Splitting Tasks

As you are planning a project, you may discover that a four-week task will start on particular date, but the person completing the task has planned a vacation two weeks into the task. Rather than waiting until she is back at work to start the task, you can split it so that part of it is completed before she goes on vacation and part of it after she returns. Whether the interruption is planned or comes up unexpectedly as the project is underway, you can split a task to show the interruption in task completion.

To split a task, follow these steps:

1. In Gantt Chart view, click the Split Task button on the Standard toolbar, or choose Edit Ø Split Task from the menu. The pointer changes shape and the Split Task Information box opens, as shown in Figure 8.19.

2. Position the pointer over the task you want to split. As you move the pointer, the Split Task Information task shows you the start date the pointer is over.

3. When you locate the correct date, click the taskbar to split the task. Project splits the tasks, separating the two sections by a day. Figure 8.20 shows the split task.

4. You can split a task into as many sections as you want. Repeat steps 1ñ3 to split the task further into additional segments.

After you split a task, you can drag the split-off section to the desired restart date. Point to the split section and then drag with the four-headed arrow pointer.

As you start to drag, the pointer changes shape once again to become a two-headed arrow, and the Task Split Information box reopens.

Tip 

To change the start date of the entire task, drag the first section of the task. This moves all sections of the task. You can also move the start date of the entire task by holding the Shift key down while you drag any section. When you move a task, Project assigns a Start No Earlier Than Constraint to the task. For more about constraints, see “Constraining Tasks” later in this chapter.

Figure 8.19: The Split Task Information box

Figure 8.20: The Marketing Plan Developed task split into two sections

Changing the Duration of a Split Task

To change the duration of a split task, point to the right side of any task segment. The pointer changes shape to a vertical line with a right arrow. Drag the end of the segment to the new end date. To lengthen a task’s duration drag to the right. Drag to the left to shorten it.

Warning 

Be careful that you do not drag the left end of a task when changing a duration. Dragging the left end changes the percent complete rather than the duration.

Removing a Split

To remove a split, drag the section and then rejoin it with the previous section of the task.