MS Project Import
Importing a .mpp file is a governed workflow — activities, resources, and assignments land in a review surface for inspection before any ProjectXL planning table is modified, gated on explicit Work Package alignment.
Organizations migrating from Microsoft Project — or maintaining active MS Project schedules alongside ProjectXL cost planning — need a way to bring MS Project data into the governed model without losing the governance properties that make ProjectXL useful. A simple file-open operation that dumps raw MS Project data into planning tables would not meet that requirement; the imported data would lack the Work Package anchoring that the cost planning, validation, and lifecycle features depend on.
A Governed Workflow, Not a File-Open Operation
ProjectXL's MS Project import is designed as a governed workflow rather than a file-open operation. When a user selects an MS Project .mpp file, the importer reads all structural content — activities, resources, calendars, assignments, and summary structure — into an import-owned review surface. This surface is separate from ProjectXL's authoritative planning tables. The user can inspect what came in, identify anything that looks wrong, and address it before any authoritative table is modified.
The Work Package Gap
The most significant structural difference between MS Project and ProjectXL is that MS Project has no Work Package concept. Activities in MS Project exist in a summary hierarchy, but there is no governed execution element that anchors cost planning and integrates with charge numbers. When importing from MS Project, the user must explicitly map the incoming summary structure to valid Work Package definitions in ProjectXL before promotion is allowed. This mapping is surfaced as a required step in the import workflow — the system will not proceed to promotion until it is complete.