Microsoft Project Viewer

Microsoft have never developed a Project viewer for some reason. There are however a few ways to view project files without having MS Project installed. Below are the 3 main ways of doing this:

1. Using Project server - This option is rather expensive as it requires the business to have a MS Project server installed or hosted. Using this option the end user simply publishes the Project using the Project Web Access function within MS Project.

2. Using PDF - It is possible to output a Project to PDF but the data that is output is the same as that which you would see in a print as this uses the same engine to create the PDF document. Useful if only needing end users to view the main detail of a project plan. Free PDF creator software is available online, a recommended package would be CUTE pdf creator which can be downloaded from HERE

3. Using a free MS Project viewer - We have scoured the internet in an attempt to find the elusive free MS Project viewer which gives you everything including support for 2007 onwards and additional Project functionality for example attached documents to a project plan view. Unfortunately all of the free ones we came across didnt quite do the trick so we started looking at the paid versions. The best option we have come up with so far is the simply entitled 'Project Reader' from KSOL. This reader gives you everything that you would require from a Project reader and a trial can be downloaded free from HERE. The cost of this software to purchase is around £32 UK Pounds. We have tested this thoroughly and can find no flaws in its design and usage.