Predecessors and Successors

As objects become linked, they form chains. For any object in a chain, its predecessors are those that are connected by a link that terminates at the given object, and its successors are those that are connected by a link that emanates from the given object. A list of an object’s predecessors and successors can be viewed in NetPoint, and predecessor/successor data can also be exported to excel. Instructions for both are provided.

Steps

Viewing and Breaking Links

Right-click on a desired object and choose View Predecessors and Successors from the menu. The Predecessor and Successors window will open.
To remove the link between the selected object and a given predecessor or successor, select it in the list and click Break Link. The link will be removed upon closing the window.
When finished, click the red Exit icon.

Comparing Resources

With the Select Tool chosen in the toolbar, right-click on a desired object and choose View Predecessors and Successors from the menu.
To view assignments for a given resource, click the dropdown button next to Compare Resources and choose from the list.
To add, modify, or remove a resource assignment, select the desired activity in the list.
Under Rate, click in the box and enter, edit, or remove the value. NOTE: If the rate column is left blank, no assignment will take place.
To distribute the assignment over the entire duration of the activity, click the drop down button under Distribution and choose /Duration.For more info, see [bookmark postid=”8356″ anchor=”assignment-options”]Assignment Options[/bookmark].
When finished, click the red Exit icon to close the window. Changes will be saved automatically.

Exporting to Excel

WARNING: When a template is exported to Excel, the new Excel file will automatically overwrite the last-exported Excel file unless the last one was renamed or moved. To avoid losing the previous Excel file, rename it or move it to a different location before doing the next export.

With the Select Tool chosen in the toolbar, right-click on a desired object and choose View Predecessors and Successors from the menu. If desired, the predecessor/successor data that’s exported can be customized first. To do so, skip to step 1 of [bookmark postid=”14283″ anchor=”modifying”]Modifying/Exporting an Existing Template[/bookmark] instead and choose “Defaults – Logic, Predecessors & Successors” from the dropdown.
Click the Export button. Excel will open with the exported data. NOTE: On export, the Excel file will be automatically saved in the schedule’s project folder and become linked to the schedule for updating. This new file will automatically overwrite the last-exported Excel file (for that schedule) unless it was renamed or moved.
If you plan on exporting additional templates in the future, then we suggest renaming the file or moving it to a different location to avoid having it being overwritten. Click File > Save As from the menu bar, enter a name, and click Save. NOTE: If you DO rename or move the file, you can ONLY initiate an update from it from within Excel. For more info, see [bookmark postid=”14848″ anchor=”transfer”]Updating from Linked Reports[/bookmark].

NOTE: For more info, see [bookmark postid=”14283″ anchor=”predecessor”]Predecessor and Successor Data[/bookmark] in the Exporting Linked Reports section.

Notes

Predecessors and Successors Window

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Column	Definition
Type	The type of object, such as activity, link, milestone, benchmark, delay, or hammock.
Description	The object’s description field, used to describe the object.
ID	The object’s ID. The ID is a unique identifier.
Rate	The amount or number of the resource required.
Distribution	How the resource is used by an activity. Resources may be assigned per time period or duration.
Float	The float of the object. The float is the amount of time an object can be delayed before delaying the completion of the project.
Relation	The relationship with the selected object, such as start-to-start (SS), finish-to-finish (FF), finish-to-start (FS), or start-to-finish (SF). If the relationship is SS or FF, it’s followed by the lead or lag of the embedded node.
Gap	The duration of the link to the selected object.