# Combine jobs into a project

Group related standalone jobs under a single project for unified release, purchasing, and setup sheet generation.

Source: https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/guides/combine-jobs-into-project/
Updated: 2026-10-29

**Prerequisites:** At least one job exists, or you are planning multiple jobs for the same part.

**Required permission:** Engineering → Projects and Jobs — User or above. Admins can change, release, and approve any project or job; Managers and Users only the projects and jobs they created.

Jobs can exist independently, but grouping them under a project unlocks project-level status actions — Release, Approve, Lock — applied to every job at once, shared setup sheet access, and a single approval record for the whole manufacturing plan.

Use this guide when:
- You have created standalone jobs you want to consolidate.
- You are planning a multi-operation part that involves more than one setup or machine.

## Create the project

1. In the sidebar, click **Engineering → Projects**.
1. Click **+ Create**.
1. Enter the project **Name**.
1. Click **Create**.

The project is created in Draft status with no jobs yet.

## Add new jobs to the project

If the jobs do not exist yet:

1. Open the project and click the **Process** tab, then click **+** at the bottom of the job list.
1. Enter the job **Name** (e.g., *Op 10 – Mill*, *Op 20 – Turn*).
1. Select the **Machine**.
1. Click **Create**.
1. Repeat for each additional setup.

![Project Process table grouping three parts, their operations, tools, cycle times, and assigned Haas VF-1 machine](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/guides/project-process-eng.webp)

*Fig. 1: Process tab — multiple setups grouped under one project. The sequence order determines the setup sheet print order.*

## Assign an existing standalone job to the project

If the job already exists without a project:

1. In the sidebar, click **Engineering → Jobs** and open the job.
1. Click **Edit** in the bottom toolbar.
1. In the **Project** field, search for and select the project.
1. Click **Update**.

The job now appears in the project's Process tab. Its operations and tool assignments are unchanged.

## Set the job sequence

1. In the project's **Process** tab, drag jobs by the ≡ handle in the **Action** column of each row.
1. Arrange them in the intended machining sequence — this order appears on the setup sheet.

## Release the project

1. Open the project and click **Release** on the bottom toolbar.

Release runs a pre-release check and locks every job in the project for engineering-manager approval; it does not sync anything to inventory. Click **Mark as Draft** to reverse this if changes are still needed. See the full status flow in the [Projects Reference](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/projects/#commands).

## Approve the project

1. Open the project and click **Approve** on the bottom toolbar.

Approve is the step that syncs tool assemblies and products to inventory — this is what makes tooling available for purchasing and shopfloor pickup. Click **Mark as Released** to move an approved project back to Released status without undoing that sync.

## Notes

- Project-level status and lock actions (Release, Approve, Mark as Draft, Mark as Released, Lock/Unlock) apply to every job in the project at once, overwriting each job's own status or lock state regardless of what it was set to individually.
- If all jobs run on the **same machine** (multiple clamping changes, one machine), enable **Multiple jobs setup** on the project before adding jobs. See [Document a Multiple-Setup CAM Project](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/guides/document-multiple-setups/).
- A standalone job (no project) can still be released and approved independently from its own detail view.