Dependency timelines don't always update?

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Hi,

I can’t find a recent thread on this, so I am starting a new one. Basically: timelines are not always updating when they should when I adjust the dates of dependent items.

One example is below. I adjusted the duration of “Email Draft 1”, and its timeline updated correctly. But the start date for the next item, “Email Edit 1”, did NOT update.

I CAN get it to update, but it’s erratic. Some start dates get “stuck” with the original date; others always change when I change the dependency. In this case, I was able to erase the timeline, manually enter it again, and refresh the duration and it started to sync up. Is that the way it’s supposed to work?

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I think I am seeing different behaviors with Flexible and Strict dependencies. For example, Flexible will push the start date into the future (to keep from overlapping), but not necessarily push it back into the past. Strict seems to do the opposite - it doesn’t care if dates overlap, but it does adjust both forward and back - but not always.

Is there a reproducible trick to this? For example, does it matter if I set the dependency before or after I set the dates?

Thanks!

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Hi @DaveThinks ,
I don’t see any changes at all in dependent items’ timelines at all with nor flexible or strict dependencies.

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Hi, Iryna,

I am getting mixed results!

If I manually enter the timelines, they don’t necessarily change when I change other timelines. But if I create the dependencies and the durations, and populate the timelines automatically - then they seem to work the way they are supposed to.

Here’s what worked for me when they weren’t changing.

  1. Make sure each item has a duration and a dependency. Make sure the ultimate dependent - the one all the others rely on - has a fixed manual date.
  2. Hover over the timeline of the next dependent item - one that doesn’t change if you change its predecessor. Memorize its duration.
  3. Click on the “x” to clear the date.
  4. Click on the empty timeline to pull up the calendar. Don’t enter any dates! Just enter! It should assign a date. (It will also reset duration to 1)
  5. Go back and correct the duration.

Once the date has been set up this way - automatically based on dependence and duration - it SHOULD keep updating when you change dates.

To be on the safe side, I avoid manually changing dates after that, I only update dependencies and duration fields.

timeline_update

That said, this is all trial and error on my side, so let me know how it works for you.

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