What just changed - I wasn't looking!!

Isn't that one of those frustrations when you're teaching yourself how to use Project? You change something hit enter and a whole lot of other stuff changes in the schedule and you have no idea why?

The first thing I'd suggest is to invest the time and money (if you can spare either) in some good MS Project training. If you can't spare either, on your self-guided path to enlightenment you might want to check out Change Highlighting. This is what happens when you change something in your schedule and immediately after the change some cells are automatically highlighted blue. This is called Change Highlighting. Here's how to switch on:

Project 2007
Format -> Text Styles... -> Item to Change: Changed Cells -> OK

Project 2010
Gantt Chart Tools Format tab -> Text Styles button -> Item to Change: Changed Cells -> OK

It's also possible to add the Change Highlighting button to the ribbon in 2010, but that'll be content for a future blog...

Enjoy!