how do I insert emails into Project tasks?

[paulpbi]

I want to utilize some of the features of Outlook in Project....essentially,
I want to either:

a) change the sizing and readability of Outlook navigation pane or
b) insert emails and other documents into Project tasks

 

[JulieS]

Hello paulpbi,

For question a, I suggest posting to the Outlook newsgroup. For question b
-- you may create hyperlinks to saved items (files) in Project through the
Insert > Hyperlink command. If you wish to hyperlink to an email, you'll
need to save the email as a file.

You can also copy/paste text into the notes field of a task.

I hope this helps.

Julie

 

[paulpbi]

Julie,

Thanks for the information. However, what you are suggesting is that I have
a saved email each time I want to insert. If I have a big project going on
with lots of email communication, that is a lot of extra work. Is there a
quicker way to do it, or does an upgraded version of Project solve these
problems?

 

[JulieS]

You're welcome.

I don't believe any version of Project (including Project with Project
Server) is going to capture emails within Project. I believe there is an
Outlook add-in component with Project Server, but outlook still keeps track
of the email store. You could create a folder in Outlook for your Project
and move emails concerning the project into that folder, but they would
remaing in the Outlook folder system, not tied to Project. I am not aware of
any third party products that do what I think you are looking for, but take a
look at the Project MVP web site for companion products.
See
http://project.mvps.org

Julie

 

[paulpbi]

What I hear you saying then, is that my original emails would stay in
Outlook, but if I was using Project server and the Outlook add-in, I could
link emails to Project.

If I don't use Project Server, there is no easy way for me to import my
email information.

How does the email collaboration work then? Emails are sent out of Project,
but just can't be saved back in?

Please clarify.

 

[JulieS]

Hello,

I'm not terribly familiar with MS Project Server, so your question of
precisely what does the Outlook Add-in do within Project Server would
best be asked on the Project Server newsgroup. I believe the purpose
of the Add-in is to allow users to track tasks in Outlook and then be
able to report that progress back to project managers who use MS
Project.

As far as an easy way to import email information, to the best of my
knowledge, no, other than the two methods I mentioned before -
hyperlink to a file or copy/paste the data.

Even with project server collaboration, I believe the email is still
generated by Outlook and stored by outlook, it is not generated by MS
Project. Again, try posting questions about Outlook and Project
Server collaboration to the project server newsgroup.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project