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Open an .mpp file without Microsoft Project

Drop the .mpp: its container is recognised, the format generation is named, and the way to get a readable schedule out of it is shown. The task detail of an .mpp is not read yet, and this page says so before you have lost five minutes.

Drop a schedule file

Microsoft Project XML, Primavera P6 XER, GanttProject .gan, CSV or .xlsx table, .mpp recognised. Or

When to use it

A client, a supervisor or a subcontractor sends their schedule in Project's native format. Project is not installed, and the file opens neither in Excel, nor in an online viewer, nor in LibreOffice.

Before buying Microsoft Project to read one single file, drop it here: you will know which generation of Project it came from, and what to ask the person who sent it.

What this page does

  • The container is read in full: it is a compound file, the same structure as an old .doc or an old .xls.
  • The streams it contains are listed, with their sizes.
  • The format generation is named when it is recognisable. When it is not, the tool writes unknown rather than guessing.
  • A truncated file is refused with a message saying what is missing, instead of a half-finished silent read.
  • The way forward is shown: in Project, File, Save As, then XML format. That XML is read here in full.

What it does not do: The task, link and calendar detail of an .mpp is not read yet. That work is waiting for real files from several generations of Project, because a reader written from a single example breaks on the second one. In the meantime the Project XML is read in full, and it comes out of Project in three clicks.

What is read

  • The Microsoft Project .mpp, any generation: the container, its streams, and its generation when recognisable.
  • The Microsoft Project XML (MSPDI), read in full: this is the recommended output.
  • The Primavera P6 XER and the GanttProject .gan, recognised on drop.

No file is uploaded: the schedule is read by your browser, in this tab, and the page is not allowed to open a connection to any other site.

Frequently asked questions

How do I open an .mpp without Microsoft Project?
Ask your correspondent for an XML export: in Project, File, Save As, XML format. That file opens here in full, with its tasks, links, calendars and resources. The .mpp itself is recognised and inventoried, but its detail is not read yet.
Why is the .mpp so hard to read?
It is not a published format. It is a container holding binary streams whose layout has changed with every version of Project since 1998. A reader written without a body of real files gets things wrong silently, which is worse than not reading at all.
Is the file sent anywhere?
No. The page is not allowed to open a connection to another site: its content security policy forbids it, and the browser is what enforces that. Open the Network tab and drop a file, you will see nothing go out.

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