Deleting Project Tasks and Salesforce Tasks

Last Modified On: December 12, 2024

There may be instances where you need to delete tasks in a project. This help article shows you the different ways tasks can be deleted, and discusses best practices when deleting tasks.

Deleting Project Tasks

Project tasks should always be deleted from the project Gantt. This ensures that when tasks are deleted, the UI is able to update task row numbers, and recalculate parent tasks.

There are two (2) ways to delete project tasks in the project Gantt - by using the "Delete selected tasks" icon in the project toolbar, or by using the right-click context menu.

One way is to select the task rows you would like to delete (you can select multiple rows by holding down the CTRL or SHIFT key as you click on a task row), and then click on the "Delete selected tasks" icon in the project toolbar.

Another option is to select the task rows you would like to delete, right-click and select "Delete" in the context menu.

**If you are on a MS Windows PC, pressing the "Delete" key also deletes selected tasks.

Please note the following:

• Always save your project after deleting tasks.
   
• You should not delete project tasks outside the project Gantt as this could potentially assign incorrect row numbers to remaining project tasks. This will also prevent the scheduling engine from recalculating parent task values.
   
• If the project task you delete is assigned to a resource(s), the related Salesforce Task is also deleted. However, the resource's project team and/or collaborator record are not deleted.
   
• If the project task has related time entries, they, too, are deleted.
   
• Any remaining project task that has the deleted project task as its predecessor is then updated to remove the reference to the deleted project task. It is always best practice to review your task hierarchy and dependencies after you delete tasks to ensure that there are no gaps in your project.
   
• Deleting a parent task will also delete its subtasks.

Deleting Salesforce Tasks related to a Project Task

When a project task is assigned to a resource, a related Salesforce task is automatically created. If there are multiple resources assigned to the same project task, individual Salesforce tasks are created for each assigned resource. This allows each resource to update their own Salesforce tasks. For more information on project tasks and Salesforce tasks, please see Inspire Planner Project Tasks and Salesforce Tasks.

But what happens if the related Salesforce Task is deleted?

When the related Salesforce task is deleted, the project task remains but is then unassigned from the resource. The following updates also occur:

• The resource that the deleted Salesforce task was assigned to is no longer displayed in the "Assigned To" column for the project task in the project Gantt.
   
• The sysAssignedToIds on the project task record is updated to remove the reference to the deleted Salesforce task and resource. You will need to wait for the Inspire Planner Beacon to process before you see the updates on the project task.
   
• If the Salesforce task had related time entries, the time entries are retained.
   
• The project task status and status of checklist items remain unchanged even when the related Salesforce task is deleted. For example, if the project task status is set to "Complete" or the checklist items are already complete, deleting the related Salesforce task will not set the project task or checklist items back to open.
   
• Project team records and/or collaborator records are not deleted for the resource assigned to the deleted Salesforce task.