the external dependency.  Hope this helps.

    Dale A. Howard [MVP]
    VP of Educational Services
    msProjectExperts
    http://www.msprojectexperts.com
    http://www.projectserverexperts.com
    "We write the books on Project Server"

     
  • Wednesday, April 18, 2012 9:45 PM
     
     
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    Dale,

    Thanks for the steps to perform this link. What I tried to follow were the steps shown in this link:

    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/create-task-dependencies-links-across-projects-HA010130865.aspx

    That process indicates you can perform this procedure utilizing the Task Information box. Unfortunately, I was unable to link them successfully as shown in the procedure. However, your procedure worked fine. I was just trying to figure out why it wouldn't work the other way.

    Thanks again,

    Tony

     
  • Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:02 PM
     
     
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    Dale,

    As a follow, when I open the file hat has the external link, I was expecting the "Links Between Projects" dialog box to open since the box was checked under File>Options>Advanced>Cross Project Linking Options.

    Any thoughts on why this pop up when I opened the file with the external link?

    Thanks

    Tony

     
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:08 AM
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    Tony --
     
    You will only see the Links Between Projects dialog to warn you that the schedule changed in the predecessor project which impacts the schedule in the successor project.  Otherwise, if the schedule has not changed, you will not see the dialog.  It�??s good to leave the option enabled, just in case, and then pay attention to the warning.  It will tell you what task slipped and what task was impacted as a consequence.  Hope this helps.

    Dale A. Howard [MVP]
    VP of Educational Services
    msProjectExperts
    http://www.msprojectexperts.com
    http://www.projectserverexperts.com
    "We write the books on Project Server"

     
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:12 PM
     
     
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    Dale,

    Thanks for your assistance and now see how the warning operates. I misunderstood the intent of the warning but agree to leave the option enabled.

    Just curious though, did you look at the link I provided previously indicating how to link external tasks without going through the steps you provided? That would be a much more simple way of linking these tasks.

    Thanks again,

    Tony

     
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:43 PM
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    Tony --
     
    Yes, I looked at the link, but disagree that the method documented there is simpler.  Asking a user to type link information, in my opinion, leaves too much room for error.  Setting cross-project links using the method I taught you is my preferred method, as it eliminates any typing errors completely.  But then again, that�??s just my opinion!  :)  And you are more than welcome for the help, my friend.
     

    Dale A. Howard [MVP]
    VP of Educational Services
    msProjectExperts
    http://www.msprojectexperts.com
    http://www.projectserverexperts.com
    "We write the books on Project Server"

     
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:00 PM
     
     
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    Dale,

    Well, if everyone agreed with each other, this place would be pretty boring! Anyways, my real question now isn't one method over the other, it's why the method in that link doesn't work for me. Have you ever come across this before? If not, I won't continue to pester you with this.

    The reason I'm asking is because I'm currently working with a SharePoint training environment with a Company called BrightWork. The individual I'm trying to resolve this with can perform a certain activity on his machine and cannot duplicate my issue (not related to external links). So we're trying to see what possible settings could be different and maybe my external linking issue can also be a settings issue.

    Thanks,

    Tony

     
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012 3:46 PM
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    Tony --
     
    I have no idea why the method you tried did not work.  Sorry!
     

    Dale A. Howard [MVP]
    VP of Educational Services
    msProjectExperts
    http://www.msprojectexperts.com
    http://www.projectserverexperts.com
    "We write the books on Project Server"