When you select a user account on the Users page in Microsoft Project Central, click Delete User, and then confirm the deletion, the user account is not deleted from the user list as expected. Instead, the user account is displayed as inactive.

This article explains how to delete an inactive user from the Microsoft Project Central user list.

To prevent the loss of data that may be related to the inactive user, Microsoft Project does not automatically delete inactive user accounts. To delete the user from the user list, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Merge the User with Another User

In some cases, it may be advantageous to merge the unneeded resource with another resource. This situation can occur when one user leaves the project and is replaced by another user who will take over all tasks and assignments from the previous user.

NOTE: This method requires that all assignments, tasks, status reports, messages, and other items be transferred to the new user.

To merge two user accounts, follow these steps:

1. Log on to Microsoft Project Central as Administrator.
2. On the Admin menu, click Server Mode.
3. Click Single User, and then click Save Changes.
4. On the Admin menu, click Users.
5. Click Merge User Accounts.
6. In the user list on the left under Merge User Accounts, select the user to whom you want to assign all items from the inactive resource.
7. In the user list on the right, select the user that you want to delete from the project.
8. Click Save Changes, and then click OK in response to the "The resource information was successfully updated" message that appears.
9. On the Admin menu, click Server Mode.
10. Click Normal, and then click Save Changes.
11. Log off Microsoft Project Central.

Method 2: Manually Delete the Resource from the Project

To delete the inactive user, follow these steps.

Step 1: Delete the Resource and Related Information

1. Start Microsoft Project, and then open the project that contains the resource that you want to delete:
   • For each task in which the resource has completed 0 (zero) percent work, delete the resource from the task.
   • For each task in which the resource has completed an amount of work greater than 0 percent, reduce the remaining work for the resource assignment to 0, or assign the remaining work to another resource.
2. On the View menu, click Resource Sheet.
3. In the Resource Name list, select the resource that you want to delete.
4. On the Edit menu, click Delete Resource.
5. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
6. On the Tools menu, point to Workgroup, and then click TeamUpdate. If you receive the following message
   Some resources have not been notified that they have been removed from task assignments.
   click either Yes or No, based on the following criteria:
   
   
   • To send these resources a message to inform them that they have been deleted from the task assignments, click Yes.
   • To not send these resources a message to inform them that they have been deleted from the task assignments, click No.
7. Click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Save.
9. Quit Microsoft Project.

Step 2: Delete Information Related to the Resource from Microsoft Project Central

1. Log on to Microsoft Project Central as Administrator.
2. On the Admin menu, click Server Mode.
3. Click Single User, and then click Save Changes.
4. On the Admin menu, click Delete from Database.
5. Click to select the following check boxes:
   Tasks
   Messages
   Status Reports
   WARNING: Do not click to select the Project check box.
6. Click Delete the specified items for only this user, and then select the user that you want from the list.
7. Click Delete, and then click Yes in response to the confirmation message that appears.
8. On the Admin menu, click Server Mode.
9. Click Normal, and then click Save Changes.
10. Log off Microsoft Project Central.

Step 3: Delete the Resource from the Database

Open the Microsoft Project Central database, and then manually delete the resource. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start your database management program, and then open the Project_CentralDb database.
   
   NOTE: Project_CentralDb is the default database that is created when you install Microsoft Project Central. However, if you manually created a database with a different name by running the SQL scripts from the Microsoft Project Central CD-ROM, open it instead.For additional information about how to open an MSDE-hosted database, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   314297  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=314297/EN-US/ ) PRJ2000: How to Open an MSDE-Hosted Microsoft Project Central Database in Microsoft Access
2. Open the MSP_WEB_RESOURCES table.
3. In the opened table, delete the row that contains the user account that you want to delete.
4. If you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
5. Close the database, and then quit the database management program.