Drag and Drop Scheduling

DrillerDB's drag-and-drop scheduling interface makes it fast and intuitive to organize, reorder, and reschedule your work. Simply click and drag projects to new positions, dates, or assignments to update your schedule in real-time.

How Drag and Drop Works

Drag-and-drop scheduling allows you to reposition projects by clicking and holding on a project item or event, then dragging it to a new location. When you release the mouse button, the system validates the change, updates the schedule, and saves it to the server automatically.

The drag-and-drop interface works consistently across all scheduling views, though the specific behavior varies by view to match that view's purpose and layout.

Reordering in List View

In List View, drag projects up or down within a team's schedule to change their order. The system interprets the position in the list as the sequence in which projects should be completed.

When you move a project to a new position, the system automatically recalculates scheduled dates for all projects based on estimated hours and working days. Projects higher in the list receive earlier dates, while projects lower in the list are scheduled further in the future.

You can also drag projects between teams in List View. Click and hold a project, then drag it from one team's card to another team's card. When you drop the project, the system removes it from the original team's schedule and adds it to the new team's schedule. Both teams' schedules are recalculated to account for the change.

Rescheduling in Calendar View

In Calendar View, drag event blocks to different dates or times to reschedule projects. In Month View, drag events between days. In Week View, drag events to specific time slots to change both the date and start time.

You can also resize events in Calendar View by dragging the event edges. Click and drag the left or right edge of an event block to adjust the start or end time. This updates the project's estimated hours based on the new duration.

When you drop an event on a new date, the system validates the change to ensure it doesn't create conflicts. If the new date would cause an overlap with another project on the same team, the system prevents the change and displays a warning.

Rescheduling in Gantt View

In Gantt View, drag project bars horizontally along the timeline to change start dates. Click and hold any bar, then drag it left to schedule earlier or right to schedule later. The bar snaps to valid work days based on your configuration.

You can also resize bars in Gantt View by dragging the bar edges. Expanding a bar increases the project duration, while shrinking it reduces the estimated hours. The system recalculates the end date and adjusts following projects accordingly.

The Gantt View provides the most visual feedback during drag operations, with a ghost image of the bar showing where it will be positioned when you release the mouse button.

Cascade Scheduling

When you move or resize a project, the system automatically applies cascade scheduling to projects that come after it in the sequence. This ensures subsequent projects shift forward or backward to maintain proper sequencing without gaps or overlaps.

For example, if you move a project to start three days later, all following projects in that team's schedule shift three days later as well. This maintains the relative spacing and prevents schedule conflicts.

Cascade scheduling respects working days and hours. If a cascade would push a project onto a weekend, the system automatically moves it to the next working day instead.

Validation and Error Handling

The system validates all drag-and-drop operations before committing changes. If a proposed change would create a conflict, violate business rules, or result in invalid dates, the drag operation is cancelled and the project returns to its original position.

You'll see a notification explaining why the change was prevented, such as "Cannot schedule during non-working hours" or "This would create a scheduling conflict."

Touch Support for Mobile and Tablet

Drag-and-drop operations work with touch gestures on mobile and tablet devices. Press and hold a project item, then drag your finger to move it. The interface provides visual feedback showing where the item will be placed when you lift your finger.

Touch drag-and-drop follows the same validation rules as mouse-based operations, ensuring schedule integrity regardless of input method.

Batch Updates and Performance

The system batches drag-and-drop updates for better performance. When you make rapid changes, such as dragging multiple projects in quick succession, the updates are grouped together and sent to the server as a single transaction.

While updates are processing, a subtle indicator shows that changes are saving. Avoid making additional changes while this indicator is visible to prevent conflicts between updates.

Undo and Recovery

If you accidentally drag a project to the wrong position, you can immediately undo the change by refreshing the page or switching to another view and back. The system maintains the previous state temporarily to allow recovery from unintended changes.

For more significant schedule changes that need to be reversed, you can manually drag projects back to their original positions. The system does not currently support multi-level undo, so plan significant schedule reorganizations carefully before committing changes.