Chapter 32: Working with Microsoft Project Data

Overview

Okay, so you're well-versed in using Microsoft Office Project 2003 to create projects, delegate tasks , set up resources and assignments, work with calendars, customize project fields and global settings, and more. What you might not know yet is how Project 2003 keeps track of all this information, including where and how it is stored. You also might not know the ways in which you can view or use this information outside of Microsoft Project.

This chapter introduces key concepts about the databases associated with Microsoft Project, including the types of tables and data these databases include, and the different ways you can view these data.

Microsoft Project data are found in the following locations:

Microsoft Project database.       This is the primary storage location for Microsoft Project data. It is an integral part of any Microsoft Project plan and it contains all the data associated with a project. Data stored in the Microsoft Project database can be accessed by opening the following:

• Any file that Microsoft Project can open (depending on the type of file, it might need to be converted to a Microsoft Project 2003 file).

• A file from Microsoft Office Project Server 2003.

The project file in another application that can open the file; for example, a Microsoft Project database file opened in Microsoft Office Access 2003.

If you are using the enterprise features with Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 and saving project data to the Project Server 2003 database, the Microsoft Project database also stores enterprise project information.

Project Server database.       The Project Server database stores settings for Microsoft Office Project Web Access 2003, including security settings, resource views, and some enterprise project data. Data and settings in this database can be accessed only by project server administrators with permission to access the database. The entire database can be viewed by an authorized Microsoft SQL Server user . Certain settings stored in this database can be accessed by authorized users of Project Web Access 2003. Other users access subsets of data indirectly when using Project Web Access views or when checking projects into or out of Project Server using Project Professional 2003.

Cross-References  

For more information about Project Web Access and enterprise project management, see Chapter 20, "Understanding the Project Workgroup and Enterprise Model."

OLE DB.       Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is an object-based technology that can be used to share information by providing a uniform approach to how the data is stored and accessed between applications. OLE DB is a set of Component Object Model (COM) objects that provide database functionality by providing uniform access to data stored in an information container (a Microsoft Project file, for example). OLE DB allows you to access the data in the file (using an OLE DB Provider) much in the same way that you access data in a database. OLE DB provides many of the benefits of a database without requiring the existence of a database to use the data.

In this context, OLE DB is a provider of data, a Microsoft Project file contains the actual data, and Access 2003 is a tool that you can use to access the data.