# Introduction

If life were simple, you’d manage one project at a time, create one project file, and that would be that. But life isn’t usually so simple. Often you need to manage several projects at the same time. While you can easily create a separate file for each project, the question is, how best to manage them all? If you’re managing a few relatively small projects, you might manage them as independent projects in separate files. But that may not always be the best solution.

In many instances, a better way is to combine several project files into one consolidated project file. Having a consolidated project file is like having your own command-and-control center. Within one window, you can view a number of projects at one time. Each project is represented by a single task in the consolidated project file. As with a single project in its own project file, you can view and edit the individual tasks, resources, and assignments of each project in a consolidated project file.

In addition to consolidating projects, there’s another way to work with several projects at the same time. If there are certain project files that you usually open and work with at the same time but prefer to keep separate, you can save time by opening them all at once.

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