You are trying to create or rename a project in CORE, and you get a message saying:
The Project ID is already in use. Please use a different ID.
Here are a few scenarios where this can happen. Note that this message can refer to either a main project's ID or a phase's ID. When creating a project from a template, it always uses the project wording, even if the actual conflict is with a phase's ID instead. Scenarios 2 and 3 cover that.
Scenario 1: The ID was already used by another project
Scenario 2: Your Phase ID Format produces an ID that's too long
Scenario 3: Two phases in your template resolve to the same ID
Scenario 1: The ID was already used by another project
The ID already belongs to another project. If you don't see that project in the project list view, check the status filter dropdown, it may be hiding the project that is using it.
How to fix it
Choose a different, unused ID, or better, turn on Auto increment Project ID and specify a Project ID format under Settings > Projects > General so that CORE fills in the next available ID for you automatically and you don't have to guess.
Note: Auto increment Project ID only applies to the root project IDs. It doesn't prevent a phase ID collision, whether the phase was added manually or generated from a template.
Scenario 2: Your Phase ID Format produces an ID that's too long
This applies when creating a project from a template. Phases in the new project always take their IDs from the Phase ID Format for Projects Created from Templates setting under Settings > Projects > Project Display.
Every Project ID, including automatically generated phase IDs, has a 65-character limit. This setting lets you combine several fields, for example Project ID, Client ID, and Phase ID, separated by hyphens or other characters. If the fields before the phase-specific part of your format already add close to 65 characters, the phase-specific portion may get truncated resulting in non-unique IDs for the phases. When that happens, every phase under that project can end up with the same truncated ID, even though they were meant to be unique, and CORE shows this error message.
Example: If your format is Project ID - Client ID - Phase ID, and Project ID + Client ID alone already reach the character limit, the Phase ID portion has no room left. Every phase then resolves to the same (truncated) ID and collides.
How to avoid this
- Keep your Phase ID Format as short as possible, and place the phase-specific field early enough in the format that it isn't the part getting cut off.
- Avoid combining multiple long fields (like a full Project ID and a full Client ID) ahead of the phase-specific field.
Scenario 3: Two phases in your template resolve to the same ID
This also applies when creating a project from a template. Under Settings > Projects > Project Display > Phase ID Format for Projects Created from Templates, you choose how each phase's ID is built, and the phase-specific part of that format can be set to either the phase's Template Phase ID or its Template Phase Name.
If two phases in the template share the same value in whichever field your format uses (the same stored ID, or the same Name), they will generate the identical final ID when the format is applied, and CORE shows this error message, even though the real conflict is between two phases in the template, not the Project ID you entered.
How to find the duplicate
- Check your phase ID format under Settings > Projects > Project Display to see whether it uses Template Phase ID or Template Phase Name for the phase-specific part.
- Go to Settings > Projects > Project Templates and open the template you are using.
- The Structure tab's tree displays each phase using your Project Display formatting, so two phases with the same underlying ID or Name can still look different there. So, go to the Details tab instead and use its phase dropdown to open each phase you suspect, checking the actual ID or Name field directly.
Note: The Phase ID Preview shown on the Create New From Template screen only displays top-level phases, it may not show the phase that is actually causing the conflict.
How to fix it
- On the template's Details tab, use the phase dropdown to select the phase you want to check.
- Update the ID or Name field (whichever your format uses) so that it is unique from every other phase in the template.
- Repeat for any other phases with the same issue, then try creating your project again.