Link slope

Links can slope in all directions when you draw them on the bar chart. The degree of slope can provide useful information, particularly after a reschedule, when tasks have been placed in their optimum positions with most links straightened and any sloping links usually indicating some leeway.

When you select a link, the time period over which the link slopes is displayed in the Duration control in the Object Edit toolbar.

Links can be vertical, forward-sloping or backward-sloping. When a link is vertical, it means that the successor task can start immediately:

When a link slopes forward across working time, it means that the successor task need not start immediately and may be restrained by other factors. When there is a long gap of working time between the start and end of a link it means that the successor task is unlikely to be affected by the predecessor task:

When a link slopes backward in time, it means that the successor task must start before the predecessor task has finished. When you reschedule the project, the link is straightened either by moving the predecessor task backward or the successor task forward to ensure that the logic of the schedule is correct:

You can edit the link slope to add lead/lag time to a link.