AutoLink Question

[dee]

I am trying to understand the AutoLink option more fully.

I see that if I have tasks linked with default FS dependencies, and add a
new task between existing tasks, it will automatically break the existing
link, and create a new chain.

However, if I have changed the dependency type to, say SS, before inserting
a new task, it respects the link and doesn't automatically link the new task.

Why would that be? Are dependencies that are not automatic respected, even
though AutoLink is active?

Also, if I move a linked task, it sometimes breaks the link and sometimes
doesn't. What is the rule for this?

Thanks so much!

 

[Jack Dahlgren]

As you have found, the behaviour is not easily predicted.
For me this is reason enough to disable it permanently.
I'm pretty sure that the majority of experienced users would recommend
disabling it rather than spending time trying to understand why it does what
it does.

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[Steve House]

I agree with Jack. Links represent dependencies that are driven by the
process, the nature of the project and the relationships of it's component
tasks to one another. But the MS Project software has no knowledge
whatsoever about the process and does not, CAN NOT, know whether two tasks
should be linked or not. Simple proximity to each other in a list does not
mean that the two tasks in question are related to each other in any way,
shape, or form. Only the project manager knows details something about the
nature of the work knows whether or not a task inserted between two other
tasks should link in any way to its neighbors and that decision should
remain firmly under the pm's manual control. My suggestion is to disable
Autolink in the options menu, set the off state as the default, and double
check each time you open the file to make sure it's stayed off as it's
supposed to.

 

[dee]

Thank you both for your input and advice. I really appreciate the
clarification and your time. This option has been permanently turned off!

--
Thanks!

Dee

I agree with Jack. Links represent dependencies that are driven by the
process, the nature of the project and the relationships of it's component
tasks to one another. But the MS Project software has no knowledge
whatsoever about the process and does not, CAN NOT, know whether two tasks
should be linked or not. Simple proximity to each other in a list does not
mean that the two tasks in question are related to each other in any way,
shape, or form. Only the project manager knows details something about the
nature of the work knows whether or not a task inserted between two other
tasks should link in any way to its neighbors and that decision should
remain firmly under the pm's manual control. My suggestion is to disable
Autolink in the options menu, set the off state as the default, and double
check each time you open the file to make sure it's stayed off as it's
supposed to.