How to Use Multiple Holiday Calendars in Microsoft Project
Question details
The user needs to configure multiple holiday calendars for different regions and block out specific periods, such as a year-end freeze, as non-working time across the project.
- Product
- Microsoft Project
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Setting up regional schedules for team members in different locations and enforcing a project-wide code freeze where no tasks should be scheduled.
- Observed behavior
- Tasks are still appearing on the schedule during the marked non-working month (December), often because tasks have no assigned resources, use a different base calendar, or have a task-specific calendar override.
Before modifying calendars, gather a complete list of regional holidays for your team members and ensure your overall project start date is properly configured in the Project Information settings.
Create Regional Calendars and Assign Them to Resources
Use this method to accommodate teams working in different regions with distinct holiday schedules.
Microsoft Project allows you to create custom base calendars for different locations. By assigning these specific calendars to individual resources, the project schedule will automatically adjust to respect regional holidays.
Navigate to 'Project' > 'Change Working Time'. Click on 'Create New Calendar', choose to make a copy of the Standard calendar, and name it according to the region (e.g., 'Ontario Holidays').
In the 'Exceptions' tab of the Change Working Time dialog, enter the names and dates of the regional holidays. Click 'OK' to save the calendar.
Switch to the 'Resource Sheet' view. Locate the 'Base Calendar' column and select your newly created regional calendar from the dropdown menu for the applicable team members.
Configure a Project-Wide Shutdown or Code Freeze
Apply this solution when you need to stop all project work across all resources for a specific period, such as a December code freeze.
Manage Project Timelines Easily with WPS Office
While Microsoft Project is powerful for complex scheduling, WPS Office provides a lightweight, free alternative for everyday project tracking. Use WPS Spreadsheet's built-in Gantt chart templates to manage team schedules and holidays without a steep learning curve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are tasks still scheduled on non-working days in MS Project?
This usually happens if a task has a specific Task Calendar assigned that overrides the main Project calendar, or if the 'Scheduling ignores resource calendars' option is checked in the Task Information dialog.
How do I remove a task-specific calendar override?
Double-click the task to open the Task Information dialog box. Go to the 'Advanced' tab, locate the 'Calendar' dropdown menu, and change it to 'None'.
Can I share custom holiday calendars between different Microsoft Project files?
Yes. You can use the Organizer tool by navigating to File > Info > Organizer. From there, you can copy custom calendars from your current project file into the Global.mpt template, making them available for all future projects.
