Project Tasks › Update the Task Properties › Define the Advanced Properties › Lock Tasks in Place

Lock Tasks in Place

You may want to lock certain tasks or milestones in place to prevent scheduling functions, such as Recalculate or Autoschedule, from moving the task. Use the Advanced tab on the Task Properties dialog to lock a task. You can still shift a locked task's start date, finish date, or both dates in views that display a Gantt chart, such as the Gantt Chart view.

When you lock a task and you autoschedule your project, autoschedule does not move the ETC. If you have roles that are assigned to the locked tasks, ETC does not move and is in the past. The same is true for a resource that has not tracked current timesheets; the ETC spreads from the task's Start Date to the task's Finish Date, depending on the loading pattern.

Note: You can override this lock by autoscheduling your project.

Follow these steps:

1. Open a view that displays the task detail pane.
2. Right-click the task and click Modify.
3. Open the Advanced tab.
4. Scroll down the Fields list and select the Lock for Scheduling? check box, and click OK.

More information:

Define the Advanced Properties

Define the Scheduling Constraints for the Task

View Task Percent Expended Amount

Override Task Lock during Autoschedule