Compare two versions of a project

You can use the Compare Project Versions utility to review differences between the current version and an earlier version of the same project in a detailed report. You can also use this tool to compare the current version to a later version of the same project.

1. On the Compare Project Versions toolbar, click Compare Project Versions .

   If the toolbar is not displayed, on the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Compare Project Versions.

2. Under Choose the project versions you want to compare, in the Project version 1 (earlier version) and Project version 2 (later version) boxes, click the versions that you want to compare.

   To locate project versions, click Browse. If you use Microsoft Office Project Professional, you must log on to Microsoft Office Project Server to open projects that are stored there. You can only compare project versions for which you have access permissions.

3. Under Choose the tables to be used in the comparison, in the Task Table and Resource Table lists, click the tables that contain the data that you want to compare.

   If you don't want to compare tasks or resources, click None.

4. Click OK.

   For purposes of comparison and reporting only, a temporary project is created to display the tasks and resources of the two versions.

5. To keep the report for future reference, click Save on the File menu.

Note: 

• The comparison report displays color coding and indicators that provide a variety of information about tasks and resources. To see a legend and get help about the symbols that are used, click More Information on the toolbar.

• A comparison report resembles, but is not, a project schedule. It may look like a consolidation of the two versions that you are analyzing, but it actually contains only the differences between those versions.

• You cannot use the Browse buttons in the Compare Project Versions dialog box to compare versions of a project that you open in Windows Internet Explorer or that is embedded as an OLE object in another document.

• The Compare Project Versions utility does not compare assignments. It compares tasks and resources only.