If project start date is not known

[Pavel Rusyaev]

Dear All,

I have just started using MSProject 2000 and cannot find a solution to my
problem. Please be patient.

The question is whether it is possible to set a project to start on Day 1,
Month 1, Year 1 instead of a specific date, such as November 6, 2003. We
need to estimate duration of the project, but project start date is not yet
known.

Thank you,
Pavel

 

[Steve House]

Not exactley, but you can come close. Select an arbitrary start date and
schedule based on it. Later, when you know the real start date, you can use
the Change Start Date tool on the Analysis toolbar to change it to whatever
you need.

 

[Ed Hanna]

Pavel,

Project assumes a default start date of today when you create a new project schedule. So, just go ahead and enter tasks, dependencies, durations, and resources and Project will calculate your project duration for you.

Later, when you have a specific start date, go to pulldown menu Project/Project Information and change the Start Date.

If you like, you can go one step further and reformat your timeline to display weeks and days from the start:
Go to pulldown menu Format/Timescale and set the Label for the Middle Tier to "W1, W2, W3, etc. (From Start)". On the same pulldown menu, set the Label for the Bottom Tier to "D1, D2, D3, etc. (From Start)"
Ed