Convert MPP to Excel, free
Drop your Microsoft Project .mpp file and download an Excel workbook (.xlsx): one row per task, names indented by outline level, Start and Finish as real date cells. No Microsoft Project needed.
To make the .xlsx, the file is sent to Onplana's servers, parsed in memory and discarded. Nothing is stored. Up to 50 MB.
What is in the Excel file?
One sheet, Tasks, with a row for every task in the plan:
- The task ID and name, the name indented by its outline level, and the parent task, so the outline reads as it does in Microsoft Project.
- Start and Finish as date cells, which Excel sorts, filters and charts as dates.
- Duration in hours, percent complete and whether the task is a milestone.
- Predecessors as text (3:FS:2 is task 3, finish to start, 2 days of lag), the assigned resources and the planned cost.
- The file's custom fields, one column each.
What a spreadsheet loses
The schedule logic. The links become text, so moving a date in Excel moves nothing after it, and nothing recalculates: summary rows, the critical path and slack stay as they were when you converted. The Gantt chart, the calendars and the baseline stay in the project file. Keep the .mpp for the plan and use the workbook for lists, filters, pivots and sharing with people who have no Microsoft Project.
A Primavera P6 .xer converts the same way: the converter and the viewer both read P6 files, so xer to Excel is the same drop and the same button.
Look at the plan first, or take the CSV
The viewer opens the same file on a Gantt chart. To get the task table as a CSV from it, choose File, then Task table as CSV. If your Excel puts the whole CSV in one column (Excel set to a semicolon list separator does), use the .xlsx above, or open the CSV with Data, From Text/CSV.
In the viewer, a Microsoft Project XML file opens in your browser, and is uploaded only if you run a health check or publish a copy. Any other file is converted on Onplana's servers. The viewer asks before each upload, and the uploaded copy is deleted within 3 days, and removed from backups 7 days after that.
Keep working in the plan rather than a copy of it. Get Onplana Schedule, free for Windows and Mac
Need a PDF instead?
For a Gantt chart to print or send, convert the MPP to PDF. To read the whole plan without converting it, the online MPP viewer shows the Gantt chart, the critical path and a free health check. Every other route, Microsoft Project's own export included, is compared in the MPP to Excel or PDF guide.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an MPP file to Excel?
Choose or drop the .mpp file on this page and press Download Excel (.xlsx). You get a workbook with one row per task: names indented by outline level, Start and Finish as date cells, duration, percent complete, predecessors, resources, cost and the file's custom fields. No account and no Microsoft Project needed.
What happens to my file?
To make the .xlsx, the file is sent to Onplana's servers, parsed in memory to write the workbook, and then discarded: nothing is stored. The viewer lower on the page is a separate route: it reads a Project XML file in your browser and asks before it sends any other file to be converted.
Can I convert a Primavera P6 .xer file to Excel?
Yes, the same way. The converter reads .mpp, .mpx, .xer and Project XML files up to 50 MB, and the viewer opens .xer files too.
Why does my CSV open in one column in Excel?
Excel set to a semicolon list separator, as on German, French, Spanish and Brazilian Windows, does not split a comma-separated file on a double-click. Use the .xlsx instead, or open the CSV with Data, From Text/CSV, which asks for the separator.
What does the spreadsheet lose?
The schedule logic. Predecessors become text, such as 3:FS:2 for task 3, finish to start, 2 days of lag, so moving a date in Excel moves nothing else, and summary rows do not recalculate. The Gantt chart, the calendars and the baseline comparison stay in the project file.
Can I turn the spreadsheet back into a Microsoft Project file?
Not from the .xlsx. Keep the .mpp or save it as Project XML. Onplana Schedule, the free Windows and Mac app, opens the .mpp, edits it and saves it as Project XML, which Microsoft Project opens.
Edit the plan, not a copy of it
Onplana Schedule, the free Windows and Mac app, opens the same .mpp, lets you change tasks, dates and links with the schedule recalculating, and saves it as Project XML, which Microsoft Project opens.
Get Onplana Schedule