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Is it possible to link tasks between projects?

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Level 1
If i have 3 different projects and each one has tasks that are the same in each and would be done at the same time, by the same assignees, is there a way to link them between projects so that the assignee only has to update them one time in one project? And then it will automatically update them in the other 2 projects? Thanks!
7 Replies

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Level 10
You can make one task the master (the one that is updated) and then link the other two, in other projects, to that master task. You’re going to use Cross-Project Predecessors. You open the two non-master tasks, select Predecessors, then Cross-Project predecessors, then put in the project and task name of the master task. Give it a try! Eric [cid:image001.jpg@01D22EAA.44FBB3F0]

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Level 1
Thanks so much for the quick response,Lucas! I did give this a try yesterday but it didn't work...quite sure I did it wrong :) Is there something I need to do to specify that one task is the master task? I created a cross-project predecssor and then marked the task as completed and was hoping it would also mark the other task as Competed but it did not. Is there a step I'm missing here? Thanks!

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Level 10
Ah, I see what you’re trying to do. Alas, WorkFront doesn’t replicate tasks and status as you would like. It can only do predecessor relationships across projects. It doesn’t support syncing statuses or durations or assignments. Sorry! You’ll have to sync them manually, I’m afraid. Eric

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Level 1
Ok. Thanks Lucas! Knowing it's not possible has saved me hours of searching for a solution. thanks again!

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Level 10
I actually don’t know of any project management software that can sync tasks like you’d like to do. Maybe we need to look at what we’re trying to accomplish and see if we can change an assumption or two and then find a technological solution for the adjusted need… Eric

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Level 1
Thanks Lucas. Sounds like this isn't a common issue for other users. I suspect the way around it would have been to set up the projects differently at the beginning. This is probably a one-off type of situation so I was just looking to see if there might be a way to make it easier and require less manual intervention. I appreciate the response.

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Level 10
Hi Christina, Another perspective is that maybe you are correct to have created 3 separate projects, but the tasks shouldn't exist in each project - only in one of them. HOWEVER, you may want to view all of the tasks together as a single virtual project. In this case, you could create a task report and filter it to include tasks from the 3 projects, therefore giving you the combined view. Using the cross-project-predecessors in addition, could still be handy in the above scenario. Regards, David.