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Can Tasks Inherit Due Dates from Projects? Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I searched the forums and saw a few threads about inherited dates, but I didn't see an answer that fits my question exactly.

I want to be able to create a project whose due date is automatically picked up by the tasks under that project. Thus far, I can't figure out how to do that. When I create a project with a due date, and then create tasks in that project, it looks as though I have to put in due dates manually for each task. Maybe this isn't really all that important, and maybe I'm misunderstanding how due dates ought to work in GTD.

My example: I am a professor and I have to get syllabi ready for the fall. All the syllabi have to be completed by the first day of classes. So, I have a project called "Syllabi" with a due date of August 23. All of the tasks are my different syllabi, so all of them will have to be due by August 23, though obviously I will get some done before others.

Perhaps the tasks inherit the due date but it just doesn't show up in the column view of the tasks?

Thanks.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by suzyq2463 View Post

Perhaps the tasks inherit the due date but it just doesn't show up in the column view of the tasks?
Exactly correct! Won't appear in the due date column, but if you group or sort by due date, you'll see that it is being treated as if the due date is there.

Start dates and flags are also treated similarly.
 
Allow me to resurrect this thread: Wouldn't it make perfect sense for children to inherit the due date of their parent (unless they have overridden it)? I agree with Bill that this is largely a question of visuals, as OF does acknowledge the inherited due date when sorting tasks by that criterion, but it is an important question nonetheless. After all, OF (rightly) displays all inherited flags. Why not be consistent and do the same with due dates?

The current implementation significantly increases the risk of missing a deadline. Sorting by due date is not enough as the date itself is a crucial piece of information. One needs to remember that the child belongs to a parent carrying a due date and then look for that parent. Too cumbersome and ad hoc, in my view.
 
The app currently looks at an item's parent and uses the earliest possible due date it can find when sorting/coloring/otherwise working with a row. If you have an action due next week in a project due tomorrow, we're going to err on the side of caution.

In the ideal interface, both dates/times would be shown, but we haven't been able to get that in there yet. Since we can currently only show you one date for each row, we show the date that was actually assigned to the row.

Again, not ideal, but at least it lets you fix cases like I mentioned above without needing to change the due date for the project, fix the row, then change the due date back.

One of these days, we'll have time to move closer to the ideal interface. :-)
 
Thanks, Brian. Great to know you're aspiring to the ideal interface!

I hadn't realized that row coloring takes the parent's due date into consideration. That half-answers my request already.
 
 


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