Adding task dependencies

Summary: Connect tasks so that one starts after another has finished, and LYNX-X schedules them in that order.

 

Applies to

Property	Value
Product	LYNX-X
Version	28.10.9877.0
Required permissions	Read and write access to the project
Last updated	2026-11-13
Owner	Support

 

Before you start

• The project has its tasks. See Adding tasks to a project plan.
• Know which task has to finish before which.

 

Predecessors and successors

A dependency connects two tasks. The task that has to finish first is the predecessor. The task that waits for it is the successor. A new dependency is Finish -> Start: the successor starts after the predecessor has finished.

Tasks without dependencies are scheduled on their own: in a project set to Schedule tasks 'just in time', they all end on the project end date. With dependencies inside the project, LYNX-X schedules each task after the tasks it waits for.

A predecessor can be a task in the same project, a task in another project, or a stage. The procedure below covers all three.

 

Which route to use

Route	Use it when
The task's Predecessors or Successors tab	You work from one task and know which task it waits for, wherever the two sit in the plan.
Connect in the toolbar	The two tasks are already in plan order: the higher one finishes first.

 

Procedure

Add a predecessor to a task

1. Open the project from Portfolio > Project list.
2. In the plan, select the task that has to wait.
3. In the task pane below the plan, select the Predecessors tab.
4. Under Actions, select Assign. The Drag & drop to task panel opens on the right, with the project's tasks.
5. In the panel, select the task it waits for.
6. Select Predecessor. The dependency is applied at once: the table lists the task with the relation Finish -> Start, the tab counts it, and the Gantt is rescheduled.

7. Select Save in the left rail.

To add a successor instead, use the Successors tab and select Successor in step 6.

Connect two tasks in the plan

1. Select one task, then hold Ctrl and select the other. For the task directly below or above, you can also hold Shift and press the Down or Up arrow key. Tick boxes appear in front of the tasks, the column header counts them, and Connect in the toolbar becomes active.
2. Select the arrow next to Connect, then Finish->Start. You can also press Ctrl+L. The dependency is applied at once.

3. Select Save in the left rail.

Add a dependency on another project or a stage

1. Select the task that has to wait, then its Predecessors tab.
2. Under Actions, select Assign. The Drag & drop to task panel opens on the right.
3. In the panel, open Select project and choose the other project. The panel lists that project's tasks. When the project has a stage plan, its stages are listed among the tasks, with their own IDs.
4. Select the task or stage it waits for, then Predecessor. A new row appears in the table.

5. If the check mark at the top left of the task pane is active, select it to apply the dependency.
6. Select Save in the left rail.

Tell the kinds of dependency apart

The Project column of the Predecessors and Successors tables, and the Gantt, show where the other end of a dependency is.

The other end is	Project column	In the Gantt
A task in this project	[internal]	A grey line with an arrow from the predecessor's bar
A task in another project	The other project's name, for example D1 Product Development Project	The predecessor's ID, for example D01-T1, with a filled circle and a short line into the start of the bar
A stage	The project that holds the stages, for example Staging project for 638553	The stage's ID, for example STD01-T8, with a filled circle

Remove a dependency

1. Select the task, then its Predecessors or Successors tab.
2. Select the dependency in the table, then Remove. It is removed at once, without a confirmation, and the Gantt is rescheduled.
3. Select Save in the left rail.

 

Expected outcome

The task's Predecessors tab lists the predecessor with its relation, and the tab counts it. For a dependency inside the project, the predecessor's Successors tab lists the task the other way round, and in the Gantt an arrow runs from the end of the predecessor to the start of the successor. A predecessor in another project or a stage is shown as in the table under Tell the kinds of dependency apart.

Until you save, Save in the left rail shows a count. If you close the project first, LYNX-X asks whether to save your changes.

 

Additional information

• To choose another type of dependency, double-click the Relation cell. The list offers Finish -> Finish, Finish -> Start, Start -> Finish and Start -> Start.
• In the Drag & drop to task panel, tasks are labelled (current task), (predecessor) or (successor) in relation to the task you selected. A label can lag behind your latest change: select another task in the plan, then the first task again.
• Dependencies cannot be drawn in the Gantt.
• When a task has more than one predecessor outside the project, their IDs are drawn at the same place in front of the bar, so one can hide another. The Predecessors tab lists each one.

 

Troubleshooting

Problem	Resolution
Predecessor and Successor are greyed.	Select a task in the panel first.
Connect linked the tasks the wrong way round.	Remove the dependency and add it from the successor's Predecessors tab.
A task shows a warning triangle, and its Messages tab says the dependencies create a circular relation.	The dependencies form a loop. The numbers in the message are the rows of the tasks in the loop, for example (5>4>3>1>5). Remove one dependency in the loop. If the message stays, select Schedule in the left rail, then Reschedule project (F9).

 

See also

• Adding tasks to a project plan
• Setting up critical chain scheduling
• Planning at stage level (the Staging tab)

 

Revision history

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.2	2026-11-13	Support	New sections on adding a dependency on another project or a stage, and on telling the kinds of dependency apart in the table and the Gantt, with three new screenshots.
1.1	2026-11-10	Support	Updated for LYNX-X 28.10.9877.0: the Predecessors and Successors tabs open the task panel with Assign, and a dependency added there applies at once, without a check mark. New section Which route to use. Figures recaptured.
1.0	2026-10-09	Support	New article.