Migrate from Microsoft Project Online

Microsoft retired Project Online on 30 September 2026. You bring your projects into Onplana from the files you exported. Which path you take depends on what you have:

• .mpp or Project XML files. Import them with Import a Microsoft Project file. They import in full.
• Excel or CSV extracts. They import as task lists with their hierarchy, but without dependencies. See Import a WBS from Excel or CSV.
• You exported nothing. Check for exports taken by someone else, and for .mpp files on project managers’ machines, which is where most organisations turn out to have more than they expected.

Note

Files you exported still import, with dependencies, custom fields and costs. Imported into a new project, a file’s baseline comes across as a baseline in Onplana. Working calendars are not imported: the project uses your organization’s working calendar. The file import reads the file itself and never contacts Microsoft.

Check a file before you import it

Tip

The free Migration Preview and Schedule Health Check analyze an exported .mpp with no account at all, so you can see what comes across, and what shape the schedule is in, before you import.

Import an exported file

1. Open Import from the sidebar (or go to /migrate), and under Where is your plan today? choose Upload a file.
2. Drop in the .mpp or .xml file you exported.
3. Review the field mapping, including any custom enterprise fields the file carries, then the preview, then resource matching.
4. Create the project, and repeat for the next file.

Every imported project gains an Import Cleanup tab with bulk-fix suggestions for anything the importer could not resolve, such as an unmatched resource or a field that didn’t map, with AI-suggested fixes; see the Import Cleanup tab for how it works. What comes across from each format is listed in Import a Microsoft Project file.

Two things a schedule file does not carry:

• Timesheet history was kept by Project Online and is not part of an exported schedule.
• Project site content (document libraries and the Risks/Issues lists on each project’s SharePoint site) is not part of the schedule file. Those sites are ordinary SharePoint content, so they can be linked into the matching Onplana project’s workspace afterwards at your own pace.

Review the Import → History record after each batch to confirm what was imported and clear any warnings.

For the full picture of Microsoft’s 2026 retirements, see the Project Online migration guide and Microsoft retirements 2026 on the main site.

Best practices

1. Migrate in batches of ten projects per sitting. Each wizard run brings one file across, which keeps failures isolated. A portfolio of fifty projects feels overwhelming as one marathon; ten runs at a time gives you a feedback loop where you spot resource-matching issues and field-mapping decisions before they propagate. Allow about half a day per batch of ten.
2. Use a “validation project” first. Pick one mid-sized project from the portfolio (twenty to fifty tasks, a handful of resources, dependencies that matter). Import it, verify the Gantt against the exported file, and check on the Baseline tab that its baseline came across. This dry-run shows you any quirks in your exports before the batches.
3. Bring resources into Onplana first. Imports match resources by email. Inviting the team to Onplana via Invite your team before the first batch turns every matched resource into a real assignment; otherwise you end up with a warnings list that has to be cleared by hand for every project.
4. Plan the cutover, not just the import. The move happens in two phases: (a) get the data into Onplana, and (b) flip your team’s system of record on a chosen date. Treat (b) as a project of its own: communicate the cutover date, and make sure end-users know where to file new requests after the flip.

Troubleshooting / common pitfalls

• My spreadsheet extract came in with no dependencies. Expected. Excel and CSV extracts carry task lists, not links. Import the project’s .mpp or Project XML file if you have one.
• Some tasks look one day off after import. Onplana treats task dates as calendar days and pins them to UTC precisely so they render the same for every viewer. If a date still looks shifted, check the source task for an odd finish time (for example 00:00 rather than end of business) and adjust after import; the wizard’s preview step shows the exact dates before anything is created.
• Where did my custom enterprise fields go? Task-scoped custom fields import on every plan, definitions and values. Managing and editing custom fields afterwards is a Pro+ feature, but nothing is dropped at import time.
• One project failed. Is my batch gone? No. Each wizard run is a single project, so a failure affects only that project; check its import-history warning and retry it individually.

How this combines with other features

• Migration + Baselines. Each project imported from a file with a baseline arrives with that baseline, so variance runs against the plan as Project Online last baselined it. Keep it as your historical truth, and capture a new baseline when you replan after the cutover.
• Migration + Rate cards. If you used Project Online’s resource cost rates, configure Rate cards before the cutover so earned-value calculations on the imported plans use the same numbers your old reports relied on.
• Migration + the AI assistant. After import, ask the in-app AI assistant to “summarize the imported portfolio and flag projects with missing milestones or resource conflicts.” It’s a fast quality-check pass that catches the issues humans miss when the list runs to dozens of projects.

Coming from other Microsoft formats

Source	Path
Project Online (retired)	Import the .mpp or Project XML files you exported, with Import a Microsoft Project file
Project Server on-prem	Export each project to .mpp or Project XML and import it the same way
Project for the Web (the newer cloud product)	Direct import from the wizard, connect your Microsoft account and choose Project for the Web (Premium) as the source; export to .mpp per project is the fallback
MS Planner	Direct import from the wizard, connect your Microsoft account and choose Microsoft Planner as the source, with an optional link that updates it from Planner every night; Planner schedules are typically small enough for AI Kickstart to scaffold them in minutes too

FAQs

Can I re-run the import to pick up changes? Each import creates a new project in Onplana. Import once you are ready to switch over, rather than importing the same file repeatedly, so you do not create duplicates. Move your team into Onplana as the system of record once the data is verified.

Will my custom enterprise fields come across? Yes, task-scoped custom fields import as Onplana custom fields, definitions and per-task values, on every plan. Each one appears as its own row in the field mapping step so you can confirm how it lands, or switch off columns you don’t want.

What happens to my resource assignments? Assignments are preserved and people are matched to Onplana members by email. Unmatched names are flagged so you can reconcile them rather than creating duplicates, and you can invite them from the wizard’s Resources step.

Do I need an Onplana paid plan to migrate? No, file import works on every plan including Free, and so does the Gantt that renders the result. Some of what comes across (custom fields, for example) is only visible on the plans that include those features, but the underlying data is always imported.

How long does a full portfolio migration take? Roughly half a day per ten projects, plus a day for cutover planning and team communication. Allow more for portfolios with complex resource pools or extensive custom-field usage.

Can I keep Project Online as a reference after the move? Onplana does not control what remains of Project Online after Microsoft retired it. Treat the files you exported, and the projects you imported from them, as the record.

Related

• Import a Microsoft Project file, the import every exported file goes through
• Import a WBS from Excel or CSV, for spreadsheet extracts
• Migrating from Microsoft Project, the wider migration hub with baselines + rate cards + dependencies
• Capture and compare baselines, where each imported baseline lands