actual end date should not change planned end date

[Duc900rider]

I need the program to leave the dates alone, I want to see my planned VS
actual completion dates. If I enter an actual completion date it changes my
orginal planned date. It doesn't make any sense, why even bother to have an
actual completion column if it is just going to change the other column
information. This makes the program useless. I hope you start sending patches
out to fix these bugs.

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http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...9e81-edfcf982262d&dg=microsoft.public.project

 

[Steve House]

To preserve your original planned completion date, save a baseline before
entering progress information. Then when your project is underway you'll
be able to view one or more of several finish dates - the Baseline Finish is
your original plan and it won't change, the scheduled Finish (the plain
vanilla "finish" column in the Gantt chart table) which is the PREDICTED
finish based on your present rate of progress, and once everything is done,
the Actual Finish which is what you've actually achieved.

When the project is done, the Finish date shows the date your actually
achieved while the Baseline Finish shows your originally planned finish
date. So you are incorrect in your belief that Project throws away your
original plan. If you saved a baseline it keeps the original plan intact.
You either neglected to baseline your plan or you didn't know where to look
for it.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Your post indicates that you haven't got much of a clue how the program
works. Understanding the scheduling engine, and yes, even understanding that
Project is a scheduling tool, will make your life with the tool much more
productive. Excel is a good alternative for people expressing the desire to
control their project without a scheduling feature.