Exporting to Open Plan
To export a schedule, the user must have a username and password to access the Open Plan database. The exported schedule will be stored on the same machine as NetPoint.
When exporting, keep in mind that there are many differences between NetPoint and Open Plan. Items like resources, calendars, codes, and constraints, for example, are all handled slightly differently. An explanation of these difference can be found in the notes below. If any activities or milestones have been scheduled on planned-dates, make sure to follow the instructions in Preparing to Export from NetPoint (GPM) before exporting.
Steps
In NetPoint
- Click File > Import/Export from the menu bar and choose .
- Enter your Open Plan credentials and choose a Project Name.
- Fill in the properties as desired.
- When finished, click OK. The schedule will appear under the Projects node in the Open Plan Explorer window.
- Click OK to confirm.
In Open Plan
- With the schedule open in Open Plan, click F9 on the keyboard). from the menu bar (or press
- Specify current time and click OK.
Notes
Export to Open Plan Window
Field | Definition |
Username | The username for logging into to Open Plan. NOTE: If Open Plan is already open, the username will already be known and disabled accordingly. |
Password | The password for logging into to Open Plan. NOTE: If Open Plan is already open, the password will already be known and disabled accordingly. |
Project Name | The name once exported to Open Plan. |
Calendars | Controls whether or not calendars will export as global. |
Project Codes | Controls whether or not codes will be exported. Any codes which allow more than one of their values to be assigned to the same activity will not transfer. To review, click Tools > Open Codes Manager and review their behavior. |
Project Resources | Controls whether or not resources will be exported and how. |
Supported Fields
NetPoint Objects and Fields
The following NetPoint objects and fields are brought into P6. If a field is not listed, then it does NOT transfer. Some examples of fields that do not transfer are identified where relevant
This field in NetPoint | Becomes this field in Open Plan | Notes |
Activity, Delay | Activity | |
Milestones and benchmarks (both start and finish) | Start/Finish Milestone | Milestones that were benchmarks in NetPoint are given Fixed Target dates Open Plan. |
Hammock | Hammock | Each hammock must include at least one member activity. Otherwise, the schedule may not export or network logic may not transfer. Furthermore, we recommend that hammocks contain a continuous network of member objects.If present in hammocks, a start milestone or benchmark must have at least one successor within the hammock and a finish milestone or benchmark must have at least one predecessor within the hammock. Any unconnected milestones or benchmarks will be connected to the LOE with a start-to-start or finish-to-finish relationship accordingly. |
Embedded nodes and link lags | Lag | If both exist in the same relationship, they will be combined. For example, an SS relationship with a link lag of 5 days and an embed lag of 5 days will transfer as an SS with 10 day lag in P6. |
Description | Description | Any description over 100 characters will be truncated. |
ID | ID | If empty, IDs are created in Open Plan with prefix “NP”. |
Start Date | Start | |
Finish Date | Finish | |
Duration | Duration | |
No-earlier-than Constraint | Not Earlier Than | Constraints transfer to “Target Dates” in Open Plan |
No-later-than Constraint | Not Later Than | Constraints transfer to “Target Dates” in Open Plan |
Buffer | Free Float | |
Total Float | Total Float | |
Calendar | Calendar | Recurring holidays (“fixed-date” holidays in NetPoint with a repeat factor of 1 year) will transfer individually, with each case being a separate holiday. |
Grid Position | — | This field is exported for round-trip purposes only and isn’t used in Open Plan. |
Color | — | This field is exported for round-trip purposes only and isn’t used in Open Plan. |
Shape (milestones/benchmarks) | — | This field is exported for round-trip purposes only and isn’t used in Open Plan. |
Text Formatting | — | This field is exported for round-trip purposes only and isn’t used in Open Plan. Includes font, color, alignment, style, size, and line breaks. |
Text Display | — | This field is exported for round-trip purposes only and isn’t used in Open Plan. Includes text fields, date fields, float fields, etc. |
Resources | Resources | In NetPoint, an activity may have some resources assigned to it “per day” and other resources assigned to it “per duration”. This is called a mixed assignment. In Open Plan, all resource assignments are assigned per day. For more on distribution types, see Assignment Options. NOTE: Histogram, Color, and Color Intensity are not exported at this time. |
Name | Description | |
Cost/Unit | Unit Cost | |
Category | Category | “Material” and “commodity” become “material”, “dollars” becomes “other direct cost”, and every other type becomes “labor”. |
Rate/Dur, Rate/Day | Resource Level | Upon export, all resource assignments are converted to units per day. |
Codes | Codes | In NetPoint, multiple values per code may be assigned to the same activity. In Open, however, only one value per code may be assigned to the same activity. Project codes are not exported if they are set to have multiple values in NetPoint (even if only one value is actually defined for the code or assigned to an activity). |
Name | Code | |
Value | Value |