gProjectViewer

Review by eFreeware

Microsoft Project files are awkward things to carry around. The desktop program is expensive, and MPP is not a format most phones will touch. gProjectViewer, from Housatonic Software, is built to solve exactly that: it opens Microsoft Project files on an Android device so you can look at a schedule without a Project license sitting on a computer somewhere.

That makes it a tool for a fairly specific reader. If your working life involves project schedules that arrive as MPP attachments, and you want to check them on a phone or tablet rather than wait until you are back at a desk, this is the category of app you would look at. It is free to download, carries no ads, and offers in-app purchases for the deeper features.

Reading a schedule without a Project license

The core job is viewing. You open an MPP file and the app shows the project information inside it: the Gantt chart, the network diagram, task and resource usage, the project calendar, the resource sheet and project reports. Those are the standard views a project manager would expect to find, and having them on a phone means a schedule can be checked in a meeting room, at a client site or while traveling.

The developer's pitch is that the app looks and works the same way as Microsoft Project, so nobody needs training to find their way around. I would treat that as the aim rather than a guarantee, but the intent is sensible: the less the interface departs from the desktop tool, the less time you spend relearning where things are. The app also handles custom views and custom filters, which matters for anyone whose schedules have been shaped around a particular way of working.

File formats are covered from the old end of the range up to the recent one. The app reads MPP files in the 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2000 and 98 formats. That spread is useful if your organization is not on a single version of Project, or if you occasionally receive an archive file from an older system.

Pulling files in from cloud storage

Schedules rarely live only on the device you are holding. The app opens MPP files from OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and SharePoint, which covers the storage services most teams already use. For anyone whose project files sit in a shared drive rather than in local folders, that removes the step of copying a file across before you can look at it.

Multi-language support is included as well, with the interface available in Czech, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Romanian, Russian and Spanish. For teams spread across regions, that is the sort of detail that decides whether a tool gets adopted or quietly ignored.

Sorting, filtering and printing in the advanced view

The first in-app option is called Advanced View Only, and it widens what you can do with a file you have opened. It also sorts and filters more finely, and the time scale can be adjusted. It also opens up further views, including the calendar view, resource and task usage and the network diagram, along with multiple project reports.

Printing sits in this tier too: project information can be sent to PDF or to paper. For anyone who needs to circulate a snapshot of a schedule to people who will never install anything, exporting to PDF is the practical route. The free download gives you the viewer; the advanced capabilities are where the in-app purchase comes in, and the developer presents these as separate options rather than a single unlock.

Creating and editing plans in MPP format

The second in-app option goes further than viewing. It lets you create new Gantt charts in formats compatible with Microsoft Project MPP files, or modify existing schedules, and save the results as MPP. The developer describes the editing experience as working in the same intuitive way as Microsoft Project, and positions the app as usable alongside Microsoft Project or as an alternative to it.

You can save to wherever the file came from, including cloud folders, and pick up the same plan on another device. For a project coordinator who needs to adjust dates or shift a task while away from a computer, that is the difference between a viewer and something that can carry part of the workload. It is also the feature that justifies the paid option most clearly, since viewing alone would not require it.

What you need before you start

Setup is minimal by the sound of it. You install the app, connect it to whichever storage service holds your files, and open an MPP document from there. The whole point of the product is that Microsoft Project does not need to be installed on the device you are using.

The requirements worth noting are the ones implied by the feature set. Cloud sources are how files get in, with OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox or SharePoint part of the picture. The advanced viewing tools and the editing and saving features sit behind in-app purchases, so the free download is best understood as the viewing layer rather than the whole product.

The app was released in June 2013 and last updated in March 2023. That recent update covered the SDK, the open and save flows, stability and bug fixes, which suggests the file handling is where the maintenance effort has gone.

Who this suits

The clearest fit is someone who works with Microsoft Project schedules but does not own a Project license, or does not want to be tied to a desktop to read one. Project managers, coordinators and team members who receive MPP files and need to check progress, dates or resource allocation will find the viewing side does the job they need.

A second group is people who occasionally need to adjust a plan rather than just read it. If your changes are modest, shifting dates or reorganizing tasks, the editing and saving option turns the app into something you can work in rather than just consult. Anyone whose schedules arrive through a shared drive will appreciate that the cloud services are handled directly.

It is a business tool, not a general productivity app, and it is worth being clear about that. The people who get the most from it are those already living inside MPP files as part of their working week.

A narrow tool that does a specific job well

gProjectViewer is a focused product, and that focus is its main argument. It opens Microsoft Project files on Android, reads formats going back to 98, handles the standard views and reports, reaches into the common cloud storage services and can create and save MPP files if you pay for that option.

The rating picture is mixed. With more than 100,000 installs and a 2.1 average from 460 ratings, the app has a wide reach but a lukewarm reception, and I would go in expecting a tool that does a difficult job rather than a polished all-rounder. MPP is a demanding format to handle on a phone.

If your work involves Microsoft Project schedules and you want to read them, print them or make modest edits from a phone or tablet, this is worth installing and trying against your own files. If your projects do not arrive as MPP documents, there is nothing here for you.

What's new in version 23.3.1204

• Updated to latest SDK • Updated Open / Save As flows • Improved stability • Bug fixes