Configuring Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically
As an alternative to rescheduling a project manually, you can configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current view, the current branch or the entire project automatically each time you make an edit that results in one or more tasks being moved or resized. Automatic rescheduling is most useful in smaller projects: the larger a project becomes, the longer it will take to reschedule it.
For example, if you configured Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically, extending the duration of a task would cause the task's successor tasks to be repositioned without you having to perform a reschedule manually.
If you enable automatic rescheduling, you can specify whether only the current view, only the current branch, or the entire programme of projects is rescheduled. In anything other than small, simple, standalone projects, it is advisable to specify that only the current view or branch should be rescheduled, as this will usually take less time than a complete reschedule. If you are working in a multi-project Asta Enterprise environment, rescheduling only the current branch automatically may be the best option: if you are the only person working in a particular branch of the programme, configuring Asta Powerproject to reschedule only the current branch automatically will reschedule the branch in which you are working without affecting the other branches of the programme.
To configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically:
- Click the File tab, then click Options. The Options dialog appears.
- Click the Reschedule tab.
- Use the Automatic reschedule field to specify the way in which you want Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically. Select:
- 'Reschedule view' to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current view automatically each time you make an edit that results in one or more tasks being moved or resized.
- 'Reschedule all' to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the entire programme of projects automatically.
- 'Reschedule branch' to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch automatically.
- Off if you do not want Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically each time you make an edit.
- Click OK.
Once you have configured Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically, you can use the Auto Reschedule button, in the Schedule group, on the Home tab of the Ribbon, to quickly turn automatic rescheduling on and off, without having to access the Reschedule dialog. You may want to turn off automatic rescheduling briefly in order to carry out a number of edits without the project being rescheduled after every action. The name of the button changes depending on the automatic rescheduling option you have selected.
The Auto Reschedule button is cleared automatically when you record progress in a project in any way: by the time you come to record progress in a project, you normally do not want the project to be rescheduled until you have entered all of the progress for a particular progress period. If this happens and you want to re-enable automatic rescheduling, either reschedule the project or click the Auto Reschedule button again.
Types of edit that can cause an automatic reschedule to take place
Creating, deleting or modifying the following types of item can trigger automatic rescheduling:
- Calendars.
- Expanded tasks.
- Hammock tasks.
- Links.
- Milestones.
- Progress periods.
- Resource allocations.
- Summary tasks.
- Tasks.
- Work patterns.
For example, carrying out any of the following actions could trigger an automatic reschedule (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Drawing, editing or deleting a link.
- Adding, changing the date of or deleting a constraint flag.
- Assigning a resource to a task.
- Editing a task's duration.
- Adding a holiday to a calendar.
- Editing the shifts in a work pattern.
- Copying and pasting one or more tasks.
- Booking in data that has previously been booked out and edited when booked out.
Notes on automatic rescheduling
- Automatic rescheduling is carried out according to the settings that you configure on the Reschedule tab of the Options dialog.
- If automatic rescheduling is enabled and you undo an edit that caused an automatic reschedule to be performed, undoing the edit undoes both the edit itself and the resulting automatic reschedule.
- If you configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule only the current view automatically, automatic rescheduling is only triggered by edits that take place within a standard bar chart view - edits that take place within RBS/CBS views or within Library Explorer do not trigger automatic rescheduling.
- If you move a task using the
or 
buttons on the Object Edit toolbar when automatic rescheduling is enabled, the task will be moved back to its original position immediately if it is constrained by its links in such a way that it would not be moved during a reschedule. This may take place so quickly that it appears as if no change has actually taken place. For example, in the illustration below, task B is constrained by its links and would not be moved during a reschedule:
If you were to attempt to move this task using the Object Edit toolbar, you would not notice any change taking place, as the automatic reschedule would move the task back instantly to its original position. - Reschedule reports are not produced each time an automatic reschedule takes place, even if Asta Powerproject is configured to produce them when you reschedule manually.
- If you are working in a multi-project Asta Enterprise environment, rescheduling only the current branch automatically may be the best option: if you are the only person working in a particular branch of the programme, configuring Asta Powerproject to reschedule only the current branch automatically will reschedule the branch in which you are working without affecting the other branches of the programme.
- Edits that originate in macros do not trigger automatic rescheduling. Macros are not available in Asta Powerproject SaaS.