MacProject II calculates project dates by going through each sequence of tasks, from the first task in the schedule to the last one, and then back to the first task. “First task” here means any task that does not have a predecessor; “last task” means any task that does not have a successor. A project can have more than one first task and last task.
Any date you set for a task overrides the date MacProject II calculates for it. This can have a ripple effect throughout the schedule. You should set as few dates as possible so that MacProject II can put its scheduling abilities to best use.
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The explanation here assumes you have not set any internal dates.
The pass from the first task to the last one is called the forward pass. MacProject II uses a forward pass to calculate the planned dates (Earliest Start and Earliest Finish) and the actual dates (Actual Start and Actual Finish) for each task.