Using Grid Editor to Edit Scheduled Hours in BigTime Resource Management

Table of Contents

Overview

When to Use Grid Editor

Enable Scheduled Work Visibility 

Edit Scheduled Hours in the Calendar

Understand Grid Managed Mode

Compact Assignment Form

Standard Assignment Form

Review Time Off and Public Holiday Overlaps

Important Behaviors and Limitations 

Behaviors to Expect

Limitations 

Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

Grid Editor lets you edit assignment Scheduled Hours directly in BigTime Resource Management calendar grid. Instead of opening the assignment form for every change, you can adjust hours inline across day, week and month views.

This keeps you in the calendar where you are already reviewing assignments and reduces the number of clicks for common allocation updates. Grid Editor improves how you carry out allocation changes. It does not decide the right allocation for you. 

When to Use Grid Editor

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Using Grid Editor when you already know which Scheduled Hours you want to change and want to update them quickly from the calendar. Common use cases include:

• Adjusting Scheduled Hours for a specific day, week, or month.
• Correcting small under-allocation or over-allocation.
• Entering one-off exceptions.
• Cleaning up leftover hours.
• Making several allocation updates without opening the assignment form each time.

Note: Grid Editor is not a replacement for broader resource or capacity planning. It helps you carry out changes you have already decided on.

Enable Scheduled Work Visibility 

Grid Editor is available in BigTime Resource Management calendars in day, week, and month views. To use it, Scheduled Work visibility must be enabled for assignments in the relevant calendar or custom view. When it is enabled, a pencil icon appears next to the Scheduled Hours value as you hover over an editable cell. If Scheduled Work visibility is disabled, Grid Edit will not be available. 

You will find the Scheduled Work (Grid Managed) setting under Assignment < Scheduled Work in Custom View and Calendar Settings. It appears in these locations:

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• Project List < Project Profile < Team Calendar < Calendar Settings
• Project List < Project Profile < Team < Team Members < Open Calendar < Calendar Settings
• Project List < Project Profile < Team < Demand < Assign to Staff Member < Open Calendar < Calendar Settings 
• Calendar < Team Members < Custom View
• Calendar < Projects < Custom View
• Staff List < Staffer Profile < Calendar < Calendar Settings 

Edit Scheduled Hours in the Calendar

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1. Open a Resource Management calendar.
2. Make sure Scheduled Work visibility is enabled.
3. Hover over a Scheduled Hours value under an assignment.
4. Click the pencil icon.
5. Edit the value directly in the grid.
6. Use keyboard navigation to move between cells as needed.
7. Save your changes.

As a reminder, Grid Editor supports editing in day, week, and month views.

Understand Grid Managed Mode

When you edit Scheduled Hours through Grid Editor, the assignment switches to Grid Managed mode. In this mode:

• The calendar grid becomes the source of truth for Scheduled Hours.
• You edit Scheduled Hours from the calendar.
• Related fields in the Assignment form are disabled.
• Bulk edit excludes Grid Managed assignments, so it does not overwrite the detailed hours you entered in the grid.

Grid Managed mode turns on automatically only when you edit Scheduled Hours in the calendar. You cannot select it manually from the Assignment form. To reactivate it, edit the Scheduled Hours in the calendar again.

Compact Assignment Form

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After you edit hours with Grid Editor, the Compact Assignment form shows that the assignment is Grid Managed: the hours cell displays a dash and an info icon and is disabled, Total Time and Total Duration display a dash and are disabled, and the utilization type shows Grid Managed.

Standard Assignment Form

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In the Standard Assignment form, Grid Managed becomes the active option in the Utilization tab (labeled New) and displays an informational panel. If you switch Utilization to another option, the Grid Managed sub-tab is hidden until you edit hours in the calendar again.

Review Time Off and Public Holiday Overlaps
 

If your changes overlap with a staffer's time off or public holidays, BigTime shows an Over Capacity Hours Detected message after you save. It helps you decide whether to keep the planned hours or reduce them to the staffer's available capacity.

• Time Off Tab: lists the staffer's time off entries within the assignment date range, with a total
• Public Holidays Tab: lists public holidays within the assignment date range, with a total
• Keep Assignment to hours: keeps your entered hours, even if the assignment exceeds available capacity 
• Reduce Assignment to hours: reduces Scheduled Hours to the maximum amount the staffer's available capacity allows 

Important Behaviors and Limitations 
 

Behaviors to Expect

• Extending an assignment: new columns display 0h by default.
• Moving an assignment by drag and drop; only the dates change. Your entered Scheduled Hours stay the same, even if the new dates fall on a weekend or a period with no capacity.
• Contract boundaries: Grid Editor does not strictly enforce contract boundaries. You can enter values for days without a contract, extend into periods without a contract, or move an assignment outside the contract period.
• 0h, empty, or negative values; the system displays 0h.
• Extending beyond the due date; if you add scheduled hours beyond an assignment's due date, the assignment end date updates automatically.

Heads up: If you scheduled hours with Grid Editor, they are not automatically reduced to 0 when time off is added later. Update them manually. Also, in the weekly view, if a staffer's time off covers the entire week, you cannot save scheduled hours for that week because there is no available capacity.

Limitations

Grid Editor improves how you edit allocations; it is not intended for planning automation. It does not automatically decide the correct allocation, resolve all capacity conflicts, replace BigTime Resource Management planning logic, enforce all contract boundaries, prevent scheduled outside capacity or contract periods, or replace manager review and staffing decisions. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why don't I see the pencil icon?
  • The pencil icon appears when Scheduled Work visibility is enabled in the calendar or custom view settings. If it is disabled, Grid Editor is not available.
• What happens after I edit hours in the grid?
  • The assignment becomes Grid Managed, which means Scheduled Hours are managed from the calendar grid.
• Can I select Grid Managed manually in the Assignment form?
  • No. Grid Managed turns on automatically only when you edit Scheduled Hours in the calendar.
• Why are some fields disabled in the Assignment form?
  • The assignment is in Grid Managed mode. Edit Scheduled Hours from the calendar grid, or switch to another Capacity option to edit them in the form.
• What happens if I move a Grid Managed assignment?
  • Only the assignment dates change. Your previously entered Scheduled Hours stay the same.
• Can Grid Editor schedule hours outside a contract period?
  • Yes. Grid Editor does not strictly enforce contract boundaries, so you can enter or keep hours outside contract periods.
• What happens if the assignment overlaps with time off or public holidays?
  • After you save, BigTime shows the Over Capacity Hours Detected message. You can keep the entered hours or reduce the assignment to available capacity.
• Are Grid Managed assignments included in bulk edit?
  • No. Bulk edit excludes Grid Managed assignments to protect the detailed scheduling data you entered in the grid.
• Why can't I save scheduled hours for a staffer in Week Mode?
  • If a staffer's time off covers the entire week, you won't be able to save scheduled hours for them in Week mode. With no available capacity that week, there are no working hours left to schedule against.
• I added time off after scheduled hours in the Grid Editor, why didn't those hours drop to zero?
  • Hours you scheduled in the Grid Editor aren't automatically reduced to zero when you add time off afterward. You'll need to update those hours manually.