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Hans1958's avatar
Hans1958
Copper Contributor
Jul 21, 2023

Project 2010: After filtering just for "necessary" tasks, ... the bars of the GANTT-chart have a gap

Dear all,

I am using Microsoft 2010. I have 3 tasks, ... they are aaa, bbb, ccc.

I have one user-defined column, called "necessary", where I declare task "bbb" not necessary.

Then I filter according the necessary declared tasks to show in my project plan just the crucial tasks.

BUT ...

when you have then a look at the GANTT-chart view then I notice a gap between task aaa and task ccc.

And that's what is bothering me.

It's bothering me because when I have declared task bbb as not necessary, then actually task ccc should then right there follow up task aaa.

I would appreciate any suggestion how to handle such an issue.

It's not just happening in Microsoft Project, it's the same issue in Smartsheet as well.

I haven't found a solution yet.

Yeah, I know, I could do everything manually, e.g. set up the predecessor, ... or assign the not necessary task a zero duration, ... but that's all to do by hand.

What I would like is that the software checks what I want e.g. through a formula, or through a VBA procedure, ...

And still something else I would like to point out. Why the heck didn't anybody yet claim this issue. How proceed others in companies who are working in the automotive supply industry with their projects in such a case. Would it not be beneficial to have a template, let's say with 300 rows, and I would then just click un-necessry tasks to hide them and get my project plan created and done?!

Anyways, ... I hope I have expressed myself well enough ...

Maybe this screen shots here will help to illustrate this issue ...

 

Picture #1: Normal project plan ...

Picture #2: Now with column DE: "Notwendig" (EN: "necessary")

Picture #3: Shows the gap between task aaa and task ccc. Desire would be that task ccc would just proceed after task aaa

 

Thank-you dearly in advance for everybody who give me a hint how to proceed to find a solution!

Best regards

Hans ... from Germany

 

 

  • John-project's avatar
    John-project
    Silver Contributor

    Hans1958 

    So you want Project to read your mind. Sorry, but that isn't going to happen, Project is a tool not AI.

     

    That said, when Project 2010 was released a new feature was added that allows users to inactivate tasks. However, it is only in later versions, that in addition to inactivating a task, the dependency of that deleted task is passed back to it's predecessor.

    Project 2010 with task bbb de-activated:

    Project 2019 with task bbb de-activated:

     

    But, de-activating a task does NOT remove it entirely from the plan, it removes that task from active scheduling including resource utilization.

     

    In your case the best option is to take note of the dependencies on tasks to be deleted, then delete those tasks and re-connect the dependencies to re-establish the logical network. Yes, you could use VBA to facilitate that process but is it worth the effort to develop that macro?

     

    John

     

    • Hans1958's avatar
      Hans1958
      Copper Contributor

      John-project 

       

      Dear John,

      Thank-you dearly for your help; it's greatly appreciated!

       

      You said: "... However, it is only in later versions, that in addition to inactivating a task, the dependency of that deleted task is passed back to it's predecessor ...".

       

      -> May I ask at which Version this is deloyed?

       

      Thanks again & best regards

      Hans P. ... from Germany

       

      • John-project's avatar
        John-project
        Silver Contributor
        Hans 1958,
        I don't know which version changed how the inactivate feature works with respect to re-connecting dependencies. I have Project 2010 and Project 2019, I do not have Project 2013 or Project 2016.

        John

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