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1. Open the project that you want to become a master project (master project: A project containing other projects [known as inserted projects or subprojects]. Also called a consolidated project.).
2. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
3. In the Task Name field, click the row below where you want to insert the project.

   Note  You can insert a project at any level of the master project's outline (outline: A hierarchical structure for a project that shows how some tasks fit within broader groupings. In Project, subtasks are indented under summary tasks.).

4. On the Insert menu, click Project.
5. In the Look in box, click the drive or folder that contains the project.

   If you cannot find the project in the folder list, you can search for it.

6. In the folder list, open the folder or subfolder that contains the project you want.
7. Click the project you want to insert, and then click Insert.

   Tips

   • To insert multiple projects, hold down CTRL and click the projects in the order that you want to insert them.
   • To see Microsoft Office Project 2003 files saved in a database, click Project databases in the Files of type box.
   • To insert a project in read-only format, click the arrow on the Insert button, and then click Insert Read-Only.
8. If you don't want the subproject to be updated with changes from the original project, or changes from the subproject to be shown in the original project, clear the Link to Project check box.

   Tip

   If you consolidate projects containing resources with the same name, and you want to eliminate duplicate resource names, clear the Link to Project check box. The first instance of a resource name and its resource information, such as pay rates and resource calendars, will overwrite the second and subsequent instances. And because the subprojects are not linked to their source files, you will not be able to update the original project file with any changes made to the subproject in the master project.
9. Click Insert.

Tip

Notes

• Typically, if you create master projects and subprojects, only the subprojects are saved to the enterprise server. The master projects are only saved locally, unless your organization has specified that they can be saved to the server.
• If you are unable to open a subproject or view an external dependency (external dependency: A relationship in which the start or finish date of a task depends on a task in another project.) in a project, you may need to resave the associated projects to the same version (version: The default version created when saving a project in Project Server is "Published." Other version names may be defined by your organization. It is next to the project name in the Open from Microsoft Project Server dialog box.). These links will only be available for opening and viewing if each of the linked projects have been saved as the same versions on the enterprise server. The default when saving projects to the enterprise server is Published. To find a project's version, on the File menu, click Open. Look in the Version field for the project's version.
• Subprojects are treated like summary tasks (summary task: A task that is made up of subtasks and summarizes those subtasks. Use outlining to create summary tasks. Project automatically determines summary task information [such as duration and cost] by using information from the subtasks.) in the master project. The subproject's summary task can be indented and outdented within the outline to change the subproject's order in the hierarchy of tasks. However, if you indent or outdent tasks within the subproject, and the subproject is linked to its source file, those changes will also be shown in the original project.
• When consolidating projects into a master project, resources remain in the individual projects. You cannot assign a resource from one subproject to another subproject.