OVERVIEW OF LINKS
To enable a Critical Path through a project, the tasks/activities must be linked together. This creates a relationship between them, and generates a schedule with a calculated overall duration, finish date and float.
Four different types of link are supported although the most common is called a Finish-Start Link. This means that one task cannot start until another has finished.
A task that must begin (and/or finish) before the other can start is called the Predecessor of the following task and a task that depends on another task beginning (and/or finishing) is called the Successor of that task. The four types of link are:-
 | Finish-To-Start: A task may not start until another task has finished. Start-To-Start: A task may not start until another task has started. Finish-To-Finish: A task may not finish until another task has finished. Start-To-Finish: A task may not finish until another task has started. |
Links may be established in two ways…
Directly Linking
Move the mouse cursor over the lower half of a bar or task name in the table details. It will change shape as shown below.
Press and hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor towards the bar you wish to link to. A "string" will appear showing the link to be established. Release the button over the second bar. Choose the type of link from the pop up window and select OK.
To modify or Delete the link place the mouse cursor on the link and double-click. A pop up window appears which allows you to make the required changes.
Note: Holding the ‘Shift’ key down whilst linking will force an F/S link. (CTRL = S/S, SHFT+CTRL = F/F)
Linking/Unlinking Selected Tasks
You can link a group of tasks in a top-down fashion. Select the activities that need to be linked and then use the Link button on the Task toolbar. Links can be removed in a similar way. Alternatively, you can double click on any link and remove or edit it.
