Convert Microsoft Project MPP File
This article describes how to convert Microsoft Project MPP files to various output formats including HTML, plain text, and Microsoft Project Template (MPT) using Aspose.Tasks for .NET. The API provides a comprehensive set of features for customizing the output, including resource handling, header settings, styling options, and content filtering. Each format is covered with practical examples and optional customization steps.
Microsoft Project (MSP) allows developers to save project data (MPP/XML) to HTML, text and MPT templates. Aspose.Tasks also allows you to save project data to the same formats similar to MSP. This is achieved using the standard Save method exposed by the Project class.
Save Project Data as HTML
The HtmlSaveOptions class allows developers to control the layout and content of exported HTML files. It supports multi-page export, page size configuration, timescale selection, and embedding or externalizing CSS, fonts, and images. Aspose.Tasks can export project data to HTML format. It allows to save all the data to HTML or export only required pages to HTML by using the SaveOptions as shown in the following code samples.
1Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
2HtmlSaveOptions option = new HtmlSaveOptions();
3project.Save("SaveProjectDataAsHTML_out.html", option);
4
5// OR
6
7// Adding only one page (page number 2)
8option = new HtmlSaveOptions();
9option.Pages.Add(2);
10project.Save("SaveProjectDataAsHTML2_out.html", option);Controlling Header and Title Output in HTML
By default, the exported HTML document includes the project name in the HTML <title> and in the document’s page header. You can disable either of these elements by modifying the corresponding properties of the HtmlSaveOptions class.
1Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
2HtmlSaveOptions htmlSaveOptions = new HtmlSaveOptions();
3
4// Determines whether to include project name in HTML title (true by default)
5htmlSaveOptions.IncludeProjectNameInTitle = false;
6
7// Determines whether to include project name in HTML page header (true by default)
8htmlSaveOptions.IncludeProjectNameInPageHeader = false;
9htmlSaveOptions.Pages = new List<int>();
10htmlSaveOptions.Pages.Add(1);
11project.Save("ControlHeaderNameDuringHTMLExport_out.html", htmlSaveOptions);Saving Fonts, Images and CSS Styles Separately
Aspose.Tasks supports saving fonts, images, and CSS styles as external files. This is particularly useful when you want to integrate HTML output into an existing website or manage styling separately from the content. This is achieved using the HtmlSaveOptions class by providing information about CSS, Font and Image destinations. The resource export behavior can be configured through HtmlSaveOptions.ExportFonts, ExportImages, and ExportCss.
1public class ResourcePrefixForNestedResources : ICssSavingCallback, IFontSavingCallback, IImageSavingCallback
2{
3 public static void Run()
4 {
5 Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
6 HtmlSaveOptions options = GetSaveOptions(1);
7 project.Save("document.html", options);
8 }
9
10 public void CssSaving(CssSavingArgs args)
11 {
12 FileStream stream = new FileStream("css/" + args.FileName, FileMode.Create);
13 args.Stream = stream;
14 args.KeepStreamOpen = false;
15 args.Uri = "css/" + args.FileName;
16 }
17
18 public void FontSaving(FontSavingArgs args)
19 {
20 FileStream stream = new FileStream("fonts/" + args.FileName, FileMode.Create);
21 args.Stream = stream;
22 args.KeepStreamOpen = false;
23 args.Uri = "fonts/" + args.FileName;
24 }
25
26 public void ImageSaving(ImageSavingArgs args)
27 {
28 if (args.FileName.EndsWith("png"))
29 {
30 FileStream stream1 = new FileStream("resources/nestedResources/" + args.FileName, FileMode.Create);
31 args.Stream = stream1;
32 args.KeepStreamOpen = false;
33 args.Uri = "resources/" + args.FileName;
34 args.NestedUri = "nestedResources/" + args.FileName;
35 }
36 else
37 {
38 FileStream stream2 = new FileStream("resources/" + args.FileName, FileMode.Create);
39 args.Stream = stream2;
40 args.KeepStreamOpen = false;
41 args.Uri = "resources/" + args.FileName;
42 }
43 }
44
45 private static HtmlSaveOptions GetSaveOptions(int pageNumber)
46 {
47 HtmlSaveOptions options = new HtmlSaveOptions
48 {
49 Pages = new List<int>(),
50 IncludeProjectNameInPageHeader = false,
51 IncludeProjectNameInTitle = false,
52 PageSize = PageSize.A3,
53 Timescale = Timescale.ThirdsOfMonths,
54 ReduceFooterGap = true,
55 FontFaceTypes = FontFaceType.Ttf,
56 ExportCss = ResourceExportType.AsFile,
57 ExportFonts = ResourceExportType.AsFile,
58 ExportImages = ResourceExportType.AsFile
59 };
60
61 ResourcePrefixForNestedResources program = new ResourcePrefixForNestedResources();
62 options.FontSavingCallback = program;
63 options.CssSavingCallback = program;
64 options.ImageSavingCallback = program;
65
66 options.Pages.Clear();
67 options.Pages.Add(pageNumber);
68
69 if (!Directory.Exists("fonts"))
70 {
71 Directory.CreateDirectory("fonts");
72 }
73
74 if (!Directory.Exists("resources"))
75 {
76 Directory.CreateDirectory("resources");
77 }
78
79 if (!Directory.Exists("nestedResources"))
80 {
81 Directory.CreateDirectory("resources/nestedResources");
82 }
83
84 if (!Directory.Exists("css"))
85 {
86 Directory.CreateDirectory("css");
87 }
88
89 return options;
90 }
91}Adding Custom Prefixes to CSS Class Names While Exporting to HTML
To avoid CSS class name conflicts when integrating the exported HTML into a broader application, you can define a custom prefix using the CssStylePrefix property.
1Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
2
3HtmlSaveOptions options = new HtmlSaveOptions
4{
5 CssStylePrefix = "test_prefix"
6};
7
8project.Save("TestCssStylePrefix_out.html", options);Save Project to Text
Project data can be exported to plain text using SaveFileFormat.TXT. This format is intended for simple logging, debugging, or archival purposes.
1Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
2project.Save("SaveProjectAsText_out.txt", SaveFileFormat.TXT);Save Project Data as Template (MPT)
Aspose.Tasks allows saving a project as a Microsoft Project Template (MPT) file. This is useful when you want to create reusable project structures. Use the SaveAsTemplate method and configure optional parameters through the SaveTemplateOptions class to remove actual and baseline values.
1Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");
2ProjectFileInfo projectFileInfo = Project.GetProjectFileInfo("New Project.mpp");
3
4if (FileFormat.MPP14 == projectFileInfo.ProjectFileFormat)
5{
6 Console.WriteLine("Project file format is ok");
7}
8
9SaveTemplateOptions options = new SaveTemplateOptions();
10options.RemoveActualValues = true;
11options.RemoveBaselineValues = true;
12
13project.SaveAsTemplate("SaveProjectDataAsTemplate_out.mpt");
14
15ProjectFileInfo templateFileInfo = Project.GetProjectFileInfo(templateName);
16if (FileFormat.MPT14 == templateFileInfo.ProjectFileFormat)
17{
18 Console.WriteLine("Template FileFormat is ok");
19}Conclusion
Aspose.Tasks for .NET provides flexible and developer-friendly methods for exporting project data to multiple formats, including HTML, text, and templates. With the help of configuration classes such as HtmlSaveOptions and SaveTemplateOptions, developers can fine-tune the output to meet a wide range of business requirements. For additional details, refer to the API Reference or explore other export scenarios in the documentation.