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How to Prevent Project for the Web from Overwriting Effort Completed

Phi Hung Vo Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users are looking for a way to stop Project for the Web from automatically changing the Effort Completed value to match the total Effort when a task is completed.

How to Prevent Project for the Web from Overwriting Effort Completed

Product: Microsoft Project for the Web
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Marking a task or parent task as complete within a project schedule.
Observed behavior: The system automatically overwrites the previously entered 'Effort Completed' value to match the total planned 'Effort', erasing the actual hours recorded.

Before you start

Verify your team's project tracking requirements, as the automatic updating of completed effort is currently a fixed default behavior in Project for the Web.

Solution 1Recommended

Use a Custom Field to Track Actual Effort

Since the default Effort Completed field is overwritten by design, you can create a custom field to safely preserve your manually entered effort hours without interference.

Microsoft Project for the Web is designed to automatically match Effort Completed with the total Effort when a task is checked off. Currently, there is no supported setting to disable this default behavior.

To bypass this limitation and retain accurate records of actual hours worked, the most effective workaround is to utilize a custom data field.

Add a new column

Open your project in the Grid view, scroll to the right side of your columns, and click on 'Add column'.

Create a custom Number field

Select 'New field' from the dropdown menu, choose 'Number' as the field type, and name it 'Actual Effort' or 'Hours Worked'.

Record effort manually

Instruct your team members to input their completed hours into this new custom field before they mark the main task or parent task as complete.

Use a Custom Field to Track Actual Effort

By-Design Limitation: The overwriting of the Effort Completed field is by design in Microsoft Project for the Web to ensure progress bars reflect 100% completion. Custom fields are the only native way to preserve different actual effort values.

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Manage Project Data Easily with WPS Office

If rigid data restrictions in Microsoft Project are disrupting your workflow, consider utilizing WPS Office Spreadsheet to create highly customizable, flexible project trackers where you retain total control over your data fields.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free WPS Office suite on your device.
2. Open WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office and click on 'Spreadsheet' to start a new project tracking document.
3. Use a Project Tracker Template: Search the integrated template library for 'Project Tracker' to instantly set up custom effort tracking fields that won't overwrite automatically.

Create highly customizable project trackers without forced field overwrites.Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formats for seamless data sharing.Lightweight, intuitive, and completely free to download and use.Familiar tabbed user interface makes it easy to manage multiple project files simultaneously.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Effort Completed change when I finish a task?

In Project for the Web, marking a task as complete automatically updates the Effort Completed field to match the total Effort. This is a built-in feature designed to ensure that completed tasks mathematically show 100% completion in the project plan.

Can I disable the automatic Effort Completed overwrite in settings?

No, there is currently no supported setting, toggle, or configuration option to prevent Project for the Web from updating the Effort Completed value upon task completion.

How can I track actual hours worked if they differ from planned effort?

You can create a custom 'Number' field in your Project grid view (e.g., 'Actual Hours'). Because it is a custom field, it will not be overwritten by the system when the task is marked as complete, allowing you to preserve accurate records.

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