# Project scheduling

> Import a construction schedule, review dependencies and critical work, plan a lookahead, and keep versions and baselines for progress comparisons.

Source: https://docs.specset.com/docs/project-scheduling · Section: Issues & Estimating · Last updated: 2026-10-08

Use **Schedule** to review construction activities, their dependencies, and upcoming work alongside the rest of your project information.

> **Availability:** Construction scheduling must be enabled for your organization. If you do not see it in the project sidebar, ask your organization administrator to confirm availability. The **Schedule** under **Closeout** or in the F&M portal is the separate [maintenance schedule](https://docs.specset.com/docs/maintenance).

## Import or start a schedule

1. Open **Schedule** in the project sidebar.
2. Open **More actions (⋯)** and choose **Import schedule**. Select a Primavera P6 **.xer** or Microsoft Project **.mpp** or **.xml** file.
3. Choose **Keep the file’s dates** to retain the dates you received, or **Recalculate from logic** to derive dates from the dependencies and data date.
4. Click **Import**. When processing finishes, review the activities and any warnings recorded on the import version.

Importing into an existing schedule matches activities by ID: matching activities are updated, new ones are added, and activities absent from the file are removed. Submittal links on matching activities are preserved. Save a version before making a substantial update.

To build a schedule in Specset, click **New**. Give the activity a name, choose or create its WBS group, and set its timing. WBS groups organize the work into phases or packages.

![Construction schedule with activity dates, progress, dependencies, and critical-path bars](https://docs.specset.com/images/docs/project-scheduling/schedule-gantt.png)

## Review dates and dependencies

Use the day, week, month, or quarter view to change the timeline's scale. Select an activity to inspect its dates and links; open its editor to change duration, progress, company, calendar, constraints, or predecessors.

Use **Trace logic** to follow predecessors, successors, or both for the selected activity. The critical-path and float information helps you identify work that may affect completion. Review imported warnings before relying on a calculation that may differ from the source scheduling tool.

The **data date** is the point through which progress is reported. Update it through **More actions → Set data date** when advancing the schedule. **Calendars** controls working days and exceptions; check those alongside durations when dates look unexpected.

## Plan the lookahead

1. Open **Schedule → Lookahead**.
2. Choose the start date and a 2-, 3-, 4-, or 6-week window, then click **Apply**.
3. Use **Fetch activities** to select work from the master schedule.
4. Add subtasks beneath an activity and record their progress as the crew completes them.

The master activity bars are locked in this view. Lookahead subtasks break work into smaller commitments without changing the master activity's dates. Make changes to the master schedule in the main **Schedule** view.

## Keep versions and a baseline

Open **Schedule → Versions** and choose **New version** to save a snapshot with a useful name and version type. Open a version to inspect it read-only, then return to the latest schedule to continue editing.

In the main schedule, **More actions → Set baseline** saves the current dates as your comparison point. To use an existing version instead, choose **Set as baseline** from that version’s actions menu. Ordinary versions remain saved records of the schedule; imports also create versions with notes about anything that could not be reproduced exactly.

## Connect submittals and share the schedule

Link the relevant submittals from an activity's details so procurement and approval context stays beside the work it supports. Review linked submittal status when planning that activity.

From **More actions**, export the schedule as **P6 .xer** or **MS Project .xml**, or choose **Print to PDF** for a review copy. You can also export a saved version from its actions menu.