Migrate from GUIDEcx to Microsoft Project

Each GUIDEcx project maps to a single Microsoft Project file (MPP) or a Project for the Web project. Project name, planned start and end dates, status, and any project-level custom fields migrate as file-level or project-level columns. GUIDEcx project tags migrate as a custom text column in MS Project. Active GUIDEcx projects migrate as active MS Project plans; completed or archived projects migrate as inactive projects or are excluded based on scope during discovery.

GUIDEcx phases are a reusable project structure with embedded tasks, milestones, assignees, and durations. In MS Project, phases map to top-level summary tasks that contain their child tasks. If the customer uses GUIDEcx Project Templates (as opposed to Phase Templates), the template structure maps to an MS Project template file (.mpt) for reuse. GUIDE 1.0 templates must be cloned to 2.0 via GUIDEcx's self-serve Template Migration tool before we export them—1.0 templates do not appear in the 2.0 environment and will not export from the API in a 2.0-compatible format.

GUIDEcx milestones map directly to MS Project milestone tasks (tasks with zero duration and a milestone diamond indicator). Milestone name, planned date, and any milestone-level status migrate as the task name, start date, and a custom status column. Milestone dependencies (milestone-to-task or task-to-milestone finish-to-start links) migrate as predecessor-successor relationships in MS Project.

GUIDEcx Task Groups are a grouping layer above individual tasks with their own assignees and sort order. They map to MS Project summary tasks with the task group name as the summary task name and child tasks indented below. Task Groups carry no separate duration in GUIDEcx—duration is set at the individual task level—and this structure is preserved in MS Project's outline hierarchy. The task group's assignee and custom fields are added as columns to the summary task row.

GUIDEcx tasks are the core work unit. Each task maps to an MS Project task with task name, duration (calculated from planned start and due date), start and finish dates, assignees (GUIDEcx allows multiple assignees; MS Project assigns one resource per assignment row), status, and any task-level custom fields. Task instructions from GUIDEcx migrate as a custom Notes field or as a column in MS Project. GUIDEcx tags on tasks migrate as a comma-separated text column or as a custom picklist field.

GUIDEcx finish-to-start task dependencies map to MS Project predecessor links. The GUIDEcx dependency graph is exported and reconstructed as predecessor-successor task ID pairs during import. We flag known GUIDEcx 2.0 dependency bugs: subtask-child shared dependencies and tasks marked N/A that break dependency chains, as documented in GUIDEcx's 2026 release notes. These are logged in the migration reconciliation report for manual review.

GUIDEcx project-level custom fields (Text, Date, Email, Number, Dropdown, etc.) map to named custom fields in MS Project Desktop or to custom columns in Project for the Web. Field type mapping follows GUIDEcx's Custom Fields V2 schema: dropdown fields map to drop-down menus with the same option values; date fields map to date columns; number fields map to number columns. We pull the field type definitions from GUIDEcx's Data Dictionary during scoping because the standard task export does not include field schema.

GUIDEcx task-level custom fields map to task-level custom columns in MS Project. The same field-type mapping logic from project-level fields applies. Custom fields on template-level tasks that failed to propagate to project-level tasks (a documented GUIDEcx 2.0 bug) are flagged during reconciliation and included as blank values with a note in the migration report.

GUIDEcx distinguishes internal team members from external customer contacts via Customer Roles assigned in Resource Management and added to a project's Customer Team. Microsoft Project has no equivalent role-based external stakeholder concept. We map external customer contacts to MS Project Resources (with a resource type flag distinguishing internal from external) and flag that the customer's admin should manually assess whether external contacts need a separate SharePoint or Teams collaboration channel for communication, since MS Project has no portal equivalent.

GUIDEcx attachments at the project and phase levels map to hyperlinks in the MS Project task Notes field or to a linked SharePoint document library. A documented GUIDEcx 2.0 bug causes attachments on API-created or template-derived phases to drop during export—we extract attachment metadata separately via the GUIDEcx API and re-attach by URL reference in the destination. File content migration is limited to URL references unless the customer specifies a file share or SharePoint destination.

GUIDEcx task comments are not included in the standard task export. We retrieve comment threads via the GUIDEcx API and represent them as structured entries in the MS Project task Notes field, formatted with the comment author's name, timestamp, and text. Embedded images in comments migrate as URL references only; the original image files are not imported unless the customer specifies a file destination.

GUIDEcx time tracking records migrate to MS Project's Task Usage view or as a separate time-record export, depending on the destination version. The GUIDEcx 2026 release notes document missing values in the Time Records dataset—we cross-reference API data against the export to fill gaps where possible. MS Project does not have a native time-entry submission system; time records are informational unless the customer uses Project Online with a timesheet integration.