Dependencies

What are dependencies?

Dependencies allow you to calculate the date of an event based on an offset from the start or end of another event (e.g. Event B = end of Event A + 10 days). This ties the two events together in time so that when you move one event, the other will automatically follow. An event can have multiple dependencies, in which case its start date will be set to the latest calculated date.

Dependencies allow you to ensure pre-requisites are met in a project (i.e. a task that cannot start until an earlier one has completed), or tie together events in a fiction story that require a fixed offset (e.g. a birth must occur 9 months after conception).

Configuring dependencies in the Inspector

Dependencies are configured in the Range tab of the Inspector. You can view, edit and remove existing dependencies for each event in the Based On list.

To add a new dependency, click on the green + symbol, and in the Add Predecessor popover, select the event, offset, and whether the offset should be added to the start or end of the event.

Edit and Delete Dependencies

To edit an existing dependency, click on the edit symbol next to the event (square with pencil), update the values and click OK.

To remove an existing dependency, click on the edit symbol next to the event, and then click on the Delete button in the ensuing popover.

Shortcut to Add Dependencies

You can quickly add dependencies between selected events by choosing Make Dependent from the Timeline menu or the right-click context menu.

If two events are selected, a new dependency will be created as follows:

The second event will be made dependent on the first event (as determined by their current dates)
The new dependency will use the existing offset between the events, so that neither event will change dates when the dependency is created.
The dependency will use an offset from the end of the first event.

If more than two events are selected, a chain of dependencies will be created, such that the second is dependent on the first, the third is dependent on the second, and so on.

If you want to quickly create dependencies with 0 offsets from the end of events, you should first choose Make Consecutive from the menu before choosing Make Dependent.