Scheduling Mode: Fixed Dates or Fixed Duration

In smenso, the three values Start Date, Due Date, and Duration of a task are mathematically linked – two values always determine the third. With the Scheduling setting, you define how this interaction works. In this article, you will learn about the available modes, how they behave, and where to set them – either per project or centrally for the entire workspace.

Overview of the Two Modes

🗓️ Fixed Dates (Default)

This mode behaves as you are used to in smenso:

• Start Date and Due Date are freely editable and do not influence each other. If you change one, the other remains unchanged.
• The Duration is automatically calculated from both dates and is purely a display field – you cannot edit it directly.
• The Duration field is always greyed out in this mode and cannot be edited. 

For most users, nothing changes in this mode – except that the Duration is now visible as an additional informational value.

🔒 Fixed Duration

This mode is suitable for deadline-driven planning, where a task should maintain a fixed duration:

• Here, the Duration is initially also automatically calculated from the start and due dates, but then remains constant once all fields are filled.
• If you change either of the two dates, the other automatically shifts accordingly – whether you adjust the Start Date or the Due Date. The duration remains constant.
• The Duration is also editable – if you change it, the start date is fixed and the due date is recalculated.
• In the task details, a brief note appears directly below the fields during automatic calculations and changes, showing you what has happened.

Setting the Mode in the Project

You can find the setting in the Project Settings under Scheduling. There is a toggle Follow Workspace Default that determines where the project's mode comes from:

• Toggle on (Default): The project adopts the scheduling mode specified in the workspace. The currently effective mode is displayed to you directly. If an admin changes the workspace default, this project changes automatically as well.
• Toggle off: You choose for this project itself between Fixed Dates and Fixed Duration. This own choice permanently overrides the workspace default – even if an admin changes the default later.

Note: If you want to rebind a project with its own choice to the workspace default, simply switch the Follow Workspace Default toggle back on. The project will then again follow the centrally specified mode.

Setting the Default Scheduling in the Workspace

As an admin, you define the default scheduling in the workspace Settings. It applies to all projects that follow the default (see above).

Projects that have made their own choice (toggle Follow Workspace Default off) remain unaffected by the change.

This way, you can centrally specify the appropriate planning mode for your entire organization while allowing individual projects flexibility for differing requirements.

What Changes for Existing Projects

The usual behavior does not change. All existing projects run in the Fixed Dates mode, and the Duration simply appears newly as a calculated value.

In short: By default, everything remains as before, just with visible duration. Those who plan deadline-driven can switch per project – or centrally in the workspace – to Fixed Duration and then work with the duration as a fixed value while the dates adjust.

Related Articles

• Automatic Planning
• Automatic Planning in the Timeline
• ⚙️Project Settings