DocumentationGuides

Dependencies and Chains

Dependencies let you link Time Flow Tasks in a parent-child relationship. A dependent Task (the child) is linked to a parent Task, expressing that the child follows from or relies on the parent. This page covers how to create, view, and manage dependencies, and how they appear on the Timeline.

Setting a Dependency

Open a Task's dialog and look for the Dependency field in the sidebar. Click the dropdown (labelled Select parent task...) and choose a parent from the list of eligible Tasks. Only Tasks in the To-Do or Doing state can be selected as a parent.

When a parent is set, a confirmation toast appears: Dependent upon "TF-5: Build API" (showing the parent's reference and title).

To change the parent, select a different Task from the same dropdown. To remove the dependency entirely, select Select parent... (the first option in the list).

You can only set or change a dependency when the Task is in the To-Do state. Once a Task is in progress (Doing), completed (Done), or manually locked, the dependency field is disabled.

Viewing Dependencies

Dependencies are visible in several places:

  • Task dialog sidebar — the Dependency field shows the parent Task. When read-only, it displays the parent's Epic reference (if any) and Task reference.

  • Related panel — in the main content area, the Related section lists the parent dependency (labelled Parent) and any child dependents (labelled Dependent). Click an entry to open that Task.

  • Ledger — the Dependency column (hidden by default) shows the parent Task's reference code.

  • Timeline — dependency arrows are drawn between parent and child bars (see below).

Dependency Arrows on the Timeline

On the Timeline, each dependency is visualized as a curved arrow running from the parent bar to the child bar. The arrow uses a colour gradient: it starts in the parent's category colour and ends in the child's category colour. An arrowhead at the child end indicates direction.

Arrows update automatically as you move or resize bars. Tasks are ordered on the grid so that a parent appears above its children where possible.

Dependency Chains

When Task A is the parent of Task B, and Task B is the parent of Task C, they form a chain: A, B, C. Chains matter when you drag or resize a Task on the Timeline — all descendants in the chain may be affected.

If a move would affect Tasks that are locked or in progress, a confirmation dialog appears listing every affected Task and any milestones that would be violated. You can choose to proceed or cancel.

Confirmation Dialog

The dialog shows:

  • A list of affected Tasks, with a lock next to any that are locked.

  • A list of violated milestones (if any), highlighted with a flag and a warning message: This move will push tasks past the following milestone(s).

  • Two buttons: Cancel and Confirm.

Epic Bands on the Timeline

Epic Bands are a separate visual feature that groups Tasks. When enabled in the Timeline configuration, each Epic's Tasks are enclosed in a semi-transparent coloured band. This makes it easy to see which time ranges an Epic occupies and how its Tasks are distributed.

This reinforces the idea that an Epic is a "chain" of related work. Control their visibility and opacity from the Timeline configuration (see the Timeline page).

Lock States and Dependencies

Lock rules affect whether a Task's dependency can be changed:

  • To-Do — the dependency can be set or changed.

  • Doing (in progress) — the dependency is locked.

  • Done — the dependency is locked.

  • Manually locked — the dependency is locked.

Dependencies and Merging

A Task that has other Tasks depending on it cannot be used as a merge target. This prevents breaking the dependency chain. See the Splitting and Merging Tasks page for details.

Removing a Task from the Timeline

When you remove a Task from the Timeline (clearing its dates), its dependency parent is also cleared automatically.