You’ve done a great job by creating a project plan in MS Project. You’ve sent the file to your client or colleagues via email and ops – they do not have a Microsoft Office Project installed on their computer and therefore cannot read the attached file. What should you do?

It would be so much easier if Microsoft Project 2007 had an option of saving a file in a PDF format as in the case with Word or Excel. But unfortunately it does not. So what are the alternatives on how to save and view the project files in a graphical manner?

You can save MS Project 2007 files as images. It will take a snapshot of a project plan in the form of a non-editable picture.

1. Open the Project file you want to take a picture of
2. From the Standard toolbar, click the Copy Picture button, or from the Report select Copy Picture
3. In Render Image decide on either For Screen (for the image to be used on screen), For Printer (for the image to be used on printed materials), or For GIF Image File (if you will be using a file on a web page)
4. In Copy choose either the selected rows or all the rows on screen to be included in the picture
5. In Timescale indicate the time frame within which you want the project to be copied.
6. Click on OK
7. Start the application where you want to insert the picture. Just some applications to use are Paint, Word, Visio, PowerPoint, an email, or even Excel
8. Insert the picture in the desired location

Now enjoy the sharing of the project schedule.

Want more tips? Click on Microsoft Project Tips & Tricks