Task Mode indicates whether a task is scheduled manually or automatically. It allows you to choose how much control you want to have over a project's task scheduling. In GanttView, you can set task mode by using Mode property of the Task class. The Mode property uses TaskMode enumeration to change the task mode by setting one of the following values:

• Manual Mode: This is the default task mode for GanttView. It provides greater flexibility for planning and managing the schedule. In manual mode, tasks can be positioned anywhere in your schedule and the project won’t move it. Also, these tasks do not change their scheduling for constraints, project resources, and dependencies. This mode is useful when project managers don’t have complete information about each task. For example, they may know when the start date of the project is, but not its duration until they receive an estimation from their team members.
• Automatic Mode: Automatic scheduling provides a more structured way of managing project schedules. The GanttView automatically calculates the best earliest and latest dates for tasks once the user enters the information for the task duration, constraint dates, and number of resources. If something changes in the schedule such as the duration, task dependencies, or constraints, the GanttView project automatically adjusts the project schedule for the user so they have the optimal schedule.

The following code illustrates how to set the Mode property for a task. This example uses the sample created in Quick Start.

t.Mode = TaskMode.Automatic;

Besides this, task modes can be set at runtime through the Task Information dialog box, which can be accessed by clicking the Task Information button from the Toolbar. For more information, see Toolbar.