Override Auto Scheduling and Lock in a Start Date

We made a quick improvement to the Scheduler that lets you override Autoscheduling for individual tasks.

If you're not familiar with Autoscheduling, it automatically schedules your tasks based on their dependencies. When one task gets delayed, it pushes back all the dependent tasks downstream, so you don't have to manually adjust your entire schedule every time something changes.

Sometimes your dates are locked in. A contractor might be scheduled to show up on a specific date, like the 16th, and you don't want that task moving around every time an earlier task shifts. In those cases, you'll want to override Auto Scheduling and lock in that start date.

That's what our new date lock feature does. With Auto Scheduling enabled, every task is set to automatic by default. To pin one down, just toggle the task from Auto to Locked and drag it to the date you want it to start. It stays locked in place on that date, while the rest of your schedule keeps taking advantage of Auto Scheduling.

You can switch any task between Automatic and Locked right from the new "Auto?" column in the Scheduler, or from the task's edit window. Locked tasks are flagged so you can see at a glance which dates are set in stone and which are still moving with the schedule.