Why does Asterisk (*) appears next to the date in the Start or Finish column when no constraints applied to the activity

Sometimes in Primavera P6, you may notice an asterisk (*) next to the Start or Finish date of an activity, even though no constraints have been applied. What does this mean?

Reason for the Asterisk

The asterisk indicates that the activity has relationships to external projects.

For example:

• You receive a project file from a colleague and import it into Primavera.
• If the original project had links to activities in another project (external relationships), but that external project was not exported, Primavera displays an asterisk to notify you.

When exporting a project, the external relationships are not included in the XER file, unless the other project is exported too.

How to Remove the Asterisk

To remove the external relationships and clear the asterisk:

Add two columns to your Activity Table:

• External Early Start
• External Late Finish

Delete the external dates from these columns. Reschedule the project.

After rescheduling:

• The asterisk will disappear from the Start and Finish columns.
• The dates will no longer be held by external relationships.

Key Takeaway

The asterisk is a helpful indicator that your activity is linked to an external project. If those links are no longer relevant, clearing the external dates will restore normal scheduling behavior.