Properties view - Links tab
You use the Links tab of the properties view to view details of the links coming into and out of the selected bar or task. You can use this tab to add new incoming and outgoing links, to move links to different tasks, to delete links altogether and to trace the link logic in a project. Information about the links is displayed in two grids: the left grid displays information about links coming into the selected bar or task from predecessor tasks, and the right grid displays information about links coming out of the selected bar or task to successor tasks.
Click 
and 
to navigate through the objects in the bar chart, selecting objects in turn and viewing their properties.
How to access the properties view
To access the properties view, click 
on the status bar.
Explanation of the fields and buttons
The two grids display a range of information about each incoming and outgoing link. Each row in a grid represents one incoming or outgoing link. You can edit the properties of links - apart from implied links - by clicking and entering information directly into the grids. If you edit a field that identifies a task so that another task is identified, the corresponding link will be moved to the new task; if you delete the information from a field that identifies a task, the corresponding link will be deleted.
The following buttons appear underneath each grid:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Link |
Click this button to add a new incoming or outgoing link to the selected task, using the New Link dialog.
If you have selected more than one task in the bar chart, clicking this button will add a link to each selected task. |
| Unlink Tasks |
Select a link in one of the grids then click this button to delete the link.
If you have selected more than one link by holding down CTRL and clicking links in a grid, clicking this button will delete all the selected links. |
| Change | Select a link in one of the grids then click this button to move the link to a different task, using the Move From/To dialog. |
| Properties | Select a link in one of the grids then click this button to view and edit the properties of the link. |
If you right-click the heading of a column of information in one of the grids, a menu appears that enables you to configure the grid. The menu contains the following commands. Any changes that you make to a grid will be applied automatically to the other grid on the Links tab of the properties view and to the grids on the Links tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog:
| Menu command | Description |
|---|---|
| Sort Ascending | Select this command to sort the links in the grid in ascending order based on their values in the column that you right-clicked. |
| Sort Descending | Select this command to sort the links in the grid in descending order based on their values in the column that you right-clicked. |
| Sort by Default Ordering | Select this command to remove an ascending or descending sort that you have applied to the grid. |
| Remove This Column | Select this command to remove the column that you right-clicked from the grid. Once you have removed a column, you must use the Add Column command to reinclude the column in the grid. |
| Add Column | Select this command then select a field in the submenu that appears to add a new column to the grid, displaying the selected field. |
| Field | Select this command then select a field in the submenu that appears to display the selected field in the column that you right-clicked. |
| Logic History Indicator |
Select this command to specify that this column should be used to show whether a task has been visited when chasing link logic in a project. If the task at the other end of a link has been visited when logic-chasing, a
|
| Best Fit | Select this command to adjust the width of the column so that it best fits the information displayed in the column. |
| Highlight Logic History |
Select this command to specify that links should be highlighted to indicate that a task has been visited when chasing link logic in a project. Select the command again to turn off this highlighting. You can specify the colour that is used to highlight links leading to visited tasks using the Logic Chasing tab of the Link Settings dialog.
|
| Logic Chasing Settings |
Select this command to display the Logic Chasing tab of the Link Settings dialog, which you can use to specify the way in which
|
icon appears against the link in this column.How do I...
... chase link logic and display bar and task properties for the task at the other end of a link?
Either double-click the entry for the link, or right-click the entry for the link and select Go To Other End. Details of the task at the other end of the link are now displayed.
If the Barchart follows link navigation check box on the Logic Chasing tab of the Link Settings dialog is selected and if the current view is a bar chart, the view is updated automatically when you choose to display the properties of the task at the other end of a link so that the task is brought into view and selected. Selecting this check box and double-clicking links on the Links tab of the properties view or on the Links tab of the Bar and Task Properties dialog is a simple way of chasing the link logic in a project.
... add a new incoming or outgoing link to the selected task?
- Click Add Link beneath the appropriate grid, or right-click the appropriate grid and select Add new link to... or Add new link from.... The New Link dialog appears.
- Specify the task with which you want to link the currently selected task by entering information in the fields on the dialog. For example, enter the name or WBS code of the task with which you want to link the selected task.
- Specify the type of link you want to create in the Link type field.
- Enter the amount of lead/lag, for example 2d or 15h, you want to apply to the link in the Lag field. Leave this field blank to create links with no lead/lag.
- Click Link. If only one task meets your criteria, a link is created between the selected task and that task immediately. If more than one task meets your criteria, the Select Link Ends dialog appears, displaying all tasks that meet the criteria.
- Within the Select Link Ends dialog, select the check box to the left of the tasks to or from which you want to create links, then click OK.
... delete a link?
- Select the entry for the link that you want to delete in one of the grids.
- Click Unlink Tasks.
... move a link to a different task?
- Select the entry for the link in one of the grids and click Change. The Move From/To dialog appears.
- Specify the task to which you want to move the other end of the link by entering information in the fields on the dialog. For example, enter the name or WBS code of the task to which you want to move the selected link.
- Specify a different type of link if required in the Link type field.
- Enter the amount of lead/lag, for example 2d or 15h, you want to apply to the link in the Lag field. Leave this field blank to apply no lead/lag to the link.
- Click Link. The selected link is moved to the specified task.
... edit the properties of a link?
- Click the row of the link you want to edit to select the row.
- Within the selected row, click the column of information you want to edit.
- Overtype the existing information as required then click away from the row.
If you edit the information in the Predecessor name or Successor name columns, as well as entering the names of tasks you can specify the link category, link type and lead/lag amount, even though this information is not displayed in the column. You do this in the same way as when you create and edit links using the Predecessors and Successors columns in the spreadsheet.
For example, if you edited the Predecessor name column for a link as follows - Plumbing (Category A) SS 2d - the link would be moved to start at the Plumbing task, would be changed to be a Start-to-Start link, would have 2 days lead/lag, and would have the Category A link category assigned to it.
... view the properties of a link?
- Select the entry for the link in one of the grids.
- Click Properties.
... configure the grid?
- Right-click the heading of a column of information in the grid to display a menu that enables you to configure the grid. You can add and remove columns of information and sort the grid according to the information in any of the columns.
- Click the heading of a column in the grid and drag it left or right to change its position in the grid.
The properties view may or may not display a number of tabs that display advanced information. If these tabs are not currently displayed, you can click >> to display them. If they are currently displayed, you can click << to hide them from view.
Editing bars and tasks using the properties view
Linking tasks without drawing in the bar chart
Following link logic in a project