One person owns the file
The schedule lives in a desktop file on the scheduler’s computer. Everyone else gets a PDF, so a foreman who wants to see why an activity moved has to ask for a new printout.
Schedule import
Import an MS Project schedule into a Gantt chart in the browser
A schedule that already exists in MS Project or in Excel should not be retyped to be shared. Fidrel imports a plan saved as XML from MS Project, an Excel or CSV sheet, or its own .json file, and adds the activities, groups and dependencies to the project’s Gantt chart. You see a preview first, and you check the links and the calendar before the team works in it.
30 days free · No long-term contract.
Why existing schedules are hard to share
Retyping loses the logic
A plan rebuilt by hand in another tool keeps the bars and loses the links. The first date that changes no longer moves what follows it, and the critical path is a guess.
Excel plans with no structure
Many small contractors plan in a spreadsheet with a name, a start and a finish. It is a schedule in practice, but nothing in it knows about predecessors, groups or working days.
What is read from an MS Project XML file
For each task Fidrel reads the name, start and finish, whether it is a milestone, its outline level, percent complete, actual start and finish, deadline and notes. The links between tasks come across with their type, finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish or start-to-finish, and their lag, which Fidrel converts to working days. The project summary task is left out, and times of day are dropped because an activity in Fidrel is a whole day.
Scheduling
Excel and CSV: heading names and dates
A column is recognized by its heading, in English or in the heading names MS Project uses, for example Task Name, Start, Finish, Duration, % Complete, Predecessors, Outline Level, WBS, Deadline and Notes. Without headings the first columns are read as name, start and finish. Dates may be Excel day numbers, ISO dates or day, month and year as a spreadsheet writes them; in the American edition the month comes first. Predecessors can be written as 3, 3FS+2 days or 5SS;7, which links to the rows with those IDs.
Importing a schedule step by step
Step 1
Save the plan from MS Project as XML
In MS Project choose File, Save As and the XML format. For Excel, make sure the sheet has a heading row with names such as Task Name, Start and Finish, and Predecessors if you have links.
Step 2
Open More and choose Import
In the project’s Schedule, open the More menu and choose Import, then pick the XML, XLSX, CSV or .json file. Files other than .json can be up to 20 MB, and a .json file up to 1 MB.
Step 3
Read the preview
Fidrel lists the activities it will add as the name, start and finish of each, and tells you how many rows without a readable start date were left out. Nothing is saved until you confirm.
Step 4
Import, then check links and calendar
Press Import. The rows are added after the plan’s own rows. Open the dependencies of a few activities, check the Working calendar and its non-working dates, and assign the responsible persons again.
What to check after the import
The imported activities are copies, so the source file is untouched and the Fidrel schedule can diverge from it from the first edit. The project’s working calendar decides which days count, so a plan built on a different calendar can finish on another date. Compare a few key dates with the original, save a baseline once you are satisfied, and tell the team that the Fidrel schedule is now the one to update. Only the project’s administrators import.
What the import does not do
A .mpp file or a Primavera .xer file cannot be imported; save the plan from MS Project as XML first. Resources, costs, baselines and the source plan’s calendars are not read; the plan uses the project’s own working calendar. Fidrel exports to Excel, CSV, PNG, SVG, PDF and its own .json file, not to MS Project. People are not carried over, so assign the responsible persons again after the import.
Related solutions
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Insights
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A clearer schedule. From the first activity to the final milestone.
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Schedule import
Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usNo. Save the plan from MS Project as XML first and import that file. A .mpp file is not read, and neither is a Primavera .xer file.
Yes, from an MS Project XML file, with their type and lag. From Excel or CSV, use a Predecessors column that refers to the IDs of other rows, such as 3FS+2 days.
No. The activities, groups and dependencies are appended as copies after the schedule’s own rows, and you see a preview of them before you confirm.
Rows without a start date that could be read are skipped, and Fidrel tells you how many. Fix the dates in the source file and import again, or add those activities by hand.
The project’s administrators, who are the people who edit the schedule. Other participants can open and read it.