---
title: Start Dates
description: "Click on the ***Start Dates*** icon in the Data Tools group on the **Forecasting** tab or select *Forecasting>Set Start Dates*** **on the Navigator context menu to open the Set Start Dates dialog. ![](https://dev.forecastpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/start.jpg) To only use history after a specified date to generate a forecast, select *Start history…"
url: "https://dev.forecastpro.com/documentation/forecast-pro-trac/data-tools/start-dates/"
updated: "2024-12-16"
category: Reference / Customizing Your Forecasts / Data Tools
---

# Start Dates

Click on the ***Start Dates*** icon in the Data Tools group on the **Forecasting** tab or select *Forecasting>Set Start Dates*** **on the Navigator context menu to open the Set Start Dates dialog.

![](https://dev.forecastpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/start.jpg)

To only use history after a specified date to generate a forecast, select *Start history on *and use the spinner to set a start date.

To start forecasting an item starting with a specified date, check *Start forecasts on* and use the spinner to set the launch date.

Start Dates are associated with the following modifiers:

- **\\*START(Year, Period)***: Only use historic data after (and including) the specified date to estimate the specified item’s forecast model.
- **\\*LAUNCH(Year, Period)***: Start forecasting an item on the specified date.