Creating a Project in Microsoft Project

Create a project in the tool that matches the work: desktop Project for a detailed editable schedule, Planner for a browser-based plan, or Project Server in an organization’s separate enterprise deployment. The Project Online hosted service is retired, so its Project Web App workflow is historical; Project Server remains a separate enterprise product.¹ For desktop setup, see Installing Microsoft Project; for product distinctions, see Microsoft Project product family.

Create a project in desktop Project

Open Project, or choose File > New if a plan is already open.
Choose a template, search for an online template, or choose Blank Project to start from scratch. A template may already contain tasks, resources, and durations; adjust them for the new project.
Open View > Task Views > Gantt Chart.
Enter task names in the first empty Task Name field and press Enter for each task. You can also paste a task list, add multiple tasks, or import a list from SharePoint.²

To base a new project on an existing one, change the project start and finish dates, then save it with a new name or in a different location. After creating the plan, use the Microsoft Project First-Use Checklist to review its calendar, task logic, resources, and baseline.

As an alternative, Project Plan 365 offers AI-assisted project creation with Erix.AI. Describe the project and the tool can generate a draft plan with a task structure and scheduling details; review the generated plan before relying on it. See Erix.AI project creation for details.

Set the schedule fundamentals

Use Project > Project Information to set the dates and calendar that frame the plan.

Schedule from chooses Project Start Date or Project Finish Date. Scheduling from the start date gives new tasks an As Soon As Possible default; scheduling from the finish date gives them an As Late As Possible default.
Start date or Finish date supplies the anchor date for the chosen direction. A new desktop project defaults to the current date as its start date.
Calendar chooses the base working-time calendar, such as Standard, 24 Hours, Night Shift, or a custom calendar.

After the anchor is set, add durations, outline summary tasks and subtasks, link tasks to create dependencies, add milestones, and assign resources.

Create an enterprise project

In a legacy Project Online environment or a Project Server deployment:

Open the Project Web App home page and choose Create or import projects (or choose Projects > New from Project Professional’s Project Center).
Choose Enterprise Project for a project edited in Project Web App, or SharePoint Tasks List for a project site built around a task list.
Select the organization’s Enterprise Project Type when one is required. An EPT can provide a project-plan template, project-site template, workflow phases, stages, and Project Detail Pages.
Enter the project information and save. Enterprise projects may need to be published before assigned team members can see them.

Create a plan in Planner

Planner is the current browser-based plan-creation experience for the Planner family. In the new Planner:

Select New plan in the left navigation.
Choose Basic or Premium, or start from a template.
Name the plan, optionally pin it to the left navigation, and optionally add it to an existing Microsoft 365 Group.
Select Create plan, then add members, tasks, and buckets as needed.

Project for the web retired as a standalone experience in August 2025. Its more structured planning capabilities are now available through Planner’s premium plans. The interface can vary by tenant and rollout channel.^{3 4}

The retired Project for the web flow

Project for the web previously used Project Home > New plan > Blank plan, followed by adding tasks, subtasks, assignments, and durations. Microsoft retired the standalone Project for the web experience in August 2025 and redirected users to Planner. Treat that sequence as historical, not as the current way to create a plan.