Copy-Paste Rows WITH PREDECESSORS?

Hi,

When I copy-paste rows that are related by predecessors, these connections are lost.

Although I understand losing connections to rows that are not in the copy-paste panel, however it is a big time waste and error risk to have to re-create predecessors one by one.

Did I miss something? Is there an easy way around it?

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Comments

Robin Sherwood

Hi Charles,

Thanks for your feedback. You can actaully do this if you copy the whole row. So rather than selecting a range of cells which include the durations, start, end, and predcessor, click on the selection box just to the left of the row number and select the entire row or rows. Then right click and select copy, or just use Ctrl-C; when you paste it will maintain the dependencies. It will update all the references that point to rows within your copied tasks, and retain the original refrences to any tasks outside of your copied tasks.

Hope that helps,

Robin

Charles DESCOTES

Unfortunately it doesn't help.

The Paste option is not actually on once in the receiving sheet.

I used to try with the "Copy Row to Another Sheet..." but this way losing dependencies within the copied tasks.

Is there something in my set up I would have to change?

Travis

Charles - Robins suggestion would work if you were copying/pasting rows within the same sheet but it sounds like you are referring to copying rows from one sheet to another. As you have seen, predecessors will not be copied which is partially because the row number of proceeding tasks are likely different across sheets (Task A is the proceeding task for Task B but Task A is on row 50 in one sheet and on row 122 in another sheet). If you want to copy predecessors from one sheet to another, first copy the rows to the new sheet then highlight only the processor values on the source sheet. Press CTRL + C to copy (CMD + C if you are on a Mac) then navigate to the predecessor column on the destination sheet and press CTRL + V to paste (CMD + V if you are on a Mac). This will copy all your selected predecessor values from one sheet to another.

Charles DESCOTES

My need is indeed accross different sheets.

Travis, your Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V proposal merely copies initial row numbers, i.e. "50" instead of needed "122", even though I would have transfered both tasks A and B, right?

So I still have my need uncovered I'm afraid.

(thank you for your input anyway)

Jeremy Michels

Charles,

When you do the copy to the other sheet are you using the advanced features?

Is there a reason that you cant use linked cells to do the work you need?

Charles DESCOTES

The follow up of this topic actually went into another Discussion. You're welcome to comment on "Template, building-bricks database", that will keep us thinking together.

Project Manager

Seriously. If I copy rows from one sheet to another, they should maintain their relative dependencies — the logic that made them what they are. Otherwise I just have to redo all the work. Am trying to parse the separate discussion about templates -- not immediately seeing how to apply this in a scenario where I'm trying to copy from a template or scenario project to a live project.

Every road leads me back to building this thing out line by line again from scratch. And there are a lot of lines.

Might need to step back and analyze. Perhaps there is an easy formula sitting there, just waiting for me to recognize and apply it. Apologies if I am missing it at this late hour with a deadline looming...

Vince Roscelli

Thanks to everyone above

I agree with Project Manager time to step back and anlyze

How about this approach:

1) Start with a blank sheet

2) Create a colum called RTG for "Recurring Task Groups"

3) At the top of the sheet I enter the rows and depenencies of a recurring taks I will need later and mark them "NOT Active " in the RTG column

4) I make multiple copies of said sheet. (Call them "Blank sheets with Recurring Task Goups")

5) When I need to put together a sheet for a new prohect I start with one of rhe copies and rename it for the project and their RTG setting from "Not Active" to "Active"

This way when I need and RTG I just copy it in. Since it coms from the same sheet I get the internal dependencies.

6) Most of the time I will set the RTG filter so it does not show the "Not Active" RTG rows

As time goes on, I will contine to update my ""Blank sheets with Recurring Task Goups" by adding new RTGs

Why won't that work?

Mike Reekie

Our problem:

() We were creating projects, 1 per sheet. We immediately ran into problems getting the big picture using the critical path method because you can't represent dependencies accross sheets. The solution is to bring the projects together on to one big sheet and then use a t/f row called project tag which is uniquely named for each project. That solved. the "Too much information" problem. However - immediately we ran into what everyone else is describing here. What happened to our depnedencies.

What we did

() Standardized the column lists between all the sheets

() Select all the rows In the spreadsheet

() Use the copy row to another sheet function. Include attachments, etc.

() export the source sheet to excel.

() Insert a text field to the left of the predecessor column

() In the execel - adjust the columns to match the destination.

-This has to be done by hand if you have predecessors that look like this....14, 16FS +7d

() After the adjustments are done, paste that column into the additional column you added.

-I found that you can't directly past into the predecessor column.

() Now cut/paste those cell contents into the predecessor column.

() repeat for the next sheet to be imported.

I hope this helps someone else.

Charles DESCOTES

Hi Vince,

Standard rows are not always enough and bits of specific experience is ferquently worth transfering, although it was not planned.

In these cases, the best I could find is

1) Copy linked rows to another sheet.

2) Predecessors conections are lost, we know it.

3) Move the new imported rows within the second sheet so as tro locate them on the SAME ROW NUMBERS they were in their original sheet.

4) Go back to original sheet and Copy predecessors

5) Paste predecessors in the second sheet.

6) This is good for links within the exported rows → You must clean/correct the predecessors connecting to rows outside the exported pool of rows of course.

_Not ideal but I hope it could be also useful to you.

Kruse.Ludington42491

If you are concerned about losing dependencies within the section of the SmartSheet you are copying (what I mean is, you those dependencies being within the group of rows you want to copy) - I have done it this way. Find a row number at the end of the destination sheet which is also blank within the source sheet from which you are copying (for example, 10 rows past the end of the longest sheet). Copy the original section (Location #1) you want to replicate to (#2) that same blank row number in the same sheet. The dependency numbers will change as appropriate! Then, copy that whole new section (#2) over to the new sheet - to the same row number (#3). The predecessor numbers will NOT copy over. Then go back to the original sheet and copy only the column of predecessor numbers from the original sheet (the rows in #2) to the new sheet in the same place (same row numbers). Voila! (Then just delete the rows in location #2 and do whatever other cleanup is needed.) :-)

Tylast

The work around works, but the copy/move to another sheet should work better.

Kristie.Bredfeldt

I'm not sure if this helps anyone but this is a work around.

I too make copes of my sheets weekly so that people can update. I don't have things directly linked to update because I like to be more in control of my master.

Rather than selecting cells from one sheet and doing "copy to another sheet". Go to File> save as new. Then you are making an exact copy of the whole document. It saves as exactly the same as the other document (with formulas, formatting, and predecessors). Then you can delete any unnecessary rows.