Activity Synchronization Behavior in Microsoft Project

When synchronizing activities, you should either let the Plug-in for PPM generate the activity column in Microsoft Project or define the activity column in Microsoft Project using the label "Activity" and map the same custom field configured in the PPM project settings.

If the activity column is defined incorrectly (either the Microsoft Project column is not labeled "Activity" or the custom field used is not the same custom field configured in the PPM project settings), the following occurs:

Table 10-6. Mislabeled Activity Column Behavior
	Project Management-controlled	Microsoft Project-controlled or Shared Control
Microsoft Project Column Label is Incorrect, Custom Field is Correct	When a PPM work plan is first opened from Microsoft Project, a column labeled "Activity" in Microsoft Project is created. If the "Activity" column is renamed, activities in PPM are still synchronized to the same (renamed) column in Microsoft Project.	Mislabeled activities in Microsoft Project are synchronized to activities in PPM. A warning message is logged.
Microsoft Project Column Label is Correct, Custom Field is Incorrect	When a PPM work plan is first opened from Microsoft Project, a column labeled "Activity" in Microsoft Project is created. If another column labeled "Activity" is added in Microsoft Project that is mapped to a different custom field (not the one configured in the PPM project settings), it is ignored during synchronization.	The column labeled "Activity" in Microsoft Project is not synchronized in PPM. Instead, another column labeled "Activity" is created that is mapped to the correct custom field. A warning message is logged to rename the initial column labeled "Activity."

Note: After the first synchronization, do NOT modify the column label or mapped custom field in Microsoft Project.