Where can I do this?
If you have the required privilege, you can add, edit, or delete activity relationships on the Projects > Activities page or in Activity Relationship Details. When you click on an activity name in a portlet, its corresponding details page displays. You can also access Activity Relationship Details directly from the Activities page.
To display the Activities page, open the project or group of projects you want to work with in the Projects section, then click on the Projects toolbar.
I want to
- manage relationships directly in the Gantt chart
- manage relationships directly from the Activity Table
- manage relationships in Activity Details
- learn more about relationship types and lag
When you click on an activity name in a portlet, its corresponding details page displays.
Manage relationships in the Gantt chart
To add a relationship to an activity
- If necessary, click
on the Activities toolbar to display the Gantt chart.
- If relationship line display is not already turned on in the Gantt chart, on the Activities toolbar, click
.
- Right-click on the corresponding Gantt bar and select Create Relationship.
- From the Start or Finish handle on the bar, click and drag to the predecessor or successor activity's Start or Finish, as appropriate, to establish the correct relationship type.
- Click again to complete the relationship.
To delete a relationship, right-click on the relationship line, then choose Delete Relationship.
To edit a relationship type or lag, right-click on a relationship line, then choose Edit Relationship.
To view predecessor or successor relationships, right-click in the Gantt chart and select Edit Predecessors, Edit Successors, or Use Trace Logic.
Manage relationships in the Activity Table
To add, edit, or delete relationships for a single activity
- Right-click in the Activity Table, then choose Edit Predecessors or Edit Successors.
The Predecessors or Successors dialog displays, depending on the option you chose.
Tip: If you customize your activity view to display the Predecessors and Successors columns, you can also access the Predecessors and Successors dialog boxes by double-clicking in the appropriate column, then clicking the browse button.
- Add, edit, or delete relationships as follows:
- To select a predecessor activity, in the Predecessors dialog, click
. Select the activity you want to assign as a predecessor, then click Assign. Repeat this step to assign additional predecessors.
- To select a successor activity, in the Successors dialog, click
. Select the activity you want to assign as a successor, then click Assign. Repeat this step to assign additional successors.
- To edit a relationship's type, double-click in the Relationship Type column, then choose the appropriate relationship type.
- To edit a relationship's lag, double-click in the Lag column, then enter the number of days of lag (positive or negative).
- To delete a relationship, select the activity, then click
.
Tip: While the dialog is open, you can continue to select activities in the Activity Table and add, edit, or delete relationships for the activities you select.
- Click OK to close the dialog and retain your changes, or click Cancel to close the dialog without retaining your changes.
- If you chose to retain your changes, on the Activities toolbar, click
(Ctrl+S) to save your changes, or click
(Ctrl+Z) to cancel your changes.
Note: When selecting a predecessor or successor activity, you can choose from activities in the open project(s) only.
To add relationships to multiple activities
- In the table, select the activities, then right-click and choose Link Selected Activities.
Based on the sequence they appear in the view, the application creates Finish-to-Start relationships between selected activities. That is, an F-S relationship is applied between the first and second activity, between the second and third activity, and so on. If an activity pair already has an F-S relationship, the application tries, in turn, to apply each of the other relationship types, if possible. Otherwise, no relationship is applied to the pair.
Manage relationships in Activity Details
Step 1: Displaying Activity Relationship details
The procedure for displaying Resource details differs depending on whether you access the details from the Activities page or in the Activity Details form.
From the Activities Page:
- On the Activities page, select the activity and, on the Activities toolbar, click
.
- Select Activity Details.
- Select one of the following:
- Predecessors - displays the Predecessors dialog box in which you can view predecessor relationships among activities.
- Successors - displays the Successors dialog box in which you can view predecessor relationships among activities.
- Trace Logic - displays the Trace Logic dialog box, which uses trace logic to identify predecessor and successor relationships between activities in large projects.
or
In the activity table, right-click an activity and select an option, such as Predecessors, Successors, Steps, or Notebooks, from the menu.
From the Activity Details Form in a portlet:
Expand the Relationships section, if necessary.
If Relationships details do not appear, edit your preferences to add them.
Step 2: Manage Relationships
To add a relationship
- To assign a predecessor or successor, click the appropriate link.
- Choose an activity and click Assign. Repeat this step to assign additional predecessors or successors.
- Click Close.
To edit or delete a relationship
- Click the name of a predecessor or successor activity.
- Edit the relationship, then click Save.
Or, click Delete Relationship.
Understanding relationship types and lag
When adding or editing relationships, you must specify the relationship type and lag.
A relationship type identifies the type of dependency that exists between the selected activity and its predecessor or successor:
- Finish to Start - The successor activity cannot start until its predecessor finishes
- Finish to Finish - The successor activity cannot finish until its predecessor finishes
- Start to Start - The successor activity cannot start until its predecessor starts
- Start to Finish - The successor activity cannot finish until its predecessor starts
Lag is the delay between the start or finish of one activity and the start or finish of another. If the selected activity has a finish-start successor with a 3-day lag, the successor activity cannot start until three days after the selected activity has finished.
Lag can be positive or negative. Using the previous example with a lag of 3, the successor activity could start three days before the selected activity finishes. Negative lag is also called lead.