Reading Tasks and Resources

While working with MPP files, you might need to read tasks and resources from your project. This article provides a practical overview of how to read project data using both VSTO and Aspose.Tasks for .NET.

Introduction

Reading tasks and resources is often the first step in building project analytics, generating reports, or validating project integrity. With Microsoft Project files (MPP), this can be achieved using either:

• VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office) — requires Microsoft Project and COM interop.
• Aspose.Tasks for .NET — a standalone API for working with project data without relying on Microsoft Project.

This article outlines how to extract task and resource information in both approaches.

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Read Tasks and Resources Using VSTO

To access task and resource data using VSTO:

1. Create a new project in Visual Studio.
2. Add a reference to Microsoft Project 12.0 Object Library from the COM tab.
3. Import the Microsoft.Office.Interop.MSProject namespace.
4. Use the following sample code.

// Create Application object
Application projectApplication = new ApplicationClass();
object missingValue = System.Reflection.Missing.Value;

// Open MPP file
projectApplication.FileOpenEx(@"C:\Project1.mpp",
    missingValue, missingValue, missingValue, missingValue,
    missingValue, missingValue, missingValue, missingValue,
    missingValue, missingValue, PjPoolOpen.pjPoolReadOnly,
    missingValue, missingValue, missingValue, missingValue,
    missingValue);

Project project = projectApplication.ActiveProject;

// Read all tasks
foreach (Task task in project.Tasks)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Reading Task: " + task.Name);
    Console.WriteLine("ID: " + task.ID);
    Console.WriteLine("Start: " + task.Start);
    Console.WriteLine("Finish: " + task.Finish);
    Console.WriteLine("===========================\n");
}

// Read all resources
foreach (Resource resource in project.Resources)
{
    string resourceType = resource.Type switch
    {
        PjResourceTypes.pjResourceTypeCost => "Cost",
        PjResourceTypes.pjResourceTypeMaterial => "Material",
        PjResourceTypes.pjResourceTypeWork => "Work",
        _ => "Unknown"
    };

    Console.WriteLine("Reading Resource: " + resource.Name);
    Console.WriteLine("ID: " + resource.ID);
    Console.WriteLine("Type: " + resourceType);
    Console.WriteLine("===========================\n");
}

Console.ReadLine();

Notes

• Tasks and resources are accessed through project.Tasks and project.Resources.
• Each resource’s type is identified using PjResourceTypes.
• VSTO depends on Microsoft Project being installed and available at runtime.

Read Tasks and Resources Using Aspose.Tasks for .NET

To achieve the same using Aspose.Tasks for .NET:

1. Create a new Visual Studio project.
2. Add a reference to Aspose.Tasks via the .NET tab.
3. Import the Aspose.Tasks namespace.
4. Use the code example below.

Project project = new Project("New Project.mpp");

// Load all tasks
TaskCollection allTasks = project.RootTask.Children;

// Loop through each task and read information related to tasks
foreach (Task task in allTasks)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Reading Task " + task.Get(Tsk.Name));
    Console.WriteLine("ID: " + task.Get(Tsk.Id));
    Console.WriteLine("Start: " + task.Get(Tsk.Start));
    Console.WriteLine("Finish: " + task.Get(Tsk.Finish));
}

// Loop through each resource and read information related to resources
foreach (Resource resource in project.Resources)
{
    string resourceType = null;
    switch (resource.Get(Rsc.Type))
    {
        case ResourceType.Material:
            resourceType = "Material";
            break;
        case ResourceType.Work:
            resourceType = "Work";
            break;
        default:
            resourceType = "Cost";
            break;
    }

    Console.WriteLine("Reading Resource " + resource.Get(Rsc.Name));
    Console.WriteLine("ID: " + resource.Get(Rsc.Id));
    Console.WriteLine("Type: " + resourceType);
}

Highlights

• The Project object provides access to RootTask.Children for task traversal.
• Resources are accessed via the Resources collection.
• Aspose.Tasks also supports advanced features like calendars, extended attributes, and baselines — without Microsoft Project.

Comparison Table

Feature	VSTO / Interop	Aspose.Tasks for .NET
Requires Microsoft Project	✅ Yes	❌ No
Platform	🖥 Windows only	✅ Cross-platform
Access Model	COM-based	Pure .NET API
Ease of Deployment	⚠ Limited	✅ Self-contained
Reading Resources	project.Resources	project.Resources
Reading Tasks	project.Tasks	project.RootTask.Children

Summary

Extracting tasks and resources is a foundational capability when working with Microsoft Project files. While VSTO provides a way to work with Project files through COM interop, it suffers from limited deployment scenarios and platform restrictions.

Aspose.Tasks for .NET offers a lightweight, cross-platform, and maintainable alternative for reading and processing project data — making it ideal for modern enterprise applications and automation pipelines.

To continue exploring project data access with Aspose.Tasks, see:

• Reading the Critical Path
• Sorting Resources by Name
• Create Resources and Link with Tasks