Hi folks,
Quick question, as per the title, is there any way to display the predecessors activity name or outline number instead of their ID? Or can I change the ID so at least it’s logical?
Cheers!
Display activity names where?
In the predecessors column. At the moment, it displays the ID of the predecessors, not the name.
The purpose of this column in the table is quick editing of the predecessors (this column is editable). To be able to parse and identify tasks from the input strings we need something that identifies them. Name is not an identifier.
Besides, task names are often pretty long, and may not fit into the cell.
Outline number might be an option, although I am not sure if it is really beneficial comparing to plain ID for editing purposes. It is not possible at the moment being anyway.
Ok makes sense. I agree outline number may not be the best for editing purpose, but it would be better than ID for a “reading” point of view. Seeing an outline number in the predecessor helps to quickly know where that predecessor is (e.g. just above, or in a previous phase, etc.) rather than having to scroll up or down to try to find that predecessor “ID 103” which could be anywhere in a project of only 50 activities…
Or if you want to keep using the ID, then why do the number keep incrementing even if I delete activities? Is there no way to keep it logical in the same way as the outline numbers which are automatically updated when you delete or move a task up/down?
Well, basically, it was written this way years ago, probably because it was easier. I have pretty short-term plans to make ID values immutable from user perspective, because now it is annoying from programmer’s perspective as well (e.g. it makes real-time synchronization nearly impossible).
What do you mean? Aren’t the ID already immutable from our perspective? Or am I missing something (sorry, English is not my first language)?
But thanks anyway for your answer to my question. I appreciate the support and really like your software!
Keep up the good work!
If you just move the task in the tree, e.g. using drag and drop, it changes its ID. In my opinion, it means that ID is mutable from user perspective, because the task appears to be the same.
Technically in the code it is vice-versa, ids are immutable, but drag’n’drop creates new tasks which are copies of the old ones.
Ah right. I see what you mean!