How to change the starting date of microsoft project

Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help.

Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. To have more control over how actual and uncompleted parts of tasks move, use the Project Update feature first before moving. Now, set a time in the future after which uncompleted work can be scheduled; actual dates on tasks will not move.

You want to identify the date when a project must start in order to finish on a specific required date. It is often still a good idea to switch back to scheduling from the start date when work on the project begins.

You should set other constraints only if they are necessary. If you use automatic leveling to reduce resource overallocations in your project, Project automatically adds a negative number for the leveling delay for the sake of balancing resource availability.

Because the project is scheduled from the finish date, negative leveling delays add time after a task, rather than before a task.

If you change a project that was previously scheduled from a start date so that it is now scheduled from a finish date, Project automatically removes all leveling delays and leveling splits from tasks and assignments.

If the finish date doesn't change after you change the start date, then one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to make sure that they are all necessary and appropriate. To view a task's constraints, right-click on the task, click Information , and then click the Advanced tab. If the start date doesn't change after you change the finish date, one or more tasks may either have actual progress reported or have a date constraint applied.

How scheduling works in Project. Use top-down planning for a project. To schedule from the start date, click Project Start Date in the Schedule from list. To schedule from the finish date, click Project Finish Date in the Schedule from list. If you choose to schedule from the finish date because you want to identify the latest date that you can start the project and still finish by that finish date, it is often still a good idea to switch back to scheduling from the start date when work on the project begins.

This helps you to clearly see the progress of your project, and to keep track of factors and situations that might cause the finish date to change. A project can only be scheduled from the project start date or from the project finish date at any one time. When scheduling from the project start date, the project finish date is automatically calculated as your project changes. When you schedule from the project finish date, the project start date is automatically calculated.

To change the automatically calculated date, you must either change to scheduling the project from the currently-calculated date, or make modifications to the tasks in your project that will adjust the date calculation. To view a task's constraints, select the task, and then, on the Tools menu, click Task Drivers.

If a ask in your project starts earlier than the project start date, you might have set a date constraint, the task might have an external dependency, or the task might have an actual start date recorded before the project start date. Try the following solutions:. If your task has a date constraint to begin no earlier than the project's start date, reset the constraint.

Select the task, click Task Information , and then click the Advanced tab. If your task requires an external dependency, change the project start date to match the external dependency date. On the Project menu, click Project Information. In the Start date box, enter the new date. Look out for date constraints If the finish date doesn't change after you change the start date, then one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Look out for actual progress reported on tasks If the start date doesn't change after you change the finish date, one or more tasks may either have actual progress reported or have a date constraint applied.

More information about project start dates and finish dates How scheduling works in Project Use top-down planning for a project Top of Page.

These instructions are specific to Microsoft Project Schedule your project start date or finish date On the Project menu, click Project Information. Do one of the following: To schedule from the start date, click Project Start Date in the Schedule from list. Try the following solutions: If your task has a date constraint to begin no earlier than the project's start date, reset the constraint. Learn more about scheduling from a start date or finish date Nearly every project should be scheduled from a known start date.

For example, it is usually a good idea to schedule from a finish date when: You want to identify the date when a project must start in order to finish on a specific required date. Top of Page. Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. A subscription to help make the most of your time. For up to 6 people. Premium apps. Try 1 month free.

Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information.