Microsoft KB Archive/154778

= PRJ4: Importing Altered Database Files Unsupported =

Article ID: 154778

Article Last Modified on 8/24/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Project 4.1 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Project 4.1a
 * Microsoft Project 4.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q154778



SYMPTOMS
The Open From Database command in Microsoft Project may not open a project from a database correctly (or not at all) if the project has been edited in the database application, outside of Microsoft Project.



CAUSE
This behavior is by design.

The Open From Database command is supported only when all of the following conditions are true:


 * You saved the project to the database using the Microsoft Project Save to Database command.
 * You have not altered the project data in the database application.
 * You have not altered the structure of the Project, Resource Assignments, Resources and Tasks tables in the database.



MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft Project contains a database utility that supports saving project data in a database format. In Microsoft Project, you can open and work on files saved in a database and then save the changes you make back to the database.

The database utility in Microsoft Project 4.0 works only with Access 2.0 databases, whereas Microsoft Project 4.1 and 4.1a works with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access ODBC data sources. The database utility includes "Save to Database" and "Open from Database" commands. Microsoft Project 4.1 also includes a "Save to Database As" command. To access these commands, on the Tools menu, click Multiple Projects. For more information about the database utility, including accessing it from a macro, see the Database.wri file installed with Microsoft Project.

The database utility was designed to provide a secondary storage type (in addition to the MPP format). The benefit is that you can have multiple files stored in one database file. This enables you to easily open projects from one location and update information, and it provides a way to create reports easily from Microsoft Project data that include multiple projects. You can also use the query and report tools in the database application to analyze the data outside of Microsoft Project.

The database utility does not allow you to edit data outside of Microsoft Project. Updating information in the database application and then opening the file in Microsoft Project using the Open From Database command is not supported. This is because any field can be edited in the database, including fields that are not editable in Microsoft Project, and there is no simple way for the database to simulate the complex interrelationships among many of the fields in Microsoft Project. Problems can arise if invalid data is entered in the database, or if the database is left in an inconsistent (not fully calculated) state. Opening the project from the database may result in error messages, or cause some of the data entered in the database to be ignored, or create inconsistencies between fields in the project. Here are a few examples of potential problems:


 * Changes made to the ActualWork field in the Task table in the database are lost when you reopen the project because Microsoft Project rolls up the Actual Work from assignments.
 * Changes made to the Start or Finish field in the Task table in the database are lost when you reopen the project, because those fields are calculated in Microsoft Project from Constraint Dates, predecessors, Actual Start, and so on.
 * The task Unique ID field is non-editable in Microsoft Project, but you can edit the TaskUniqueID field in the Task table in the database, and you can even enter the same value for multiple tasks.

The supported way to edit or add data to a project stored in a database is to use the Open From Database command to open the project in Microsoft Project, make the necessary changes to the data, and then use the Save To Database command to save the project back to the database. This guarantees that all information in the project has been calculated correctly.

