Project schedules with fix dates

Some of the tasks in my Smartsheet project have fixed dates that can't change dynamically ( ie, scheduled training sessions ). I'd still like to list them as dependencies for other tasks. I'm assuming there is no way to do this, based on other discussions about being unable to fix dates for tasks. I don't see how complex projects can be managed in Smartsheet without being able to fix dates for some tasks and milestones. I've read about the start-to-finish for working backwards from a project deadline, but in my case it is just some tasks in the middle of the project that can't be moved timewise.

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Comments

Kennedy Stomps

Hi Mike-- To confirm, when using dependencies in Smartsheet, this requires that task dates be linked in such a way that if the date of a predecessor task changes, the dependent task date will change as well. There is not currently a way to link tasks using dependencies without this feature being in effect, but I'll add your vote for this to our enhancement request list. Thanks for your input!

Seki

This feature is quite important. There are sometimes events that are outside of the project but provide input to the project and activities need to evolve around them.

eric-td

one way to address this would be to allow us to fix a date (easiest would be for a milestone), and keep the dependency connection live. If fixing the date wouldn't take the task or milestone onto the critical path, no problem. But if it did, it could even do so with a negative float. This would inform the user to find remedies along the critical path leading up to the fixed task, so as to return the fixed task to being non-critical or just-critical (zero float). So, being able to fix the date and keep a precedence would thereby be a way to help us tweak our schedules to then meet the fixed deadline, through, yes, trial and error, but at least we'd have a tool. So the suggestion is: give us the option to keep a fixed date still connected to a precedence, and we'll take it from there. Tnx?