Highlight Missing Predecessors

[JulieCh14]

Hello! When in a Project's Task list, I am looking for a way to highlight when a child task is missing a predecessor. My users sometimes forget to add predecessors and I want to give them a Task View that highlights when that happens so they can easily see it & fix it. I am not sure if there is a column rule I can configure? or if this is a text mode solution? 

[Kurt_Jones]

Julie,

I think I have a solution for you.  Create a unique view you can switch to, make sure the Predecessor field is put on the view.   Edit the view and click on the Predecessor column.  Click Advanced Options toward top right then click the button for adding a rule.  Use what I did below.  Rule basically says if there is no pending predecessor then make that field red.  Since every task should have a predecessor, any blank predecessor would make this red...its a hack but I think will give you quickly what you need to find the errors.

Let me know if you have questions.

[JulieCh14]

thanks! I tried this but the problem is when the a task is completed it turns the predecessor column red. Also, the parent tasks are red.

[Kurt_Jones]

Julie,

This is definitely a hack to try to help you see the items that don't have something in the Predecessor column.  There isn't a straight-forward way to find this, thus the hack.  If you want to add a second rule like below what it will do is turn the field green if pending predecessors for a task have been completed, maybe making it easier to spot any issues in the red.  Yes, it will turn any item red, including parents, that don't have pending predecessors.

[kautuk_sahni]

@JulieCh14 Just checking in! Were you able to get this resolved? If you found your own solution, sharing the details would be a big help to others who might face the same issue later on. And if one of the replies here helped, whether it fully solved the problem or simply pointed you in the right direction, marking it as accepted makes it much easier for future readers to find. Thanks again for helping close the loop and contributing to the community!