In this article, you will learn about the Indent/Outdent Task Failure Details in Tasks.

Skip Ahead to: Overview Single Task Indent Failure Details Single Task Outdent Failure Details Multiple Task Indent Failure Details Multiple Task Outdent Failure Details

Overview

Indenting and outdenting tasks help organize tasks into hierarchical structures. Indentation places tasks as child/leaf-level tasks under a Summary Task, while outdenting promotes a child task to a higher level. However, certain conditions may restrict these actions, resulting in error messages. Understanding these restrictions is crucial for efficient project planning and task management. For more details on how to indent and outdent tasks, click here.

This article explains the scenarios where task Indent/outdent fails, categorized into single and multiple-task scenarios.

Single Task Indent Failure Details

When you attempt to indent a single task, there may be various reasons why the indenting fails. Below is a table detailing scenarios where indenting might fail, and the corresponding task indent failure details display why the failure occurs.

Scenario	Tasks Indent Failure Details
Indenting Task TSK2 under TSK1.	Indenting Task TSK2 under TSK1 is not allowed because TSK1 is closed. A closed task has a Work Percent Complete of 100% and cannot be used as a summary task.
Indenting Task TSK9 under TSK8.	Indenting Task TSK9 under TSK8 is not allowed because TSK8 has a resource assigned (David Marks with 100% allocation). The task with resources assigned cannot become a summary task.
Indenting Task TSK15 under TSK14.	Indenting Task TSK15 under TSK14 is not allowed because TSK14 is a Hybrid task. A Hybrid task cannot become a summary task since the work progress will roll up from agile workitems and cannot have child tasks under it. Learn more about Hybrid tasks here.
Indenting Task TSK15 under TSK14.	Indenting Task TSK15 under TSK14 is not allowed because TSK14 is a Milestone task. A Milestone task cannot become a summary task since it marks the completion of a specific stage and cannot have child tasks under it. Learn more about Milestone tasks here.
Indenting Task TSK24 under TSK23.	Indenting Task TSK24 under TSK23 is not allowed because TSK23 depends on TSK24. Task TSK23 can only start after TSK24 is completed, making TSK24 a predecessor and TSK23 a successor. Therefore, the successor TSK23 cannot be a summary task. Learn more about task dependencies here.
Indenting Task TSK30 under TSK29.	Indenting task TSK30 under TSK29 is not allowed because it depends on Task TSK29. Task TSK30 can only start once TSK29 is completed, making Task TSK29 a predecessor and Task TSK30 a successor. Therefore, the predecessor Task TSK29 cannot be a summary task. Learn more about task dependencies here.

Important Note:  Always review the failure details before making corrections.

Single Task Outdent Failure Details

When you attempt to outdent a single task, there may be various reasons why the outdenting fails. Below is a table detailing scenarios where outdenting might fail, and the corresponding task indent failure details display why the failure occurs.

Scenario	Tasks Indent Failure Details
Outdenting Task TSK2 from TSK1	Outdenting Task TSK2 from TSK1 is not allowed because TSK2 is closed and positioned before TSK3 in the sequence. Outdenting TSK2 would require it to become a summary task for subsequent tasks. However, TSK2 is closed with 100% Work Percent Complete, so it cannot be used as a summary task. Therefore, the outdent action cannot be performed.
Outdenting Task TSK8 from TSK7.	Outdenting Task TSK8 from TSK7 is not allowed because TSK8 has a resource assigned (David Marks with 100% allocation). When a task is outdented, it will become a summary task. However, a task with a resource allocation cannot act as a summary task because summary tasks should not have specific resources directly assigned to them. Therefore, the outdent action for TSK8 cannot be performed.
Outdenting Task TSK14 from TSK13.	Outdenting Task TSK14 from TSK13 is not allowed because TSK14 is a hybrid task. A hybrid task cannot become a summary task as it cannot have child or leaf-level tasks underneath it. Therefore, the outdenting TSK14 cannot be performed. Learn more about Hybrid tasks here.
Outdenting Task TSK3 from TSK1.	Outdenting Tasks TSK3 from TSK1 is not allowed because TSK3 is a Milestone task. A Milestone task cannot become a summary task since it marks the completion of a specific stage and cannot have tasks under it. Therefore, the outdenting TSK3 cannot be performed. Learn more about Milestone tasks here.
Outdenting Task TSK20 from TSK19.	Outdenting Task TSK20 from TSK21 is not allowed because TSK20 depends on Task 21. Outdenting TSK20 would require it to become a summary task. Task TSK20 can only start once Task 21 finishes and hence, the successor task TSK20 cannot serve as a summary task that guides other tasks. Thus, the outdenting cannot be performed. Learn more about task dependencies here.
Outdenting Task TSK26 from TSK25.	Outdenting Task TSK26 from TSK25 is not allowed because it is a predecessor to TSK27, meaning TSK27 is dependent on TSK26. Outdenting TSK26 would require it to become a summary task, as this would disrupt the dependency. Task TSK27 can only start once Task 26 finishes and hence, the predecessor task TSK26 cannot serve as a summary task that guides other tasks. Therefore, outdenting cannot be performed. Learn more about task dependencies here.
Outdenting Task TSK1 from TSK0.	Outdenting a task to the top-most level is not allowed, as the plan defines the task structure and cannot be altered in this way.

Important Note: Always review the failure details before making corrections.

Multiple Task Indent Failure Details

There may be various reasons why indenting multiple tasks fails. The table below details scenarios where indenting multiple tasks might fail, and the corresponding task indent failure details display why the failure occurs.

Scenario	Tasks Indent Failure Details
Indenting Task TSK2 and TSK3 under TSK1.	Indenting Tasks TSK2 and TSK3 under TSK1 is not allowed because TSK1 is closed. A closed task has a Work Percent Complete of 100% and cannot be used as a summary task.
Indenting Tasks TSK5 and TSK6 under TSK4.	Indenting Tasks TSK4 and TSK5 under TSK3 is not allowed because TSK3 has a resource assigned (David Marks with 100% allocation). A task with resources assigned cannot become a summary task.
Indenting Tasks TSK15 and TSK16 under TSK14.	Indenting Tasks TSK15 and TSK16 under TSK14 is not allowed because TSK14 is a Hybrid task. A Hybrid task cannot become a summary task since the work progress will roll up from agile workitems and cannot have child tasks under it. Learn more about Hybrid tasks here.
Indenting Tasks TSK15 and TSK16 under TSK14.	Indenting Tasks TSK15 and TSK16 under TSK14 is not allowed because TSK14 is a Milestone task. A Milestone task cannot become a summary task since it marks the completion of a specific stage and cannot have other tasks under it. Learn more about Milestone tasks here.
Indenting Tasks TSK24 and TSK25 under TSK23.	Indenting Tasks TSK24 and TSK25 under TS23 is not allowed because TSK23 is dependent on TSK24. TSK23 can only start after TSK24 is completed, making it a predecessor and TSK23 a successor. Learn more about task dependencies here. Meanwhile, Task TSK25 is sequenced after TSK24. If TSK25 is indented, it would incorrectly become a subtask of TSK24, which disrupts the intended sequence. Therefore, the selected tasks TSK24 and TSK25 cannot be Indented.
Indenting Tasks TSK30 and TSK31 under TSK29.	Indenting Tasks TSK30 and TSK31 under TSK29 is not allowed because TSK30 depends on TSK29. TSK30 can only start once TSK29 is completed, making TSK29 a predecessor and TSK30 a successor. Learn more about task dependencies here. Meanwhile, Task TSK31 is sequenced after TSK30. If TSK31 is indented, it would incorrectly become a subtask of TSK30, which disrupts the intended sequence. Therefore, the selected tasks TSK30 and TSK31 cannot be Indented.

Important Note: Always review the failure details before making corrections.

Multiple Task Outdent Failure Details

When you attempt to outdent multiple tasks, there may be various reasons why the outdenting fails. Below is a table detailing scenarios where outdenting might fail, and the corresponding task indent failure details display why the failure occurs.

Scenario	Tasks Outdent Failure Details
Outdenting Task TSK2 and TSK3 from TSK1.	Outdenting Tasks TSK2 and TSK3 from TSK1 is not allowed because TSK3 is closed. A closed task has a Work Percent Complete of 100% and cannot be used as a summary task for TSK4 and TSK5. Meanwhile, TSK2 is sequenced before TSK3. If TSK2 is outdented, it would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK3, TSK4, and TSK5, which disrupts the outdented sequence.
Outdenting Task TSK8 and TSK9 from TSK7.	Outdenting Tasks TSK8 and TSK9 from TSK7 is not allowed because TSK9 has a resource assigned(David Marks with 100% allocation). Task TSK9 with resources assigned cannot become a summary task for TSK10 and TSK11. Therefore, the outdenting TSK9 cannot be performed. Meanwhile, TSK8 is sequenced before TSK9. If TSK8 is outdented, it would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK9, TSK10, and TSK11, which disrupts the outdented sequence.
Outdenting Task TSK14 and TSK15 from TSK13.	Outdenting Tasks TSK14 and TSK15 from TSK13 is not allowed because TSK15 is a Hybrid task. A Hybrid task cannot become a summary task for TSK16 and TSK17. For a hybrid task work progress always rolls up from agile workitems and cannot have child tasks under it. Therefore, the outdenting TSK15 cannot be performed. Learn more about Hybrid tasks here. Meanwhile, TSK14 is sequenced before TSK15. If TSK14 is outdented, it would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK15, TSK16, and TSK17, which disrupts the outdented sequence.
Outdenting Task TSK2 and TSK3 from TSK1.	Outdenting Tasks TSK2 and TSK3 from TSK1 is not allowed because TSK3 is a Milestone task. A Milestone task cannot become a summary task for TSK4 and TSK5. Therefore, the outdenting TSK3 cannot be performed. Learn more about Milestone tasks here. Meanwhile, TSK2 is sequenced before TSK3. If TSK2 is outdented, it would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK3, TSK4, and TSK5, which disrupts the outdented sequence.
Outdenting Task TSK20, TSK21 and TSK22 from TSK19.	Outdenting Tasks TSK20, TSK21, and TSK22 from TSK19 are not allowed because TSK22 is dependent on TSK23. Outdenting TSK22 would require it to become a summary task. However, since TSK22 can only start once Task 23 finishes, it cannot serve as a summary task that guides tasks TSK23 and TSK24. Thus, the outdenting TSK22 cannot be performed. Learn more about task dependencies here. Meanwhile, TSK20 and TSK21 are sequenced before TSK22. If outdented, TSK21 would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK22, TSK23, and TSK24, which disrupts the outdented sequence.
Outdenting Task TSK20, TSK21 and TSK22 from TSK19.	Outdenting Tasks TSK20, TSK21, and TSK22 from TSK19 are not allowed because TSK23 depends on TSK22. Outdenting TSK22 would require it to become a summary task. However, since TSK23 can only start once Task 22 finishes, it cannot serve as a summary task that guides tasks TSK23 and TSK24. Thus, the outdenting TSK22 cannot be performed. Learn more about task dependencies here. Meanwhile, TSK20 and TSK21 are sequenced before TSK22. If outdented, TSK21 would incorrectly become a summary task of TSK22, TSK23, and TSK24, which disrupts the outdented sequence.

Important Note:  Always review the failure details before making corrections.