Linked dates to second duration field

Fareesa Mundh

I currently have a duration column that is used for Target Start and Target Finish dates. I need a second duration column for actual start and actual finish dates. See my screenshot below to see the columns.

1. Is there a way to tie the second duration and actual dates to the parent task? Currently the child actual dates are not linking to the parent tasks.

Jgorsich

I believe you'd want to use a min(children()) function for the actual start and a max(children()) function for the actual finish.

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/children

The problem is, you wouldn't really be able to easily have it in the same column if you do that - but there would be 2 work arounds for that. The first would be - if you were never planning on adding or removing rows, to set the function as a column formula, then change it to row formulas and simply overwrite the formula with your dates as they become known. This would be kind of clunky. The second would be to add a second pair of columns that just do the roll up.

Of course, if your purpose it just to compare the starting baseline schedule to the schedule as it progresses, you probably want to use the actual baseline function - it basically takes a snapshot of your project when you first start it, then holds that stead while you update your target date columns as new information becomes relevant. Check out the baselines button on the right side of your toolbar.