Tasks and dependencies

Add tasks, set their start and length, and link them so moving one date moves the rest.

Add a task #

Click + Add task at the bottom of the Gantt or the table. Each group also has its own + Add task row, which adds the task at the end of that group.

A new task is called "New task" and lasts five days. Type over its name, then set its dates. If a starred or tag filter would hide the new task, the filter turns off so you can see it.

Set the start and length #

Each task row has these cells:

Start: the task's start date. Pick a date to set the earliest it can start.
Days: how long it lasts.
End: the last day it occupies. It's worked out for you.
◆: tick to make it a milestone. See Milestones and steps.

Dates are worked out, not typed in. A task starts on the later of its own start date and what its dependencies allow. A task with no start date and no dependencies starts at the project start.

In the Gantt you can also drag a bar left or right to change its start. Dragging it back to where it began puts it back the way it was.

Earliest start #

When you set a start date, the task's details panel shows Earliest start. If a dependency pushes the task later, it says (pushed later by dependencies).

Click Clear — let dependencies / project start place it to remove the date and let the task follow its dependencies again.

Working days and holidays #

The Business days switch in the scheme bar sets how time is counted for the whole schedule:

On: durations count working days. Weekends and the holidays your office observes take up no time, and nothing starts on one.
Off: durations count plain calendar days.

Choose the holidays #

Click ▾ next to Holidays in the toolbar.
Untick any federal holiday your office works through.
Under Office closed, use + add a date for extra days off, like the day after Thanksgiving.

The Holidays button itself only shows or hides the holiday highlights. It doesn't change any dates.

The project window #

The Project dates in the scheme bar are the project's start and end. A task's start can't be set or dragged outside them. Leave the end empty (no end) for an open-ended schedule.

If dependencies or durations push tasks past the end, the filter bar shows how many are past the project end. Shorten them, re-sequence them, or move the end date.

Add a dependency #

Dependencies are finish-to-start: a task waits for the tasks it depends on to finish. When those move, it moves too.

Click the task to open its details panel.
Under Depends on, tick each task it waits for.

The list shows tasks in the same group. To pick from the rest, click the Show … tasks from other groups link below it. A task you can't tick says would create a cycle, because it already depends on this one.

In the Gantt, arrows run from each predecessor to the task that follows it. Untick a task to remove the link.

Start day after a predecessor #

Once a task has a dependency, a lock switch appears below the list:

Starts on the predecessor's finish day (locked, the default): the task starts on the day its predecessor finishes, and its duration counts working days after that. A one-day review after a Friday milestone lands on Monday.
Unlocked — starts the working day after: the task starts the next working day after a task, or the same day as a milestone.

Add a lag #

A lag is a wait between a predecessor's finish and this task's start, like "city review starts 20 days after submission". Use a lag instead of a filler "waiting" task.

In Depends on, tick the predecessor.
Type the number of days in the + d box next to it.

The lag counts working days, or calendar days when Business days is off. A negative number is a lead: the task starts that many days before the predecessor finishes. The Gantt draws the wait as a hatched lead-in in front of the bar.

Move, copy and delete tasks #

Move up / Move down in the details panel (or Alt + ↑ / ↓) changes the row order. It never changes dates.
Duplicate (or Ctrl/⌘ + D) puts a copy just below, with the same group, dates and dependencies.
Delete (or the Delete key) asks first. Undo brings it back.

Edit several tasks at once #

Ctrl/⌘-click to add or remove a task from the selection. Shift-click to select a run of tasks. The side panel then shows how many are selected.

From there you can set the group, color, outline and duration for all of them, add or remove tags and assignees, and star, mark temporary, hide, duplicate or delete them all. Name, start date and dependencies are edited one task at a time.

Keyboard shortcuts #

When you're not typing in a field:

↑ / ↓: select the previous or next task.
Enter: edit the selected task's name.
Alt + ↑ / ↓: move the selected task, or the selected group, up or down.
Ctrl/⌘ + D: duplicate the selection.
Delete: delete the selection (asks first).
Ctrl/⌘ + Z / Y: undo or redo.
Esc: clear the selection.