Required Columns for Import into dspTrack™

To be imported into dspTrack™, the following columns are required in the spreadsheet or project file:

  • ID

  • Active

    NOTE: dspTrack™ will only import tasks that are marked as Active in MicroSoft Project.

  • Task Mode

    NOTE: Auto Scheduled is the only valid value in this column.

  • Name

    NOTE: This value in this column displays in the NAME column on the PlanTask page after the file is imported.

  • Start Date

    NOTE: This date corresponds to the Planned Start Date in dspTrack™.

  • Finish Date

    NOTE: This date corresponds to the Planned Finish Date in dspTrack™.

  • Predecessors

    NOTE: This column displays the ID of the predecessor task which is displayed on the PlanTask Dependency page after the file is imported.

  • Summary

    NOTE: dspTrack™ does not import Summary tasks, so this column will always display No.

  • Critical

    NOTE: This information displays on the Task’s Vertical View on the Additional Information tab after the file is imported.

  • Milestone

    NOTE: This information displays on the Task’s Vertical View on the Additional Information tab.

  • Notes

    NOTE: The data in this column displays on the PlanTask page’s Vertical View on the General tab, in the Description field after the file is imported.

  • Actual Start

    NOTE: If the Actual Start date for a task to be imported is after the current date, the import will fail. If the file being imported into dspTrack™ is an Excel file, the Actual Start Date must be updated to a date equal to or earlier than the current date in the Excel file. If the file being imported into dspTrack™ is a Microsoft Project file, the Actual Start Date must be updated to a date equal to or earlier than the current date in Microsoft Project. After correcting the Actual Start Date, import the file again.

  • Actual Finish

    NOTE: When importing a Microsoft Project file (.mpp), the Duration and Unit of Measure (UOM) fields are also imported for each plan task. When importing an Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx), if the Duration and Unit of Measure (UOM) fields are included, they will be imported as well. The Duration and UOM fields are also exported.

    NOTE: If a project is imported into dspTrack™, and the slack value is in the form of a percent in Microsoft Project, that value will be displayed as number of days in the Slack and Slack UOM fields on the Plan Task Dependency page.

  • Duration

    NOTE: This number, along with the Unit of Measure (UOM), determines how long the task should take to complete. This number can be a decimal and is used in schedule status calculations and on reports.

    NOTE: The import will fail if the Duration field is 0 for any tasks in the project.

  • UOM

    NOTE: This field, along with the Duration field, determines how long the task should take to complete and is used in Schedule Status calculations and on reports. Values are Days, Hours, Minutes, Months and Weeks.