Multi-Project: Best Practice

Modified on Tue, 20 Jan at 4:45 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Shared Items Between Projects
Best Practice Guidelines
- Example Scenario
Further Support

When planning a multi-project implementation in ManagementStudio, review the following guidelines to ensure you understand which features and data types support sharing between projects.

Shared Items Between Projects

The table below outlines which item types can be shared across projects and provides relevant notes.

Item Type	Can it be shared?	Comments
User Migrations	Yes	Custom Fields restrictions apply (see guidance below).
Applications	Yes	Custom Fields restrictions apply (see guidance below).
Devices	Yes	Custom Fields restrictions apply (see guidance below).
Mailboxes	Yes	Custom Fields restrictions apply (see guidance below).
Bespoke	Yes	Custom Fields restrictions apply (see guidance below).
Deployment Units	No
Links	No	Typically recreated via connectors in each project.
Connectors	No	Can be manually replicated in new projects if required.
ESMs	No	Can be exported/imported between projects; may require edits depending on Evaluators/Actions.
Scripts	No
Emails	No
Blueprints	No

Best Practice Guidelines

Custom Fields: Fields such as CustomFlagX, CustomPropertyX, and CustomListX are shared across all projects for shared asset types. They cannot be re-used or repurposed in different projects.
Drop-down Lists: Drop-down values configured in the Details tab are not carried over into child projects and must be re-created where needed.
Asset Sharing Recommendations:
- Avoid sharing primary, target assets (e.g., applications to be retested or remediated in the new project). Instead, export these items from the original project and import them into the new project. This approach allows you to redefine custom fields as appropriate for the new context.
- Share secondary or supporting assets (e.g., User Migrations, Devices) from previous projects to maintain consistency and reduce duplication.
- If needed, add connectors within the new project to establish relationships between assets (e.g., linking users, applications, and devices).

Example Scenario

A Windows 10 project exists in ManagementStudio.
A new Windows 11 project is starting.
Applications require retesting for Windows 11 compatibility.

Recommendation:

Do not share the existing applications. Instead, export them from the Windows 10 project and import them into the Windows 11 project to allow custom fields to be defined appropriately.
Share User Migrations and Devices between the projects if needed.
Add connectors in the new project to create user-to-app-to-device links as necessary.

Further Support

For additional assistance, visit the ManagementStudio Service Desk to search the knowledge base or create a support ticket.