Options dialog - Reschedule tab
You use the Reschedule tab of the Options dialog to specify the way in which reschedules affect your projects.
How to access the Options dialog
To access the Options dialog, click the File tab, then click Options.
Explanation of the fields and buttons on the dialog
| Field/Button | Description |
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| Tasks with no links - Leave as drawn within constraints |
Click this radio button to specify that unlinked tasks are not moved unless they conflict with constraints such as the project start date or start flags on parent tasks.
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| Tasks with no links - Move if at project or chart bounds |
Click this radio button to specify that unlinked tasks are moved by the minimum amount necessary if they are setting the start or finish date of the project or chart.
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| Tasks with no links - Move to ASAP/ALAP position |
Click this radio button to move unlinked tasks to their ASAP/ALAP position.
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| ALAP tasks have no free float |
Select this check box to suppress the display of free float to the left of ALAP tasks (as in Microsoft® Project), or clear the check box to display free float to the left of ALAP tasks.
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| Finish on or before flags are soft |
Select this check box to allow tasks to slip beyond their finish flag date, or clear the check box to prevent tasks from being positioned beyond their finish flag date; this may result in negative float on the critical path.
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| Summaries critical where content is critical |
Select this check box to display summary tasks as critical where some - but not all - of the tasks within their summary group are on the critical path, or clear the check box to display such summary tasks as non-critical.
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| Negative float applies to chain |
Select this check box to make chains of tasks that include negative float exceed the constraint at the end of the chain, resulting in negative float being applied to all of the tasks in the chain, or clear the check box to respect the constraint at the end of the chain, resulting in negative float only being applied to the task at the start of the chain.
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| Ignore link categories |
Select one or more link categories if you want links in those categories to be ignored by the reschedule.
Specifying that links of a particular category should be ignored in a reschedule |
| Tasks with only outgoing links - Leave as drawn within constraints |
Click this radio button to specify that tasks with only outgoing links are not moved unless they conflict with constraints such as the project start date or start flags on parent tasks.
Specifying how tasks with only outgoing links are rescheduled |
| Tasks with only outgoing links - Move to ASAP/ALAP position |
Click this radio button to move tasks with only outgoing links to their ASAP/ALAP position.
Specifying how tasks with only outgoing links are rescheduled |
| Move part completed links |
Select this check box to specify whether links starting from an uncompleted task (for example on Bar A) and ending on a completed task (for example on Bar B) are moved so that they end on the first uncompleted task on Bar B.
Select this check box to maintain link logic when progress occurs out of sequence, or clear the check box to prevent part-completed links from being moved.
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| Truncate float within chart boundaries |
Select this check box to truncate float on tasks within subcharts and summary groups to the end of the parent task, or clear the check box to display float on such tasks up to the end of the view.
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| Use delivery date as deadline |
Select this check box to use the delivery date that has been specified against the project as a deadline when rescheduling, or clear the check box to use the finish date of the last task in the project to set late and free finish dates and calculate float.
Using the project delivery date as a deadline in a reschedule |
| Relink around completed tasks |
Select this check box to remove completed tasks that appear inbetween two uncompleted tasks from the link logic, linking the uncompleted tasks in a ladder, or clear the check box to maintain the position of completed tasks in the link logic.
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| Straighten progress line to period |
Select the progress period with the report date in relation to which you want to position completed and uncompleted tasks, or leave this set to <None> if you do not want tasks to be moved relative to a report date.
If you select a progress period, any uncompleted tasks that fall before the report date are moved forward in line with the report date so that they lie in the future (indicating that they are still to be carried out).
For example, if you report progress on Friday and a task that should have been finished on Friday still has 2 days work to be completed, the reschedule moves the uncompleted 2 days section to Monday, showing that it is still to be completed.
Rather than selecting a specific progress period, you can specify that the progress line should be straightened to the report date of whichever progress period is currently being used to report progress - the progress entry period. To do this, select Progress entry period in the field.
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| Only move forward to make straight |
If you straighten the progress line to the report date of a progress period, select this check box to leave completed tasks that lie after the report date where they are, or clear the check box to move them backwards to before the report date (indicating that they have been carried out and are in the past).
If you choose to move completed tasks that fall beyond the report date, the progress line will be completely straight following the reschedule, but the dates of some completed tasks will have changed. If you choose not to move completed tasks that fall beyond the report date, the progress line will not be completely straight - the reschedule will only push uncompleted tasks forward. Whether or not you select this option depends on whether you want an accurate record of the dates on which tasks were completed, or whether you want a view that differentiates between work completed and work yet to be done at a certain date.
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| Critical path drag |
Select this check box to calculate the drag of critical tasks when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without calculating drag. If you choose to calculate critical path drag, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
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| Cascade activity numbers |
Select this check box to calculate the cascade activity number of tasks when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without calculating cascade activity numbers. If you choose to calculate cascade activity numbers, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
Calculating the critical activity number of tasks when rescheduling |
| Critical path integrity |
Select this check box to check the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without checking the integrity of the critical path. If you choose to check the integrity of the critical path, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
Checking the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling |
| Days leeway |
If a task on the critical path has an outgoing Start-to-Start or Start-to-Finish link and has no other outgoing driving link, the task will break the integrity of the critical path, as increasing the duration of the task to 600d will not move the finish date of the project forward into the future by the same amount, give or take 1d. If you have built tasks like this into your schedule deliberately, this is undesirable.
One way of resolving this issue is by identifying and eliminating all Start-to-Start and Start-to-Finish links from a project. If you do not want to do this - it may be necessary to have one or more links of this type in a project - you can resolve the issue by increasing the amount of leeway that each task is allowed before it is deemed to break the critical path integrity. For example, if you specify 10d leeway, a task is allowed to increase in duration by up to 10d before it is deemed to break the critical path integrity.
Enter the amount of leeway you want to allow each task in the Days leeway field. Asta Powerproject defaults to allowing each task one day's leeway - and this is the minimum amount of leeway allowable - to allow for tasks that are configured to start on a new day.
Checking the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling |
| Settings |
Click this button to display the Reschedule Report Settings dialog. You use this dialog to specify whether reschedule reports should be produced and to configure the reports.
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| Display |
This field indicates whether reschedule reports are set to be produced, and if so, how they are configured to be produced:
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| Automatic reschedule |
Specify whether you want Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current view, the current branch, or the entire programme of projects automatically each time you make an edit that results in one or more tasks being moved or resized. Select Reschedule view to reschedule the current view automatically, select Reschedule all to reschedule the entire programme of projects automatically, select Reschedule branch to reschedule the current branch automatically, or select Off if you do not want Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically each time you make an edit.
Automatic rescheduling is most useful in smaller projects: the larger a project becomes, the longer it will take to reschedule it. If you want to enable automatic rescheduling in a larger project, you may find it useful to specify that only the current view or branch is rescheduled automatically, as this will take less time than rescheduling the entire programme of projects each time you make an edit.
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How do I...
... specify the way in which rescheduling affects tasks that are not linked to other tasks?
Select the behaviour you want to apply to unlinked tasks in the Tasks with no links group.
... specify the way in which rescheduling affects tasks that only have outgoing links?
Select the behaviour you want to apply to tasks with only outgoing links in the Tasks with only outgoing links group.
... specify whether free float should be displayed to the left of ALAP tasks?
Select the ALAP tasks have no free float check box to suppress the display of free float to the left of ALAP tasks (as in Microsoft® Project), or clear the check box to display free float to the left of ALAP tasks.
... specify whether tasks should be allowed to move beyond a Finish On or Before flag?
Select the Finish on or before flags are soft check box to allow tasks to move beyond a Finish On or Before flag, or clear the check box to prevent them from doing so, which may result in negative float in the critical path.
... specify whether summary tasks should be displayed as critical where some - but not all - of the tasks within their summary group are on the critical path?
Select the Summaries critical where content is check box to display summary tasks as critical where some - but not all - of the tasks within their summary group are on the critical path, or clear the check box to display such summary tasks as non-critical.
... specify where negative float is placed in a chain of tasks?
Select the Negative float applies to chain check box to make chains of tasks that include negative float exceed the constraint at the end of the chain, resulting in negative float being applied to all of the tasks in the chain, or clear the check box to respect the constraint at the end of the chain, resulting in negative float only being applied to the task at the start of the chain.
... exclude links of a particular category from rescheduling?
Select the link category, or categories, to exclude from rescheduling, in the Ignore link categories field.
... specify the effect on links originating from partially-completed tasks and ending on fully-completed tasks?
Select the Move part completed links check box to move links that start on partially-completed tasks and ending on fully-completed tasks so that they end on the first uncompleted task on the same bar on which they currently end, or clear the check box to leave them as they are.
... specify the way in which float is displayed on summarised tasks or tasks within subcharts?
Select the Truncate float within chart boundaries check box to truncate the float on tasks within summary groups or subcharts to the duration of the parent task, or clear the check box to allow the float to display to the end of the view.
... specify whether the project delivery date should be used as a deadline?
Select the Use delivery date as deadline check box to use the delivery date that has been specified against the project as a deadline when rescheduling, or clear the check box to use the finish date of the last task in the project to set late and free finish dates and calculate float.
... specify the way in which completed tasks are affected by link logic in a reschedule?
Select the Relink around completed tasks check box to remove links to and from completed tasks that appear in the middle of two uncompleted tasks, linking the uncompleted tasks together, or clear the check box to maintain the position of completed tasks in the link logic.
... specify whether the progress line should be straightened to the report date of a particular progress period?
Select the progress period to which you want to straighten the progress line during a reschedule in the Straighten progress line to period field, or select None if you want to retain a jagged progress line.
You can also choose whether you want to move any completed tasks that lie after the report date backwards to before the report date (indicating that they have been carried out and are in the past), using the Only move forward to make straight check box.
... specify whether the drag of critical tasks should be calculated?
Select the Critical path drag check box to calculate the drag of critical tasks when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without calculating drag. If you choose to calculate critical path drag, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
... specify whether the cascade activity number of tasks should be calculated?
Select the Cascade activity numbers check box to calculate the cascade activity number of tasks when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without calculating cascade activity numbers. If you choose to calculate cascade activity numbers, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
... specify whether the integrity of the critical path should be checked?
Select the Critical path integrity check box to check the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling, or clear the check box to reschedule without checking the integrity of the critical path. If you choose to check the integrity of the critical path, it will take longer to reschedule a project.
If a task on the critical path has an outgoing Start-to-Start or Start-to-Finish link and has no other outgoing driving link, the task will break the integrity of the critical path, as increasing the duration of the task to 600d will not move the finish date of the project forward into the future by the same amount, give or take 1d. If you have built tasks like this into your schedule deliberately, this is undesirable.
One way of resolving this issue is by identifying and eliminating all Start-to-Start and Start-to-Finish links from a project. If you do not want to do this - it may be necessary to have one or more links of this type in a project - you can resolve the issue by increasing the amount of leeway that each task is allowed before it is deemed to break the critical path integrity. For example, if you specify 10d leeway, a task is allowed to increase in duration by up to 10d before it is deemed to break the critical path integrity.
Enter the amount of leeway you want to allow each task in the Days leeway field. Asta Powerproject defaults to allowing each task one day's leeway - and this is the minimum amount of leeway allowable - to allow for tasks that are configured to start on a new day.
... specify whether reschedule reports should be produced each time I reschedule the project?
Click the Settings button in the Reschedule report group to display the Reschedule Report Settings dialog. You use this dialog to specify whether reschedule reports should be produced and to configure the reports.
The field to the right of the Settings button indicates whether reschedule reports are set to be produced, and if so, how they are configured to be produced.
... specify whether you want Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current view, the current branch, or the entire programme of projects automatically?
In the Automatic reschedule field, 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, select Reschedule all to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the entire programme of projects automatically, select Reschedule branch to configure Asta Powerproject to reschedule the current branch automatically, or select Off if you do not want Asta Powerproject to reschedule automatically each time you make an edit.
Calculating the drag of critical tasks when rescheduling
Calculating the cascade activity number of tasks when rescheduling
Checking the integrity of the critical path when rescheduling