# The Different Ways to Share Information

With just about every project, you’ll provide information to a variety of people, at least some of whom will use programs other than Microsoft Project to work with the data.

When you think of sharing project information, perhaps the first examples that come to mind are walking down the hallway to talk to a colleague or phoning a client about project status. In these situations, you’re conveying project information in a static form: your colleague or client can hear it, but can’t revise it and return a revised version to you.

With Microsoft Project, you can provide an editable form of project communication that can be shared. Any one of several methods of exchanging information will enable the receiver to view, edit, and return the revised version — or send it on to anyone else who has a program that can "read" the file.

Use the following table to help determine which information-sharing method will meet your needs in various situations.

To | Use this method
--- | ---
Add small amounts of information from one file to another, which you can edit in the destination file without causing similar changes in the source file. | Copy to the Clipboard (Can be used between Windows programs only.)
Add large amounts of information, organized in tables and columns, from one file to another, which you can edit in the destination file without causing similar changes in the source file. | Import and export
Add large amounts of information from one file to another, with the ability to make a change in the source file that appears automatically in the destination file. | Create OLE links (Can be used between OLE-supported programs only.)
Add large amounts of information from one file to another. | Embed (Can be used between OLE-supported programs only.)

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