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→ Discover what’s new, explore key improvements, and review feature name updates on the New navigation page.
→ The rollout will happen gradually, and the previous navigation will be retired in September 2026.
Scheduling mode
Scheduling mode (old navigation)
Manual and automatic scheduling
The scheduling mode determines whether a task is scheduled manually or automatically, which gives you the option of deciding how much control you want over task scheduling in a Box.
The default scheduling mode depends on box configuration settings. To learn more about the scheduling rules, see the Automations page.
There are five different modes explained further below:
Auto basic
Auto bottom-up
Auto top-down
Manual
Locked
The 'Auto bottom-up' scheduling mode is applied to tasks with empty date fields to avoid data corruption when the tasks are structured automatically using presets.
Configuration
The App admins can set the default mode of a box type in BigPicture Administration.
The Box admins can change the default scheduling mode of a box in the box configuration.
To enable the task scheduling:
Go to App configuration (wrench icon at top right) > BigPicture configuration > General > Fields. Only Jira administrators can access this page. During the installation, the app creates a select list (single-choice) custom field 'Task modes'.
Set the task scheduling mode
Inline editing
You can use inline editing to change the scheduling mode of a task:
Gantt
Scope
Board
Risks
Keep in mind that a change in a task scheduling mode can have a significant scheduling impact. If needed, switch to a different module to assess the situation before making a change.
Gantt module
In the Gantt module, there are multiple ways of changing a scheduling mode.
You can change the scheduling mode of a single task (or a group of tasks, using the multi-select option) by using the right-click dialog:
You can also select multiple tasks and click the three-dot menu in the middle:
In addition, you can overwrite the scheduling mode for all tasks in a box by selecting Data > Scheduling mode.
Available scheduling modes
Auto basic mode
Tasks in Auto basic mode react to automation based on non-working days, dependencies, and parents in Auto top-down and Locked mode.
Tasks set to Auto basic mode do NOT affect children’s dates (as tasks in Auto bottom-up mode) and do NOT shift children’s tasks when tasks are moved.
Manual
The start/end dates of a task have to be manually changed.
Start/end dates are unaffected by:
Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline
When in 'Manual' mode, you can enable the period warnings to show how your tasks impact other tasks in the task structure.
Locked mode
The duration and position of Locked tasks can't be changed.
Start/end dates are unaffected by:
Manual changes of start/end
Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline
To change the start/end dates of a "locked" task, you have to change the scheduling mode first.
Auto top-down mode
A parent task in an "auto top-down" mode repositions its children to fit within its period (when possible):
"auto top-down" and "auto bottom-up" children are affected
"locked" and "manual" children remain unaffected
Child position - affected
A parent task in an "auto top-down" mode repositions its children ("auto top-down" and "auto bottom-up") to fit within its period:
When a child is longer than the parent, start dates are matched (child duration is NOT changed):
Child duration (period warning)
An "auto top-down" parent doesn't change the duration of a child.
When period warnings are active, the discrepancy of task periods is indicated:
Auto bottom-up mode
An "auto bottom-up" task period changes based on its children's period, i.e.:
Start date of the "auto bottom-up" task = earliest start dates of the child tasks
End date of the "auto bottom-up" = latest end date of child tasks
General rules and outcomes
The general rules and outcomes are presented in the table below:
Scheduling mode | Task impacted by other tasks or dependencies? | Task impacted by non-working days? | Does moving the task affect children? | Task start/end date editable /movable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Auto basic | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Locked | No | No | Yes | No |
Manual | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Auto top-down | Yes, by either
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Auto bottom-up
| Yes, by either
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Scheduling mode of new tasks
When you add a new task in a Box, the default scheduling mode of that Box applies.
When you add a new task directly to the task source (for example, to a Jira project), the default scheduling mode is selected automatically.
For this, the App considers the default scheduling modes of all Boxes that the task falls into and then selects the dominant one, following the prioritization below:
Locked,
Auto bottom-up
Auto top-down
Manual
Locked
Default scheduling mode for extra tasks
You can configure the default scheduling mode for each task type, including extra tasks such as Jira epics, components, projects, sprints, versions, etc. This way, new task types you add to a box in the future will get the default scheduling mode. The configuration works per box or box type.
Setting the default scheduling mode does NOT affect the existing task types. This feature ensures that future task types added to a box automatically get the default scheduling mode.
Edit the default scheduling mode
To edit the default scheduling mode for Jira components, projects, sprints, and versions:
Go to Box configuration > Tasks > Scheduling.
Expand the Advanced configuration tab.
Click Edit next to the task type.
Select the scheduling mode.
Click Edit to save.
The video presents how to edit the default scheduling mode for Jira components.
Add the default scheduling mode for new task types
To add the default scheduling mode for a new task type:
Click Add task type.
Select a task type.
Select the scheduling mode.
Click Add to save.
The video presents how to add a new task type and set the default scheduling mode.
Delete the default scheduling mode for task types
To remove a task type and its default scheduling mode:
Jira components, projects, sprints, and versions are added automatically and cannot be deleted.
Find a task type.
Click Delete next to the task type.
Click Delete to confirm.
Limitations
Tasks based on Jira sprints
A sprint task cannot have a scheduling mode set to auto bottom-up.
You can add the following Jira task types to the scope:
Project
Version (Start date and Release date can be synchronized)
Agile Backlog
Sprint (start date and end date of the Sprint can be synchronized)
Component
Scheduling mode vs strong dependencies
Go to the Strong dependencies page to find out more.
Scheduling mode (new navigation)
Manual and automatic scheduling
The scheduling mode determines whether a task is scheduled manually or automatically, which gives you the option of deciding how much control you want over task scheduling in a box.
The default scheduling mode depends on box configuration settings. To learn more about the scheduling rules, see the Automations page.
There are five different modes explained further below:
Auto basic
Auto bottom-up
Auto top-down
Manual
Locked
The 'Auto bottom-up' scheduling mode is applied to tasks with empty date fields to avoid data corruption when the tasks are structured automatically using presets.
Configuration
The App admins can set the default mode of a box type in BigPicture Administration.
The Box admins can change the default scheduling mode of a box in the box configuration.
To enable the task scheduling:
Go to App configuration (wrench icon at top right) > General > Fields. Only Jira administrators can access this page. During the installation, the app creates a select list (single-choice) custom field 'Task modes'.
Set the task scheduling mode
Inline editing
You can use inline editing to change the scheduling mode of a task:
Gantt
Scope
Board
Risks
Keep in mind that a change in task scheduling mode can have a significant impact on scheduling. If needed, switch to a different module to assess the situation before making a change.
Gantt module
In the Gantt module, there are multiple ways to change the scheduling mode.
You can change the scheduling mode of a single task (or a group of tasks, using the multi-select option) by using the right-click dialog:
You can also select multiple tasks and click the three-dot menu in the middle:
In addition, you can overwrite the scheduling mode for all tasks in a box by selecting Tasks > Set scheduling mode for all tasks.
Available scheduling modes
Auto basic mode
Tasks in auto basic mode react to automation based on non-working days, dependencies, and parents in auto top-down and locked mode.
Tasks set to auto basic mode do NOT affect children’s dates (as tasks in auto bottom-up mode) and do NOT shift children’s tasks when tasks are moved.
Manual
The start/end dates of a task have to be manually changed.
Start/end dates are unaffected by:
Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline
When in 'Manual' mode, you can enable the period warnings to show how your tasks impact other tasks in the task structure.
Locked mode
The duration and position of Locked tasks can't be changed.
Start/end dates are unaffected by:
Manual changes of start/end
Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline
To change the start/end dates of a "locked" task, you have to change the scheduling mode first.
Auto top-down mode
A parent task in an "auto top-down" mode repositions its children to fit within its period (when possible):
"auto top-down" and "auto bottom-up" children are affected
"locked" and "manual" children remain unaffected
Child position - affected
A parent task in an "auto top-down" mode repositions its children ("auto top-down" and "auto bottom-up") to fit within its period:
When a child is longer than the parent, start dates are matched (child duration is NOT changed):
Child duration (parent task conflicts)
An "auto top-down" parent doesn't change the duration of a child.
When parent task conflicts are active, the discrepancy of task periods is indicated:
Auto bottom-up mode
An "auto bottom-up" task period changes based on its children's period, i.e.:
Start date of the "auto bottom-up" task = earliest start dates of the child tasks
End date of the "auto bottom-up" = latest end date of child tasks
General rules and outcomes
The general rules and outcomes are presented in the table below:
Scheduling mode | Task impacted by other tasks or dependencies? | Task impacted by non-working days? | Does moving the task affect children? | Task start/end date editable /movable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Auto basic | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Locked | No | No | Yes | No |
Manual | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Auto top-down | Yes, by either
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Auto bottom-up
| Yes, by either
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Scheduling mode of new tasks
When you add a new task to a box, the box's default scheduling mode applies.
When you add a new work item directly to a Jira space, the default scheduling mode is selected automatically.
For this, the App considers the default scheduling modes of all boxes that the task falls into and then selects the dominant one, following the prioritization below:
Locked,
Auto bottom-up
Auto top-down
Manual
Locked
Default scheduling mode for extra tasks
You can configure the default scheduling mode for each task type, including extra work items such as Jira epics, components, projects, sprints, versions, etc. This way, new work item types you add to a box in the future will get the default scheduling mode. The configuration works per box or box type.
Setting the default scheduling mode does NOT affect the existing work item types. This feature ensures that future work item types added to a box automatically get the default scheduling mode.
Edit the default scheduling mode
To edit the default scheduling mode for Jira components, spaces, sprints, and versions:
Go to Box configuration > Tasks > Scheduling.
Expand the Advanced configuration tab.
Click Edit next to the task type.
Select the scheduling mode.
Click Edit to save.
The video presents how to edit the default scheduling mode for Jira components.
Add the default scheduling mode for new task types
To add the default scheduling mode for a new work item type:
Click Add task type.
Select a work item type.
Select the scheduling mode.
Click Add to save.
The video presents how to add a new work item type and set the default scheduling mode.
Delete the default scheduling mode for work item types
To remove a task type and its default scheduling mode:
Jira components, spaces, sprints, and versions are added automatically and cannot be deleted.
Find a work item type.
Click Delete next to the task type.
Click Delete to confirm.
Limitations
Work items based on Jira sprints
A sprint task cannot have a scheduling mode set to auto bottom-up.
You can add the following Jira task types to the scope:
Spaces
Version (Start date and Release date can be synchronized)
Agile Backlog
Sprint (start date and end date of the Sprint can be synchronized)
Component
Scheduling mode vs strong dependencies
Go to the Strong dependencies page to find out more.