Microsoft Project Server Link

Use Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet's Microsoft Project Server Link to link project and task assignments created in Microsoft Project Server to Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet. When a link is created, employees use Dovico to track time on the task assignments created in Microsoft Project Server. When time entries are submitted and approved, the actual hours worked are updated in Microsoft Project Server files.

Click here to see an overview of the information being transferred using the Microsoft Project Server Link.

This topic describes the fundamental steps required to setup and synchronize data from Microsoft Project Server to Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet. Details on how to send time entries from Dovico to Microsoft Project Server are described in Send time to Microsoft Project Server.

STEP 1: Establish the connection to Microsoft Project Server.

STEP 2: Synchronize the Resource pool.

STEP 3: Synchronize projects, employees and task assignments from the Microsoft Project Server file.

Prerequisite:

The Microsoft Project link requires ActiveX controls and only Internet Explorer supports ActiveX. Limited functionality is possible for Microsoft Project Server using Firefox and Chrome web browsers.

Notes:

Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet can link with Microsoft Project and Microsoft Project Server versions 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 and 2002.
Microsoft Project Server 2003 cannot be used for customers on Dovico's Hosted Online solution.
Limited functionality is available when using Microsoft Project Server Link on a browser without ActiveX controls. Functionality is limited to Get Resources, Add Projects, Get Assignments and Change Links.
The Microsoft Project Link and the Microsoft Project Server Link cannot be used together on the same Dovico database.
Microsoft Project must be installed on the computer or workstation where the Microsoft Project Server Link option is used.
When adding a large Microsoft Project, it is recommended that the Audit Trail logging level be set to 'None' for the duration of the import process, and then returned to its previous state after the project has been added. Otherwise, users may experience problems using the software.
If the ActiveX control fails to load either due to the browser’s security settings or due to the browser’s ability, a message is displayed at the bottom of the view.

STEP 1: Establish connection information

Select Microsoft Project from the menu (Menu > Views tab > Microsoft Project).
Select the Project Server Link tab.
In the Connection Information area, enter the Microsoft Project Server URL.
Select your login Authentication format.

Note: The Windows Authentication option cannot be used by customers on Dovico's Hosted services.

Enter the Microsoft Project Server Authentication User name and Password.

Click the Apply button.

Warning: Before moving to the next step, you must ensure that you have added a Microsoft Project Server Account in Microsoft Project under Tools, Enterprise Options, Microsoft Office Project Server Accounts. After which you are prompted to connect to a Microsoft Project Server Account each time you access Microsoft Project.

STEP 2: Synchronize the Resource pool

When a Microsoft Project Server resource pool is linked to Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet, employees assigned to each project are automatically added to the Dovico database.

Warnings:

If an employee entered in the Microsoft Project Server Resource Pool already exists in Dovico, that employee will be duplicated in Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet the first time the link is created. To correct this, contact Dovico Support.
Employee names must include both a first and last name to be successfully imported into Dovico.

Start Microsoft Project Server.
From Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet, select the Project Server Link tab.

Click the Get Resources button located below the Resource list box.

Microsoft Project Server		Dovico
Resource first name		Employee first name
Resource last name		Employee last name
Resource email address (optional)		Employee email address

For each employee added, you need to edit their User ID and Password information as random data is entered in these fields when an employee is added from the resource pool. You also need to modify the Software access field for each new employee as 'None' is selected by default. Use either the Project Assignment view's employee list or the Items List - Employees view to edit this information.

Note: If a synchronized employee in the Microsoft Project Server resource pool file is ever deleted, that employee will remain in the Dovico database.

STEP 3: Create a link in Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet

After the link is successfully created:

The project is added to the list of projects in Dovico. You can edit some project information in Dovico without affecting the link or Microsoft Project Server files.
Tasks are not added to the list of tasks in Dovico. However, the tasks are displayed in the Project Assignments view and are available to employees entering time.

Prerequisite:

Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet only supports task assignments from the bottom level tasks in the Microsoft Project Server file. Also, do not leave any blank rows in the Microsoft Project Server file's Gantt chart view. Additional details

Click the Add Project button located below the Project list box.
A pop-up window opens listing all Microsoft Project Server projects not currently linked to Dovico.
Select a project from the list and click OK.

The project, its tasks and assignments are added to Dovico. The project (with the "published" extension) and its tasks are displayed in the Project Assignments view. You cannot add or edit assignments using the Project Assignments view.

Microsoft Project Server		Dovico
Projects		Projects
Tasks		Tasks
Resource Assignments		Task Assignments
Work		Estimate hours
Assignment Start and Finish dates		Assignment Start and Finish dates
WBS code (optional)		WBS code (displayed in Budgeted Time & Costs view)
Publish (optional)		Show/Hide feature in Project Assignments view

The project assignments are now created in Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet and employees can begin tracking their time against this project.

Click here to see how to send time from Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet to the Microsoft Project Server file.

Notes:

WBS codes are only transferred to Dovico when they have been defined in Microsoft Project Server (From Microsoft Project Server, select Project | WBS | Define Code).
If you edit a project plan file in Microsoft Project Server, you need to re-synchronize by selecting the file from the Project List box and clicking Get Assignments.
If you rename or move the Microsoft Project Server file, the link will be broken and you will receive an error message when trying to send time. To repair a broken link, select the project from the Project List box and click the Change Link button to locate the file. Only one project should be selected from the Project List box before the Change Link button is used.
The projects, tasks and employees imported into Dovico may or may not be automatically available to all other managers using Dovico Planning & TimesheetDovico Timesheet. The availability of imported items to other managers is determined by the status of the "Grant Access automatically..." checkbox located in the Limited Access tab.