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Edit a Schedule — Full Walkthrough

Time: ~25 minutes Level: Intermediate Applies to: Pro · Enterprise

What You Will Learn​

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:

  • Add activities and edit their properties inline
  • Use the WBS Editor to restructure your breakdown
  • Create and customise calendars with exceptions
  • Create different relationship types (FS, SS, FF)
  • Add resources and assign them to activities
  • Create activity codes and assign values
  • Create a User Defined Field (UDF)
  • Run the CPM calculation and review results
  • Undo and redo changes

Prerequisites​

Step 1 — Add New Activities​

Add activities directly in the grid using inline editing.

  1. Navigate to a WBS node where you want to add activities.
  2. Click the + (Add Activity) button at the bottom of the WBS group.
  3. Type the activity name (for example, "Rebar Installation") and press Tab.
  4. Enter the duration (for example, "12d") and press Enter.
  5. Add two more activities: "Formwork Erection" (8d) and "Concrete Pour" (3d).

What you should see: Three new activity rows appear in the grid under the selected WBS node. Each shows the name, duration, and a blank bar in the Gantt.

Step 2 — Edit Activity Properties​

Change an activity's properties using inline cell editing.

  1. Double-click on the Duration cell of "Formwork Erection".
  2. Change it from 8d to 10d and press Enter.
  3. Click on the Constraint cell for "Concrete Pour".
  4. Select Start On or After from the dropdown and set a constraint date.
  5. Click on the Calendar cell and assign a specific calendar if needed.

What you should see: The grid cells update immediately. The Gantt bar adjusts its length and position to reflect the new duration and constraint.

Step 3 — Restructure the WBS​

Use the WBS Editor to add, rename, and move WBS nodes.

  1. Open the WBS Editor from the toolbar or the Editor panel.
  2. Right-click on an existing WBS node and select Add Child Node.
  3. Name the new node (for example, "External Works").
  4. Right-click on the new node and select Rename to change its name.
  5. Drag an existing activity from one WBS node to the new "External Works" node.

What you should see: The WBS tree updates with the new node. Activities under the moved node re-group in the grid.

Step 4 — Create a Custom Calendar​

Build a calendar with different work patterns and holiday exceptions.

  1. Open the Calendar Editor from the toolbar.
  2. Click Add Calendar and name it "6-Day Calendar".
  3. Toggle work days to Monday through Saturday (6 days).
  4. Set work hours to 07:00–16:00 with a 30-minute lunch break.
  5. Click Add Exception and enter a bank holiday (for example, "Eid Al Fitr — 30-Mar-2027").
  6. Click Save.

What you should see: The calendar appears in the calendar list. You can now assign it to activities that follow a 6-day work pattern.

Step 5 — Create Different Relationship Types​

Build your network with FS, SS, and FF relationships.

  1. Open the Relationship Editor from the toolbar.
  2. Create a Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship: "Rebar Installation" → "Formwork Erection".
  3. Create a Start-to-Start (SS) relationship: "Formwork Erection" → "Concrete Pour" with a lag of 5d (concrete starts 5 days after formwork begins).
  4. Create a Finish-to-Finish (FF) relationship between two parallel activities if applicable.
  5. Review the relationship list to confirm all three types exist.

What you should see: Dependency arrows in the Gantt reflect each relationship type. SS and FF relationships display different arrow shapes compared to FS.

Step 6 — Add and Assign Resources​

Attach labour, equipment, or material resources to activities.

  1. Open the Resource Editor from the toolbar.
  2. Click Add Resource and create a Labour resource named "Carpenter" with a max units of 4.
  3. Create a second resource: Equipment named "Tower Crane" with max units of 1.
  4. Close the Resource Editor.
  5. Select the activity "Formwork Erection" in the grid.
  6. In the activity detail panel, click Assign Resource and select "Carpenter" with 2 units.
  7. Assign "Tower Crane" to "Concrete Pour" with 1 unit.

What you should see: The resource assignments appear in the activity detail panel. If you add the Resources columns to the grid, you see resource names and unit counts.

Step 7 — Create Activity Codes​

Organise activities using activity code types and values.

  1. Open the Activity Code Editor from the toolbar.
  2. Click Add Activity Code Type and name it "Phase".
  3. Add values under the "Phase" type: "Design", "Construction", "Commissioning".
  4. Close the editor.
  5. Select multiple activities in the grid.
  6. Assign the activity code "Phase = Construction" to them using the activity detail panel or bulk edit.

What you should see: Activities now have a "Phase" attribute. You can group or filter the grid by Phase to see activities categorised by construction phase.

Step 8 — Create a User Defined Field​

Add custom data fields to capture project-specific information.

  1. Open the UDF Editor from the toolbar.
  2. Click Add UDF and create a text field named "Contractor".
  3. Set the UDF type to Text.
  4. Close the editor.
  5. Add the "Contractor" column to the grid using the Column Chooser.
  6. Double-click a cell in the Contractor column and enter a value (for example, "ABC Building Co.").

What you should see: The custom "Contractor" column appears in the grid. You can enter free text values for each activity.

Step 9 — Run the CPM Calculation​

Recalculate the schedule with all your changes applied.

  1. Click the Calculate button in the toolbar (or press F9).
  2. Wait for the CPM engine to complete.
  3. Review the Calculation Results panel for any warnings or errors.
  4. Common warnings include: open-ended activities, negative float, or calendar conflicts.

What you should see: All activities update with new Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, Late Finish, and Total Float values. The Gantt redraws with updated bar positions.

Step 10 — Use Undo and Redo​

Every change in the Editor can be reversed.

  1. Press Ctrl+Z to undo the last change.
  2. Notice the activity reverts to its previous state.
  3. Press Ctrl+Y (or Ctrl+Shift+Z) to redo the change.
  4. You can undo multiple times to step back through your edit history.

What you should see: Each undo step reverses one change. The grid and Gantt update in real-time. The undo stack is maintained for the entire editing session.

Step 11 — Verify Your Work​

Confirm you have used all the major Editor features.

  1. The grid shows activities with edited durations and constraints.
  2. The WBS tree has a new node ("External Works") with activities assigned.
  3. A custom "6-Day Calendar" exists in the calendar list.
  4. Relationships of types FS, SS, and FF are visible in the Gantt.
  5. Resources ("Carpenter", "Tower Crane") are assigned to activities.
  6. Activity codes ("Phase") are assigned to multiple activities.
  7. A UDF column ("Contractor") is visible in the grid with values entered.
  8. The CPM calculation has run successfully.

What you should see: A fully edited schedule demonstrating proficiency with every Editor component.

What's Next?​

Troubleshooting​

IssueSolution
Cannot add activitiesMake sure you are in Editor mode. View-only mode does not allow adding activities.
Relationship Editor does not show activityThe activity must exist and be saved before it can be used in a relationship.
Calendar changes not reflected in datesRun the CPM calculation (F9) after changing calendars. Dates update only after recalculation.
UDF column not visibleOpen the Column Chooser and search for your UDF name. UDFs appear in the "User Defined" category.
Undo not workingUndo only works within the current editing session. Changes saved before this session cannot be undone.
Resource over-allocation warningCheck that assigned units do not exceed the resource's max units. Reduce assignments or increase the max.