Did you know that there are eight P6 Professional export formats? Three of these are particularly useful for most schedulers; it is also beneficial to be aware of all eight.
The export feature in Primavera P6 Professional supports data transfer from a P6 Professional database to other P6 databases. These are the XER and XML formats. However, an XML file could refer to Microsoft Project schedules or a specific format required by the United Nations.
The Excel XLSX format supports the transfer of tabulated data to the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program. Schedulers should be familiar with the P6 XER and XML formats, as well as the Excel spreadsheet XLSX format. An awareness of the P6 Professional export formats would be helpful.
This article explains the most common P6 Professional export formats schedulers should be knowledgeable about and others they should be aware of.
Primavera PM – (XER)
The XER format is the most widely accepted among companies and agencies. I have found it to be the most stable and less prone to error messages during import, where most errors typically occur.
P6 Professional Release Number
Select the export P6 Professional release before exporting a schedule to XER format. Ten Six recommends you save your XER file in an earlier version. The rationale is that if the stakeholder you transfer your XER file to has an earlier version of P6 Professional, this makes your XER file compatible with their P6 release.
In Figure 1, the release of the installed P6 Professional is R24.12; however, we have selected to save the XER file for the earlier 15.2 release.
Coordinate with your stakeholders who need to import your schedule into their P6 Professional database and have them inform you of their P6 Professional software release.
If you cannot find out before the transfer, they can still open the XER file with Notepad and change the version number to make it agreeable with their version of P6 Professional. In Figure 2, we select the “Wellmont.xer’ file in Windows Explorer, right-click on it, and choose Open with | Notepad to open it as a text document in Notepad.
You will find a number near the upper left corner of the text document indicating the release of the source P6 Professional software. In Figure 3, we have opened Wellmont.xer in Notepad and found the source P6 Professional release is 24.12.
Figure 4 displays the Wellmont.xer in Notepad after editing to make it compatible with the earlier release 15.2.
Project Layout Files
One of the more robust and helpful features in P6 is the ability to save how your schedule is currently displayed in a Project Layout File (PLF). You can save your preferred task table columns’ font and colors, as well as Gantt chart graphics defined with bar definitions, groupings and other filters, in a PLF file.
For a primer on PLF files, refer to the article at the following link.
You want your stakeholders to have your P6 schedule in their P6 Professional database and to view it with the same look and feel or setup as you have. To achieve this, Ten Six recommends that you export a copy of the respective PLF file, along with the XER file.
When transferring your schedule, provide your stakeholders with both an XER file and a complementary PLF file. Refer to the article at the following link to learn how.
Your stakeholder will then import the XER file into the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) in the Projects tab and the PLF file into the Open Layout dialog.
Primavera PM – (XML)
The XML P6 Professional format has two advantages:
- You can save one or more baselines with your schedule, and
- It saves all PLF files in the Open Layout dialog associated with the target export project schedule to a Zip file along with the schedule XML file in that same single Zip file.
When exporting XML files, you do not need to select a release; toggle Primavera P6 – XML, as shown in Figure 5.
Export Baselines
Any baseline in the Maintain Baselines dialog, Figure 6, can be exported with your schedule.
The number of baselines allowed for Maintain Baselines is ten; therefore, the baseline export limit is also ten. Students often struggle to export baselines with their schedules. To include a baseline with your XML export, in the export dialog, Figure 7, click the Select field below the “Baselines to Export” header.
Then check off each available baseline you want to export. As mentioned, P6 Professional allows you to export multiple baselines with your schedule, Figure 8.
Remember, the XML file contains all the information for the selected baselines; there is no separate file for each baseline.
Export PLF Files
The PLF files associated with the current schedule you want to export, as shown in Figure 9, will be exported to the Zip file created for the XML file and all PLF files.
When you save a PLF file in the Save Layout As dialog, click the ‘Available to’ drop-down menu and choose Project, Figure 10.
This adds your new layout, e.g., Standard Wellmont Budget Layout, to the list of PLF layouts associated with the respective schedule, Figure 11, and is included next time you export that project, e.g., Wellmont.
Toggle to export the XML and all project layouts, PLF files, to a single compressed file, Figure 12.
Then click finish in Figure 12 to complete the export.
Spreadsheet – (XLSX)
Microsoft Excel serves as a common platform for exchanging tabulated scheduling information. Most team members are not P6 schedulers, so they need a familiar platform for updating their schedule status. The following links provide articles on exporting and importing P6 schedules using Excel, which offers a shared and familiar platform for team members.
Choose Spreadsheet – (XLSX) to begin the process of exporting to the XLSX format, Figure 13.
Remaining P6 Professional Export Formats
We now summarize the remaining P6 Professional export formats, which are identified as (1) through (5) in Figure 14.
- Primavera Contractor – (XER): Contractor XER format supports the import of data from Contractor 4.0. This minimalist schedule program does not include many of the P6 Project Portfolio Management’s enterprise features, such as the EPS and limits the size of schedules to 2,000 tasks.
- Microsoft Project: XML format enables you to share information with Microsoft Project. It is based on the Microsoft Project Data Interchange (MSPDI) schema for the sharing of project information.
- UN/CEFACT Schema: XML files enable you to export information to organizations that require the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT ). This format ensures that project management data and reports are structured in a consistent manner. It is developed and maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
- IMPDAR Format: The Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Report (IMPDAR) refers to the structure and delivery of schedule data as required by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other government acquisition contracts. It provides standardized cost and schedule performance data for government contract oversight and decision-making.
- CPP Format: This refers to the Comprehensive Contractor Project Performance (CPP) format, which is used to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reporting requirements. It is distinct from the XER and XML formats; it is a structured data submission for government oversight and performance analysis.
Summary
Of all the P6 Professional export formats, the XER format is the most widely used because it is considered the most stable. However, you will need separate files for your baseline and updates.
Consider exporting to an earlier version so your stakeholder recipient won’t have to open the XER as a text file in Notepad to modify the release designation. Your XER data package should include a PLF file in addition to the XER file, so you and your associate can view the schedule from the same perspective.
You can copy multiple baselines linked to your schedule using the XML export format. From my experience, the XML format is less stable. Several times, my XML import failed on the first few attempts, but on the fourth attempt, with no changes made, it imported successfully.
I have found this to be an issue with earlier P6 Professional releases, whereas the later releases are more stable. You can also copy all the PLF files associated with the export project into a single zip file.
It is possible to export to Microsoft Project in an XML format. Several formats are required to transfer data to the United Nations, the DoD and the DOE.