Resolving a Recent Issue with MS Project
This newsletter discusses a recently discovered issue when using WBS Schedule Pro with Microsoft Project. If you are experiencing difficulties using WBS Schedule Pro with MS Project, this should help.

Read about this recent issue and also about setting up MS Project to integrate with WBS Schedule Pro.
Background
Roughly half of our customers use WBS Schedule Pro together with Microsoft Project. WBS Schedule Pro contains a seamless integration to all versions of MS Project going back 25+ years. We wrote a nice article about how well the two applications work together that you can read here:
Issue and Fix when going from MS Project to WBS Schedule Pro
In December, 2021 Microsoft updated Project 2016 and Project 2019 which affected the communication going from MS Project to WBS Schedule Pro. Normally, opening a plan in MS Project and clicking one of the following buttons would create a chart in WBS Schedule Pro.
WBS Schedule Pro buttons in MS Project
However, Microsoft disabled the command needed to allow MS Project to communicate with WBS Schedule Pro. With this change by Microsoft, selecting a button in MS Project to create a chart in WBS Schedule Pro displays the following message:
If you receive the above message, do the following to fix this issue:

  1. Download this Zip file: GotoWBS_Patch.zip
  2. Open GotoWBS_Patch.zip and copy the two files into the folder where you installed WBS Schedule Pro (by default this is C:\Program Files (x86)\WBS Schedule Pro).
  3. Overwrite any existing files of the same name.
  4. Start MS Project and open a Blank Project.
  5. Start WBS Schedule Pro.
  6. In WBS Schedule Pro, select the Microsoft Project drop down arrow (click the little arrow not the icon) and select Setup Microsoft Project*. Complete the steps.
  7. Close WBS Schedule Pro and close MS Project.

This should fix the issue. You can now use the buttons within MS Project to display charts in WBS Schedule Pro.

Note: After clicking a WBS button in MS Project you might see a quick popup window appear and then disappear. This is normal. To avoid this you can always open WBS Schedule Pro first and then return to Project to click the buttons. With WBS Schedule Pro already running it has to do a bit less work, is a couple of seconds faster and avoids that popup window.

A permanent fix will be available in the next release of WBS Schedule Pro.

*During the MS Project Setup, you may see a message that more than one version of Project is installed or refers to Project 2019 as Project 2016. This is Microsoft Project misreporting its status. You can ignore these messages and continue the setup.
Alternate Steps to Fix Issue
If the above steps do not work, try this:
 
  1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\WBS Schedule Pro. Right-Click the SetupWBS5_2016.mpp file, select Properties and confirm the Created date is December 2021. This file was one of two in the Zip file that needs to be copied to the program folder. The other is the gotowbs.exe file. If the Setup file is not from December or the gotowbs.exe file is not there, download and Unzip the files as mentioned in steps 1 & 2 above.
  2. Open MS Project and open a Blank Project.
  3. In MS Project, select File-Options-Trust Center-Trust Center Settings…
  4. Select Macro Settings and click Enable all Macros (set it back to the current setting later).
  5. Open SetupWBS5_2016.mpp located in the C:\Program Files (x86)\WBS Schedule Pro folder. Choose “Enable Macros” if prompted.
  6. Select File-Info-Organizer
  7. Click Modules.

It should look like this:
Click WBSSchedulePro in the SetupWBS5_2016.mpp column and click the <<Copy button to copy it into the Global.MPT column. Close the Organizer.

Open a New project, create a few tasks and save this test file. Click a WBS button in Project to see if it creates a chart. If so, you should be all set.

If you find that creating a New project works but an existing project does not, try this:

  1. Open the existing project in MS Project.
  2. Select File-Info-Organizer-Modules
  3. Click WBSSchedulePro in the project side and press Delete... (don’t delete WBSSchdulePro on the Global.MPT side).
  4. Close the form.

That should do it!
Setting up MS Project for WBS Schedule Pro use
If you are having trouble integrating MS Project and WBS Schedule Pro, most of these issues can be resolved by following these simple steps:

  1. Make sure you are using the latest version of WBS Schedule Pro. The latest version is 5.1.0025* (go to File-About to check the version).
  2. Start MS Project and leave it running. Do not log into Project Server.
  3. Start WBS Schedule Pro separately (not from within Project).
  4. In WBS Schedule Pro, select the Microsoft Project drop down arrow in the upper right corner and select Setup Microsoft Project. Complete the steps.
  5. Close MS Project and close WBS Schedule Pro.

To test the integration, open MS Project, create a small project, save it and click a button in the upper left corner to create a chart in WBS Schedule Pro. If this works, you should be all set. If not, it may be one of these:

If you receive an “Automation Error” message, click here: Automation Error

If you receive an “Unable to Start MS Project” or “MS Project is not installed” message, click here: Unable to Start Error

*This is the latest version as of this writing in January 2022.
WBS Schedule Pro Download
Need to Download WBS Schedule Pro quickly or didn't receive the Demo software after signing up?
If you signed up for the Demo and did not receive the email link to download WBS Schedule Pro it may be a security setting or permission issue on your system.

Click the Download button below to instantly start downloading WBS Schedule Pro. This bypasses the signup required on our website and can sometimes work when the regular download doesn't.
Note: The download button above is for the full WBS Schedule Pro software only and can be used by Demo users and existing customers.
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