microsoft project makes a screen shot of the activity

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microsoft project makes a screen shot of the activity

Stepanets, Mikhail 20

microsoft project has a bug - it makes a screenshot of the activity (UID 25422) and pastes it in the Gantt chart area. How can i get rid of this permanently? Many thanks

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Jess-Q 11,325 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Stepanets, Mikhail

Thank you for the details information

Here are a few steps you can try next:

Save the file as XML

Open the problematic .mpp file. Go to File > Save As. Choose a location and change the "Save as type" dropdown to XML Format (*.xml). Save it.
- Completely close the current project file.
Open MS Project with a blank screen. Go to File > Open and browse to the .xml file you just created (you may need to change the file type filter in the open dialog to see XML files).
When the Import Wizard appears, choose "As a new project".
Check the Gantt chart area to see if the screenshot is entirely gone. If the file is clean, go to File > Save As and save it back as a standard Project (*.mpp) file.

Note: You may lose some highly customized visual formatting (like specific bar colors you changed manually outside of the default styles), but the structural data will be intact.

2. Overwriting the Corrupted View via Organizer

If the corruption is isolated specifically to the Gantt Chart view rather than the whole file, you can replace the corrupted view with a clean, default version from your global template (Global.mpt).

Open your problematic project file.
Navigate to File > Info > Organizer (or View > Macros > Organizer depending on your exact version).
Select the Views tab.
On the left side (which should display Global.mpt), locate Gantt Chart.
- On the right side (which should display your current project file), you will also see Gantt Chart.
Select Gantt Chart on the left side (Global.mpt) and click the Copy >> button in the middle to push it to the right side (your project).
Project will warn you that the view already exists and ask if you want to overwrite it. Click Yes.
Close the Organizer, save your file, and restart Project to see if the screenshot has been deleted.

For more details, please refer to: Copy reports, calendars, and views in Project desktop

Hopefully it will help resolve your issue effectively.

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Answer 1

Jess-Q 11,325 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Stepanets, Mikhail,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue. Have you had a chance to check the replies provided? Any update would be appreciated.

Stepanets, Mikhail 20 Reputation points

2026-05-27T07:27:49.3666667+00:00

Hi Jess-Q, thank you for your support. Just tried it, yes it worked. Alternatively, to your route of curing the file, i deleted the corrupted view and relplaced with another. However, simply deleting and replacing the view did not reduce the file size. As you can see from screen shot below, your route practically reduced the file in half (67MB=>37MB), which is nice. Note: Rev14 - corrupted file, Rev14_cured newly saved file via XML. Many thanks again.
Jess-Q 11,325 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-27T07:42:45.5166667+00:00

Hi @Stepanets, Mikhail,

I'm glad the issue has been resolved for you! If you ever run into any other problems while using Microsoft 365 & Office products, feel free to post on our Q&A forum. I'm always happy to help. If my response helped guide you toward the next step, feel free to click "Accept Answer"so the post can be highlighted and pinned to the top, making it easier for others in the community who are facing similar issues to find the information quickly.

Answer 2

Jess-Q 11,325 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Stepanets, Mikhail

Regarding your issue, may I kindly ask a few questions to help understand it better.

Could you help clarify what you mean by "it makes a screenshot of the activity and pastes it in the Gantt chart area"?
- Do you mean Microsoft Project is automatically generating a screenshot of the activity and placing it in the Gantt chart area on its own without you doing anything?
- Or do you see a screenshot/image already there that you are unable to select or delete? If it keeps reappearing, when exactly does it happen every time you open the file, when you switch views, when you print, or after a specific action?
Does this happen every time you open the file, or only after performing certain actions (e.g., printing, switching views, saving)?
Is this issue limited to this specific .mpp file only, or does it also happen with other project files?
Are there any embedded objects, images, or notes attached to the task

Hope to hear back from you soon. 

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Stepanets, Mikhail 20 Reputation points

2026-05-21T14:54:22.0933333+00:00
Do you mean Microsoft Project is automatically generating a screenshot of the activity and placing it in the Gantt chart area on its own without you doing anything?

yes, it does. After opening the file, I scroll to this screen-shot, delete, and then work further.

Or do you see a screenshot/image already there that you are unable to select or delete? it is deletable but reappearing after opening the file again.

Is this issue limited to this specific .mpp file only, or does it also happen with other project files? only mpp, and only this specific project. Others are ok.

Are there any embedded objects, images, or notes attached to the task i deleted even this task, but it keeps reappearing.

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