Troubleshooting and FAQ

The file won't upload#

"Unsupported file type". Only .xer and .xml P6 exports are accepted. Check the file extension; some mail systems rename attachments.

"Not a valid XER file". The file has no ERMHDR header and no table blocks. It may be truncated, or saved in a different format. Export it again from P6.

"The uploaded file is empty" or "File exceeds the 400 MB limit". Check the export; very large exports usually include projects you don't need. Export one project at a time.

"No activities were found in this file". The export was made without activity data, or from an empty project.

The results look wrong#

Every open activity is critical. The file wasn't scheduled against its data date, so its stored float is stale. The app detects this and recomputes the critical path from the logic; the dashboard says which basis it used. For a clean result, schedule in P6 (F9) and export again.

Invalid dates fail, with forecasts in the past. Same cause: the file was statused but not scheduled.

Earned value is in units, not money. The export carries no cost. If the programme is cost-loaded in P6, check that resource assignments were included in the export.

Cost appears although the activity cost columns are empty. Many exports leave activity cost at zero and keep the money on resource assignments. The app uses the assignments and says so.

Only one project was analysed. An XER holding several projects is analysed on the one with the most activities. Export each project separately.

Numbers differ from another tool. Most differences come from the population: DCMA counts checks 1–10 on incomplete work. Switch the counting basis to every activity in DCMA settings and compare again.

A few activities show zero float where you'd expect a day. The recomputed critical path works at day level; where a lag is advanced on one calendar and retracted on another, the two passes can disagree by a day. These tiny negatives are rounded to zero and counted on the dashboard.

Comparing updates#

Huge "added" and "removed" counts. Activities are matched on Activity ID. If IDs were re-coded between revisions, keep them stable, or compare only revisions that share IDs.

"Already loaded in this session". A file with the same name is already loaded. Rename one of them.

Still stuck?#

Contact us with the error message and, if you can share it, the file. Never send a programme you're not entitled to share.