Import and export tasks and project plans

Bring tasks in from Excel or CSV (yours or another tool's), bring whole project plans in as XML, and take them out again.

Open Import: on a project click ... then Import tasks, or on Projects click Import a plan.

Tasks from a spreadsheet

1. Use our sample (Download the sample file), or the Excel / CSV export of the tool you are moving from. One task per row; only a task name is needed.
2. Choose the project and the file.

3. Match the columns. We match the usual column names for you (Title, Assignee, Due, Section, Labels and so on). Change any match, or set a column to Leave out.

   • Task list: a list name; a new name makes the list (project managers).
   • Parent task: the name of a task earlier in the file makes this a subtask.
   • Owner: the person's name or email (several with commas).
   • Dates: we spot month-first dates (03/31/2026) by themselves; change Dates in the file if needed. Dates with a time, and dates like Mar 31, 2026, work too.
   • Priority: None, Low, Medium, High - or the words other tools use (Urgent, Normal, Lowest ...).
   • Status: your task statuses - or Done / Completed / To do / In progress, or true / false.
   • Work hours, Tags, Description, and Story points for sprints.
4. Tick People who don't use Projects to import their tasks without them (otherwise each is listed as a problem).
5. Rows with problems are listed. When there are none, click Import.

A project plan (XML)

From a desktop planning app: open the plan and use File › Save As, then choose XML.

1. On Projects click Import a plan (or on a project you manage, ... then Import a project plan (XML)).
2. Choose A new project (name and key) or one of your projects, and the file.

3. Check what comes in:

   • top-level summary rows become task lists, deeper summary rows become parent tasks with their subtasks;
   • milestone rows become milestones, tied to their task list;
   • start and finish dates, work (hours), % complete (100% closes the task), priority and notes;
   • the links between tasks, with their type and lag (links to summary rows or milestones are left out);
   • the people on each task: matched by email, then by name - choose someone else, or Nobody, for any of them.
4. Click Import the plan.

Export

On a project click ... then:

• Export tasks to Excel: every task you can see, with its ID, list, parent, owners, dates, priority, status, % complete, tags, custom fields and when it was closed.
• Export as a project plan (XML): task lists, tasks and subtasks, milestones, links and owners, to open in a desktop planning app.