Try It!


You can now consistently track progress and boost productivity without double handling in MS Project and Altus with the Altus for Project add-in.

This add-in is automatically activated within Microsoft Project unless your organisation has limitations on what add-ins can be installed. If you cannot see the Altus Project Add-in after the app has been installed, click here for instructions on how to manually activate the add-in.

Let’s now learn how to connect and publish tasks from your local Microsoft Project Plan (MPP) file to your project schedule in the Altus app.


You can connect an MPP file to any Altus Project with the following criteria:

• It is an Altus project with either a Microsoft Project or Altus schedule type.
• It has no connection to another Microsoft Project plan.
• It has no tasks within the Tasks tab.
  
  

To create a project with a Microsoft Project schedule in the Altus app:

1. Click + New in your projects list. This will open the New Project pane.
   
   
2. Fill in the fields on the form.
   
   
3. Click the Unlink Project button. This will open the additional dialogue in the pane.
   
   
4. Select Microsoft Project from the Project Schedule drop-down. This will display the Next Steps details within the pane.
   
   
5. Click Create to create your project.
   
   
   If you open this project, you will see that it is shown as being a Microsoft Project External Project type. As it has not been connected to an MPP file yet, it still displays the Next Steps message. You will now need to follow the instructions below to connect your Microsoft Project plan to this project.
   
   

To connect your MPP to Altus for the first time:

The first time you connect a project plan to Altus, you will need to select the environment you would like to link to. Once you have selected the environment, any subsequent connections to Altus will remember the environment you selected so you will not need to repeat this part of the process.

1. Open your project plan in Microsoft Project.
   
   
2. Access the Altus toolbar in Microsoft Project. If you do not have access to this toolbar, you do not have the Microsoft Project Add-in tool installed on your PC. Click here for instructions on how to manually activate the add-in.
   
   
3. Click Connect to Altus. This will open the Microsoft Login window then the system will now locate and list the environments you have access to.
   
   
4. Select the environment you would like to connect to from the list and click Next. The Select Altus Projects list screen will open and display only the projects you have access to.
   
   
   Show unavailable projects: This tick box is not ticked by default. Projects will be unavailable if they already have tasks in them or are connected to an external scheduling tool.
   
   
5. Select your project from the list.
   
   
6. Click Connect. The connection process will run, and you will receive a confirmation message when this project plan is linked to the Altus Project.
   
   
7. Click OK.
   
   
   If you receive an error when you try and connect, there may have been a connection error, so try again. Once you have connected your MPP file, the other action buttons within the Altus toolbar will become active.
   
   

To connect your MPP to a different Altus environment:

1. On the Select Altus Project window click the Change Environment button. This will display the Select Altus Environment window.
   
   
2. Select a new environment to connect to. Follow the steps above to continue with the connection process.
   
   
   If you receive an error when you try and connect, there may have been a connection error, so try again. Once you have connected your MPP file, the other action buttons within the Altus toolbar will become active.
   
   

To publish your MPP to your Altus project schedule:

This process will publish all the tasks within your connected MPP schedule to the Altus Tasks tab. You must connect your MPP file to an Altus Project before you can perform this task.

1. Open the Altus toolbar.
   
   
2. Click the Publish Tasks button. The publish process will begin. The Processing Tasks window will open and display the progress of the publishing process.
   
   
3. Once the Publish dialogue completes click Close.
   
   
   Now that you have published your Microsoft Project plan to Altus, you should see the Tasks within the Altus app are in read only mode and the link indicator within the Details tab.
   
   
   Once the MPP file has been published to an Altus project, you can unlink it from Altus, but leave the Microsoft Project tasks within Altus. You can use this process to migrate any projects from Microsoft Project to Altus. See Disconnect a Microsoft Project Plan (MPP) from the Altus app.
   

Read: Altus for Microsoft Project – End User Guide