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Insert a project into another

Business planProject Manager or above to insert and unlink

A programme is often several projects, each run by its own team. Inserting a project puts another Onplana project into this one, the way Microsoft Project’s Insert Subproject does: it appears on this project’s Gantt as one summary row with its tasks under it, and this project’s finish date takes it into account. The inserted project stays its own project. Its team keeps working in it, and this project shows the change the next time it loads.

Insert a project

Section titled “Insert a project”

  1. Open the project that should hold the other one and select the Gantt tab.

  2. Select the arrow beside Add Task in the toolbar, then Insert a project.

  3. In Choose a project, type to find the project and select it. The list holds the projects you can open in this workspace. This project is left out, and a project already inserted here shows Already inserted.

  4. Select Insert. A summary row named after the project appears, closed, with an Inserted project label. Open it to see the project’s tasks beneath it.

The row goes after this project’s own top-level rows. Inserting is not on the Gantt’s Undo list: to take it back, unlink the project.

How an inserted project behaves

Section titled “How an inserted project behaves”
  • Its dates come from its own tasks. The summary row spans the inserted project’s earliest start to its latest finish, or the project’s own start and end dates when its tasks have none. This project’s schedule never moves it.
  • This project finishes no earlier than it. When the inserted project finishes later than this project’s own work, this project’s finish moves out to meet it, and the row says Drives this project’s finish. Float and the critical path of this project’s tasks count the inserted projects too.
  • It works one way. The inserted project’s own schedule never reads this one, so nothing in it moves because it was inserted here.
  • It is read only here. Inserted tasks are drawn muted, with a “from” label naming their project. They cannot be edited, moved, linked or selected on this Gantt, and a drag or a link onto one is refused with the reason. Open the project to change them.
  • Open it from its name. The project’s name on the summary row opens that project’s own Gantt.

While a search or a filter narrows the chart, inserted projects are hidden, the same way rows that do not match are.

Section titled “Unlink a project”

  1. On the inserted project’s summary row, open its … menu.

  2. Select Unlink from this project and confirm.

The summary row and its tasks leave this Gantt, and this project’s schedule stops counting it. The inserted project itself is not changed, and none of its tasks are copied into this project.

Section titled “Who can insert and unlink”

Inserting and unlinking a project need the same permission as Edit project on this project, which by default its owner and its Project Managers have, and you must be able to open the project you insert. Everyone who can open this project sees the inserted rows.

If you cannot open an inserted project, its summary row is all you see, with the note “You cannot open this project, so its tasks are not shown.” Its dates still count toward this project’s finish.

Inserting projects is part of portfolios, on the Business plan and above. On a lower plan Insert a project carries a lock and explains the plan it needs. A project inserted while the workspace was on a plan that has it stays linked after a downgrade, but the Gantt does not draw it and this project’s schedule does not count it until the plan has portfolios again.

Limits

Section titled “Limits”
  • A project can hold up to 50 inserted projects.
  • A project cannot be inserted into itself, or into a project it already holds, directly or through other inserted projects, since that would make a loop.
  • A project can be inserted into the same project only once.
  • Up to 1,000 tasks of each inserted project, and 2,000 in all, are drawn. When a project has more, its summary row says how many are not shown.
  • A task with no dates, and nothing dated below it, is not drawn.
  • Arrows between tasks inside an inserted project are not drawn here.

FAQs

Section titled “FAQs”

Is the other project changed when I insert or unlink it? No. Inserting reads it, and unlinking removes only the link.

Why can I not change a task under the inserted row? It belongs to the other project. Open that project from the summary row’s name and change it there.

Why did this project’s finish date move after I inserted a project? The inserted project finishes later than this project’s own work, so this project now finishes no earlier than it. The summary row says Drives this project’s finish when that is the case. Unlink it to go back.

Can I insert a project from Onplana Schedule? Onplana Schedule inserts another schedule file with its own Plan > Subproject… command. See Insert another schedule as a subproject.

Section titled “Related”