{"id":31554,"date":"2026-04-27T11:45:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/technical-manuals\/project-management\/project-management\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:37:59","slug":"project-management","status":"publish","type":"wiki","link":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201c<\/span><\/span>Project<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i>\u201d.  <\/span><\/span><\/span>At any time you can go to<\/span> Building Setout<\/b> <\/span>tab, the<\/span> Project <\/b>icons are shown as below.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Once you have a project open, ProtaStructure\u2019s automatic backup system can periodically make a copy of it to prevent accidental loss of data. Open projects can be archived  at any stage – the resulting zip file being an efficient format for transferring the project to other computers. These and other project management topics are explained in detail in the following sections.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Open Project<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n<\/p>\n

If you click the Open Project<\/b> icon, the open project dialog will appear. 
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With reference to the above dialog, the explanation is as follows : <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

1.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>The <\/span>Project Data Folder<\/span><\/b> is the main
\nfolder where the project models are stored.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The project model consists of several
\nfiles stored in a single folder called the <\/span>Project folder<\/span><\/b>. This <\/span>Project
\nfolder <\/span><\/b>is created as a subfolder in the <\/span>Project
\nData Folder. <\/span><\/span><\/b>The project folder name will always be created precisely
\nthe same as the <\/span>project name<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

2.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>A Data Folder called <\/span>ProtaData20XX<\/span><\/b> would
\nbe auto-installed under <\/span>My Documents<\/span><\/b> by default; where example models are given. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

3.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>If required, you can specify a different
\nlocation by clicking <\/span>Choose\/Create Folder<\/span><\/b>.  <\/span><\/p>\n

4.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>Clicking on Explore<\/b> will open the current Project Data Folder<\/b> in windows explorer. <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

5.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>You can open existing projects stored in this <\/span>Data
\nFolder<\/span><\/b> by selecting it in the project list <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

After selecting the
\nproject, a preview of the project will be shown on the right-hand side<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Double-clicking on the
\nproject name or clicking <\/span><\/span>OK<\/span><\/span><\/b>will open
\nthe project.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

6.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>Click on the <\/span>dropdown<\/span><\/b>list below to expose the most recent accessed
\nData Folders. <\/span><\/p>\n

7.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>Tick Most Recently Used Projects<\/b> to show the recent projects opened quickly. <\/span><\/p>\n

8.     <\/span><\/span><\/b>You can also read Project
\nLast Saved Date<\/b> to locate the saved project quickly. <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Projects in the list can be re-order according to alphabetically or chronologically by select "A-Z" or "Date". It can also filter by  select release version from the pull down list.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
If you press the \u201c<\/span><\/span>OK<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i>\u201d button <\/span> having selected an existing project, the selected project will be loaded to the Graphic Editor.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
If you press \u201c<\/span><\/span>Delete Project<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i>\u201d <\/span> the currently selected project will be permanently deleted.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/div>\n
\"Notes\"<\/p>\n
Previous versions of ProtaStructure model can be opened directly in latest version :
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Firstly, you must choose the correct Data Folder by clicking Choose\/Create Folder. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Browse to the desired Data Folder (note data folder is the main folder, not the project folder)<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. You will then be able to see the project and open it. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. You will be prompted to save the model as another name. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. After converting, the project will open. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Newer version projects can\u2019t be opened in older versions of ProtaStructure (not backward compatible).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/span><\/div>\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    New Project<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n<\/p>\n

    If you want to create a new project, you can click the \u201c<\/span><\/span>New Project<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i>\u201d button in the Start Page<\/b><\/span><\/span> and type-in the \u201c<\/span><\/span>Project Code<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i>\u201d that will identify the new project.<\/span><\/span><\/span>
    <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Each project should have a different project code within the same Data Folder. Project Code or Name follow these rules  : 
    <\/span><\/div>\n
      \n
    1. Total can be up to 80 characters in length.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Can be alphanumeric, example "Project123"
      <\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Spaces are not permitted.  Example "Project 123" is not allowed
      <\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Dash or underscore can be used.  Example "Project<\/span>–<\/span><\/b>123" or "Project<\/span>_<\/span><\/b>123" is allowed
      <\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Other special characters such as <\/span>(!@#$%^&*.+\/)<\/span><\/b> cannot be used.  Example "Project<\/span>\/<\/b><\/span>123" or "Project<\/span>&<\/b><\/span>123" is not<\/b> allowed. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      ProtaStructure Data File Structure<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n<\/p>\n

      ProtaStructure stores all the files of a project in a folder called Project Folder<\/b>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      Project
      \nFolder has the same name as the Project Code,<\/b> which is the Project Name. <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Spaces are not permitted for Project Name. <\/span><\/div>\n
      Project Folder is created in a parent folder called <\/span>Project Data Folder, <\/b>i.e. main folder one level up. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
      You can have multiple Data Folder<\/b> storing different Project
      \nFold<\/span>ers (as shown below) <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n
      \"Notes\"<\/p>\n
      If you are a new user, for simplicity, use just one data folder for all projects.<\/span><\/div>\n

      <\/span><\/div>\n

      To open a project, the <\/span>Project Data Folder<\/span><\/b> must be correctly chosen : <\/span><\/div>\n
        \n
      1. Click \u201c<\/span>Choose \/ Create Folder<\/span><\/b>\u201d in the Open Project dialog to change it.  <\/span>
        <\/span><\/li>\n
      2. By default, a folder called called <\/span>ProtaData20XX <\/span><\/b>will automatically be created in <\/span>My Documents <\/span><\/b>folder, which contains the quick start guide examples (as shown below).  <\/span><\/li>\n
      3. <\/span>The picture below shows that if you want to open the quick start models, you need to choose the correct <\/span><\/span>Data Folder<\/span><\/b>, which is the parent folder one level up. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        <\/div>\n
        \n
        <\/div>\n
        \"Warning\"<\/p>\n
        Do not manually rename the Project Folder in Windows Explorer.  <\/span><\/div>\n
        If you want to rename a project, use <\/span>Save Project As<\/span><\/b> function in ProtaStructure.<\/span><\/div>\n
        Do not delete any files inside the Project Folder<\/b> \u2013 all are essential<\/span><\/div>\n

        <\/span><\/p>\n

        Good practices for managing project  
        <\/span><\/h1>\n
          \n
        1. Always store your project in the local hard drive for optimum performance. <\/span><\/li>\n
        2. External hardisk and server is not ideal as files can be very large for large model.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. Auto-synchronising of the project folder with third party software is not recommended, e.g. dropbox, onedrive as performance may be impacted.<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. Backup your model often manually.  Go to File > <\/span>Save Project As<\/span><\/b> > Same the model as another copy. <\/span><\/li>\n
        5. Alternatively, go to<\/span> File <\/span><\/b>><\/span> Archive Project<\/span><\/b> to create a compact project zip file of the model files only 
          <\/span><\/li>\n
        6. Automatic backup is created every hour which can be restored using <\/span>Open Previous Backup<\/span><\/b> in the<\/span> Building Setou<\/span><\/b>t<\/b> tab.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \"Info\"Refer to this article for more details <\/span>: Managing Project Model via File Menu<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
          <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
          <\/div>\n

          \n

          <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building Setout tab, the Project icons are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_whitepaper_youtube_videos":"","_whitepaper_youtube_url":"","_whitepaper_youtube_thumbnail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"whitepaper_topic":[],"whitepaper_product":[],"whitepaper_type":[],"class_list":["post-31554","wiki","type-wiki","status-publish","hentry","category-project-management"],"yoast_head":"\nProject Management - Prota Software<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prota Software\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prota Software\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T12:37:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Prota Software\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/\",\"name\":\"Project Management - Prota Software\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T11:45:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-19T12:37:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png\",\"width\":516,\"height\":232},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/project-management\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wiki\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wiki\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Project Management\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Prota Software\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Prota Software\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/prota-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/prota-logo.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":340,\"caption\":\"Prota Software\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/protasoftware.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Project Management - Prota Software","description":"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prota Software","og_description":"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building","og_url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/","og_site_name":"Prota Software","article_modified_time":"2026-06-19T12:37:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Prota Software","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/","url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/","name":"Project Management - Prota Software","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png","datePublished":"2026-04-27T11:45:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-19T12:37:59+00:00","description":"A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a \u201cProject\u201d.  At any time you can go to Building","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prota-doc-2e77e8bcaaa242c1e2928088a9428118.png","width":516,"height":232},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/project-management\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wiki","item":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Project Management"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/","name":"Prota Software","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#organization","name":"Prota Software","url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/prota-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/prota-logo.png","width":1200,"height":340,"caption":"Prota Software"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki\/31554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wiki"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki\/31554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36166,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki\/31554\/revisions\/36166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31554"},{"taxonomy":"whitepaper_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/whitepaper_topic?post=31554"},{"taxonomy":"whitepaper_product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/whitepaper_product?post=31554"},{"taxonomy":"whitepaper_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/whitepaper_type?post=31554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}