allyally123 --
1. When you check out a project, the system opens the project Read/Write to you exclusively during the current editing session. Every other PM is only allowed to open your project Read-Only while you have it checked out. When you check in the project, any other PM with the correct permissions could open your project Read/Write and edit the project.
2. It sounds like some of your projects are getting "stuck" in a Checked Out condition. There are two ways to check in a "stuck" project. First, launch Microsoft Project and connect to Project Online. Then click File > Options > Save. At the bottom of the Save page, click the Clean Up Cache button. In the Clean Up Cache dialog, click the Project Filter pick list (in the middle of the dialog) and select Projects Checked Out to You. If you see your "stuck" checked-out project, select it and then click the Remove from Cache button. Click the Close button when finished. The other method is to navigate to the Project Center page in PWA. Expand the Projects ribbon at the top of the page and then click the Check In My Projects button. On the Force Check In Enterprise Objects page, select the name of your "stuck" project and click the Check In button. The reason there are two methods for dealing with a project "stuck" in a checked out condition is because there are two locations when a check in process must take place. One of the check-ins is in the Project Online database, while the other is in the Local Project Cache on your hard drive. Whenever you close and check in a project, the system must check in the project in BOTH locations. In fact, to prevent the kinds of check in problems you are experiencing, I strongly recommend that you click File > Close. In the confirmation dialog, click the Yes button to check in the project. Also, wait about 5 seconds for the check in process to complete in both locations. Only after completing these steps should you exit Microsoft Project.
3. To upload an existing project to Project Online, launch Microsoft Project and connect to Project Online. Open the existing project (assuming it is saved as an MPP file) and then click File > Save As. On the Save As Page in the Backstage, click the Save button in the upper middle section of the page. In the Save to Project Web App dialog, enter a name for the project, supply values for your organization's custom fields, and then click the Save button. To make the project show up in the Project Center page in PWA, you must also PUBLISH the project. To do this, click File > Info > Publish. In the Publish Project dialog, select the Create a Site for This Project option and then click the Publish button.
Also, I want to strongly recommend some good behaviors in working with enterprise projects. They are:
-- NEVER close a project while it is saving or publishing. You can watch the status of the Save and Publish jobs in the lower right corner of the Microsoft Project application window.
-- NEVER exit Microsoft Project while you have an enterprise project open. Always close and check in the project using the steps I noted above.
Hope this helps.
