Should desktop (MS Project) client logins be logged?

Question

Should desktop (MS Project) client logins be logged?

MP-cX 0

We have a number of Planner & Project 3 licenses. Some users use the online Project client and some use the locally installed desktop version of the client (latest available version).

I can see when authenticated users fire up the online Planner/Project client in the Sign-in events/logs but I can't find logs of when someone authenticates to and uses the desktop Planner/Project client.

The authentication process on the desktop client appears to work as expected and I the user can see their account details from the client.

I've used the legacy and preview sign-in events/logs views and i've left it for over 24 hours post-login but there's no sign of the desktop client logins anywhere.

Should desktop clients logins appear in the Azure/Entra Sign-in events/logs or are they perhaps logged elsewhere?

Thanks

Sridevi Machavarapu 31,585 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-28T09:19:04.27+00:00

Hello MP-cX,

Please confirm whether you have any further queries on this!
MP-cX 0 Reputation points

2026-02-28T09:59:46.5+00:00

Hi Sridevi

I still cannot see any individual, interactive or non-interactive, desktop client (MSPP, Excel, Word etc) logins in the various Entra sign-in logs. I've tried filtering as suggested but it's not a particularly busy tenant so easy to look at a few pages of all logs in case my filters are bad.

We are using an Entra ID Free tenant (with paid M365 & PP3 licenses), could that be a reason for not seeing this kind of activity being logged? I see that it should be logged for up to 7 days in Jerald's reply but I'm testing with same/next day client logins to ensure I'm within these 7 days.

Colour me stumped...
Sridevi Machavarapu 31,585 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T05:50:17.4233333+00:00
Hello MP-cX,

Thank you for the update and for confirming the checks.

Desktop applications such as MS Project, Word, and Excel may not always generate a new sign-in event when they are opened. If the user is already signed in to Windows or another Office application with their Entra ID account, the client usually reuses the existing authentication session (SSO). In such cases, a new interactive or non-interactive sign-in entry may not appear in the Entra sign-in logs.

To test this, you can try forcing a fresh authentication:

Sign out of all Office applications

Remove any stored credentials from Windows Credential Manager

Close all Office apps

Launch the Project Desktop client and sign in again

This should trigger a new authentication event that may appear in Entra ID → Sign-in logs.

Regarding Entra ID Free, the main limitation is the 7-day log retention period. The license itself does not prevent sign-in events from being recorded.

If you still do not see any related entries after forcing a new sign-in, you may also check the Microsoft Purview Audit logs, as some Office client activities may be recorded there.

Please let us know if you observe any sign-in entries after testing this.

1 answer

Your answer

Sridevi Machavarapu 31,585 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-28T09:19:04.27+00:00

Hello MP-cX,

Please confirm whether you have any further queries on this!
MP-cX 0 Reputation points

2026-02-28T09:59:46.5+00:00

Hi Sridevi

I still cannot see any individual, interactive or non-interactive, desktop client (MSPP, Excel, Word etc) logins in the various Entra sign-in logs. I've tried filtering as suggested but it's not a particularly busy tenant so easy to look at a few pages of all logs in case my filters are bad.

We are using an Entra ID Free tenant (with paid M365 & PP3 licenses), could that be a reason for not seeing this kind of activity being logged? I see that it should be logged for up to 7 days in Jerald's reply but I'm testing with same/next day client logins to ensure I'm within these 7 days.

Colour me stumped...
Sridevi Machavarapu 31,585 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T05:50:17.4233333+00:00

Hello MP-cX,

Thank you for the update and for confirming the checks.

Desktop applications such as MS Project, Word, and Excel may not always generate a new sign-in event when they are opened. If the user is already signed in to Windows or another Office application with their Entra ID account, the client usually reuses the existing authentication session (SSO). In such cases, a new interactive or non-interactive sign-in entry may not appear in the Entra sign-in logs.

To test this, you can try forcing a fresh authentication:

Sign out of all Office applications

Remove any stored credentials from Windows Credential Manager

Close all Office apps

Launch the Project Desktop client and sign in again

This should trigger a new authentication event that may appear in Entra ID → Sign-in logs.

Regarding Entra ID Free, the main limitation is the 7-day log retention period. The license itself does not prevent sign-in events from being recorded.

If you still do not see any related entries after forcing a new sign-in, you may also check the Microsoft Purview Audit logs, as some Office client activities may be recorded there.

Please let us know if you observe any sign-in entries after testing this.

Answer 1

Hello MP-cX,

Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

Yes, Microsoft Project desktop client logins should be logged, and they are captured in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) sign-in logs since the desktop client authenticates through Entra ID when connecting to Project Online.

Where Logins Are Logged

MS Project desktop client sign-ins are recorded in two places:

Microsoft Entra ID → Monitoring & Health → Sign-in logs — captures all interactive user sign-ins when the user authenticates through the Project Online Desktop Client

Microsoft Purview Unified Audit Log — captures user activity within Project Online after login

How to Find Them

Sign in to Microsoft Entra Admin Center (entra.microsoft.com) with at least Reports Reader role

Navigate to Entra ID → Monitoring & Health → Sign-in logs

Filter by Application — look for Microsoft Project or Project Online

You can also filter by Client App Used to distinguish desktop client logins from browser-based logins

Alternatively, use PowerShell:

powershell
Connect-AzureAD
Get-AzureADAuditSignInLogs | Where-Object { $_.AppDisplayName -like "*Project*" } |
Select-Object UserPrincipalName, IPAddress, ClientAppUsed, CreatedDateTime

Log Retention

Retention depends on your Entra ID license:

Entra ID Free: 7 days

Entra ID P1/P2: 30 days

With Log Analytics/Sentinel integration: Long-term retention (configurable)

Extending Retention

If you need longer-term login records for compliance or security purposes, forward logs to Azure Monitor Log Analytics or Microsoft Sentinel:

Entra Admin Center → Diagnostic Settings

Add diagnostic setting → Select SignInLogs

Route to Log Analytics workspace or Storage Account

Microsoft Purview Audit Logs

For Project Online activity beyond just login (file access, changes, etc.), enable Microsoft Purview Unified Audit Logging:

powershell
Set-AdminAuditLogConfig -UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled $true

Then search audit logs in Microsoft Purview portal → Audit → Search filtering by workload. If this helps accept the answer.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix

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Should desktop (MS Project) client logins be logged?

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