Project Start & Project Finish are same date???

[gem1941]

using 2007. The Project Start and Project Finish dates are showing as the same date in the Project Summary. However, in Project Information the Finish date is correct.

Anybody have a clue?

GEM

 

[PDQBach]

For others reading this question:

To see the true Start/Finish dates for a project:
Click on Tools > Options > View-tab and put a checkmark in "Show project summary task". This task (task ID of 0) is just a summary task. As with any Summary task, the summary task Start date is the earliest Start date of all detail task Start dates within that summary task. In this case, the Summary task has all detail tasks in the entire file within it.

Similarly, the summary task Finish date is the latest Finish date of all detail task Finish dates within that summary task.

(You can also click on File > Properties > Custom-tab and see the Finish and Start dates for the project there.)

Now, to answer the question.

The field "Project Start Date" in Project Information is poorly named.

Step 1. Click on Tools > Options > Schedule-tab and look for "New tasks:". One of the options is "Start on Project start date". If that isn't the option selected, choose that one now and then click OK.

Step 2. Click on Project > Project Information... and set the "Project Start Date" to the middle of next month and click on OK.

Step 3. Finally, create a new task. Be careful that you create it so that its Start isn't affected by, for example, predecessor/successor relationships in higher up Summary or detail tasks.

The Start date for this new task should be the same date as selected in step 2 above.

Does this explain what you're seeing?