Move a whole plan to a new start date

The client pushed the kick-off by a month, or you are reusing last year’s plan for this year. Plan > Move project… moves the whole plan to a new start date in one step, the way Microsoft Project’s Move Project does: every task shifts by the same number of days, and durations, links and lags stay as they are.

Pro and above

The Move button unlocks when the app is signed in to an organization on the Pro plan or above. The dialog opens on every plan. See Unlock the paid features of Onplana Schedule.

Move the plan

1. Open the schedule and choose Plan > Move project….

2. Set New project start. It opens on the plan’s start as it is now.

3. Tick Move deadlines and constraint dates too if those dates should move with the plan. Leave it clear to keep them where they are.

4. Read the line under the box. When the plan has tasks with actual work, it says how many stay put, for example “2 tasks with actual work stay where they are.”

5. Select Move. The status bar says what moved, with Undo.

What moves and what does not

• Tasks with no actual work move by the number of calendar days between the old start and the new one, then the plan is rescheduled on its working calendar, so a date that lands on a non-working day starts on the next working one. A manually scheduled task moves too.
• Tasks with actual work (percent complete, an actual start or an actual finish) stay where they are. The tasks linked after them follow their links as usual. Microsoft Project refuses to move actuals too.
• Constraint dates (such as Start No Earlier Than or Must Finish On) and deadlines move only when you tick the box. Left clear, a constraint can hold a task where it was, and a deadline can show as missed.
• Baselines never move. After the move, the variance columns and the baseline bars show the full shift against the plan you saved.

Example

A data-centre move was planned to start on 2 March and the landlord moves access to 6 April. Choose Plan > Move project…, set New project start to 6 April, tick Move deadlines and constraint dates too because the cut-over date is fixed to the start, and select Move. The site survey, already 40% done, stays in March; everything else starts from 6 April with the same durations and links, and the survey’s successors follow it as their links say.

Limits

• The move is in calendar days, then rescheduled: a plan moved from a Monday to a Saturday starts on the next working day.
• After a move, the saved project start can stay at the earliest task, and a finished task can hold it. Reopening the dialog then shows that date rather than the one you typed.
• A plan with no dates has nothing to move.

FAQs

Can I undo a move? Yes. The move is one step, and Undo puts the whole plan back.

Why did a task not move? It has actual work: a percent complete, an actual start or an actual finish. The dialog counts those tasks before you move.

Why is a task still on its old date after the move? Its constraint date held it. Move again with Move deadlines and constraint dates too ticked, or clear the constraint with Edit > Clear the constraint.

Does Move project change the baseline? No. Set a new baseline afterwards if the move is the new agreed plan. See Set a baseline in Onplana Schedule.