Format a Gantt chart view

Chapter 7 introduced Gantt chart styles and direct formatting of Gantt bars. This topic describes how to use bar styles to change the visual appearance of specific types of Gantt bars (such as summary tasks) and other elements (such as deadline indicators) in ways that the Gantt chart styles cannot.

You can format specific categories of items in a Gantt chart view to change the appearance of that type of item. As Figure 16-1 shows, you do so by using the Bar Styles dialog (available from the Bar Styles group on the Gantt Chart Format tab). The bar style and other formatting changes you make in one Gantt chart view apply only to that view.

In this dialog, the formatting changes you make to a particular bar type (critical tasks, for example) or other element apply to all such bars or elements in the Gantt chart.

Project draws bars and other elements on a bar row in the order in which they are listed in the Bar Styles dialog. This introduces the possibility of one bar being layered on top of (and obscuring) another bar (or other element). The task bar style appears higher in the Bar Styles list than does the progress bar style, for example, so Project draws progress bars on top of task bars. Usually, you’ll get the results you expect. If you don’t get the results you want, look at the order of items in the Bar Styles dialog.

In addition to changing the formatting of items that can appear in a Gantt chart view (such as a task’s Gantt bar), you can add or remove items. For example, it might be useful to compare baseline, interim, and scheduled plans in a single view. (For a refresher on interim plans, see Chapter 14, “Track progress: Detailed techniques.”) The baseline and scheduled Gantt bars are already available in the Bar Styles dialog, but interim Gantt bars are not. Let’s walk through how you can add them.

To begin, you add a new row in the Bar Styles dialog. Because the order in which Gantt bars are listed in the Bar Styles dialog determines the order in which Project draws the Gantt bars, you’ll want to pay attention to their order.

Next, you enter the details you want for the new interim Gantt bar. For the purposes of this example, you want Project to draw interim Gantt bars for normal tasks and use the interim plan’s Start1 and Finish1 values as the From and To dates, as illustrated in Figure 16-2.

This example creates the new Gantt bar style named interim with the default bar formatting, for normal tasks, on the second row, spanning the interim plan’s Start1 through Finish1 dates. So far, you’ve instructed Project to use the first interim plan’s start and finish dates when drawing the bar. For a refresher on interim plans, refer to Chapter 14. Next, you need to focus on the lower half of the Bar Styles dialog, where you can change the visual appearance of the new bar style.

For this example, assume that you want your interim plan’s Gantt bars to be full-height shape, with the fifth pattern in the list and solid green (the top theme color on the far-right side) applied, as Figure 16-3 shows.

To finish your custom Gantt bar definition, you set the text you want to appear in or around each interim Gantt bar. For these Gantt bars, you want the interim bars to show their start and finish dates as recorded in the Start1 and Finish1 fields on either side of the bar (see Figure 16-4).

In this example, you display the Start1 and Finish1 fields’ values to the right and left of the bar. When you finish creating the custom interim Gantt bar style, your custom Gantt bars based on the interim plan are drawn on the Tracking Gantt chart, as shown in Figure 16-5.

Project supports several other Gantt chart formatting features in addition to the ones described in this topic. If you want to explore other formatting options, review these buttons on the Gantt Chart Format tab:

• To format text associated with a specific task type, such as summary task text, use the Text Styles button in the Format group. You can also use the Text Styles button to format other items, such as summary task names, timescale labels, and bar text. For more information about using text styles in a Gantt chart view, refer to Chapter 7.

• To turn gridlines on or off, or to adjust the formatting of gridlines, use the Gridlines button in the Format group.

  Tip

  Adding gridlines can improve the readability of a poster-size printout by a plotter; for example, you might want to turn on a gridline for Gantt rows. You can also change gridline color to help colorblind readers; in such a case, you might consider changing the current date default color of green.

• To format the appearance of link lines and Gantt bars, use the Layout button in the Format group.

• If you saved multiple baselines (Baseline and Baseline 1 through Baseline 10), you can quickly change which baseline appears (on the Tracking Gantt Chart view, for example) by using the Baseline button in the Bar Styles group. As you do so, Project automatically switches the From and To values in the Bar Styles dialog for the baseline bars and elements to use the values of the baseline you displayed.

• When you select options in the Bar Styles group on the Gantt Chart Format tab or Tracking Gantt Format tab (other than the Format button itself), those options are represented in the Bar Styles dialog.

To create a new Gantt bar style

1. Switch to a Gantt chart view.

2. On the Gantt Chart Format tab, in the Bar Styles group, select Format and then select Bar Styles to open the Bar Styles dialog.

   Tip

   You can also open this dialog by double-clicking the background of the chart portion of a Gantt chart view or by right-clicking or long-pressing (tap and hold) the background and selecting Bar Styles on the shortcut menu.

3. In the Bar Styles dialog, select the row where you want to add the new Gantt bar style. Remember that Project draws Gantt bars in the order in which they are listed in the Bar Styles dialog.

4. Select Insert Row. Project inserts a row for a new bar type in the table.

5. Enter the name you want for the new bar style.

   Tip

   Remember that you can prevent a bar style from appearing in a printed legend by beginning the bar style name with an asterisk (*).

6. In the Show For…Tasks field, select the type of task you want the bar to represent (such as a normal task, a summary task, or a milestone) or the status of the task (such as critical or in progress).

   Tip

   You can define a bar style that excludes specific task types by first selecting the task type in the Show For…Tasks field and then entering Not in front of the task type’s name. For example, to exclude summary tasks from a bar style, first include Summary in the Show for…Tasks field and then edit it to be Not Summary. You can see many examples of task type exclusions in the built-in bar styles.

7. To add more task types to the same bar style, double-click in the Show For…Tasks field and then enter the names of the additional task types you want. Separate each task type name with a comma. You can see many examples of multiple task types per bar style in the built-in bar styles.

   Tip

   To edit the text in the Show For…Tasks field, you need to double-click more slowly than you might be accustomed to. An alternative is to press the F2 key to edit this field.

8. In the Row field, select the row where you want the bar to appear. Each task can have up to four bar rows.

9. In the From and To fields, select the start and end points for the bar. For milestone shapes, enter the same Task Finish value in both the From and To fields.

10. In the lower part of the Bar Styles dialog, select the Bars tab.

11. Pick the Start, Middle, and End display settings you want for the bar style. You can see your selected display settings for the bar in the Appearance column.

12. To add text values to the new bar style, follow the steps in the next procedure. If you don’t want to add text values at this time, select OK.

To add or change text displayed with a Gantt bar style

1. Open the Bar Styles dialog.

2. In the Bar Styles dialog, select the bar style you want.

3. In the lower half of the Bar Styles dialog, select the Text tab.

4. In the row that corresponds to the text position you want relative to the bar, select a field value.

   Tip

   When selecting items from a list like this, you can often begin typing the name of the item you want; then, when its full name appears, select it. For example, if you type s, Project shows the values that begin with the letter s. If you then type t, Project shows the values that begin with the letters st.

5. Add the additional text values you want and then select OK.

To reorder bar styles to control drawing precedence order

1. Open the Bar Styles dialog.

2. Select the name of the bar style you want to move up or down in the drawing precedence order.

3. Select Cut Row.

4. Select the row where you want to move the first bar style.

5. Select Paste Row, and then select OK. The pasted bar style will appear above the row you selected in step 4.

Format a Timeline view

As you might recall from Chapter 2, “Take a guided tour,” and Chapter 7, the Timeline view is a handy way of seeing the “big picture” of the plan. As Figure 16-6 shows, you can display one or more timeline bars in a single Timeline view, and you can customize the timeline bars independently.

You might find that the default formatting of a timeline bar meets your needs, but if not, you can customize its look. You can format the text of entire categories of timeline items (such as all milestone dates) by using text styles, as shown in Figure 16-7.

You can see in Figure 16-8 that in addition to using styles to reformat categories of items, you can directly format an item in a Timeline view. To do so, select the item and use the buttons on the Timeline Format tab to get the result you want.

When you add timelines to a single Timeline view, you can format each timeline independently. This gives you great flexibility in using the Timeline view to emphasize important parts of your overall plan, such as the final activities in multiple phases of work.

To change Timeline text styles

1. If necessary, on the View tab, in the Split View group, select the Timeline checkbox to display the Timeline view.

2. Select anywhere in the Timeline view, and then select the Timeline Format tab.

3. On the Timeline Format tab, in the Text group, select Text Styles to open the Text Styles dialog.

4. In the Text Styles dialog, in the Item to Change list, select the type of timeline item whose style you want to change.

5. Apply the formatting options you want for the selected item type, and then select OK.

To directly format an item in a Timeline

1. In the Timeline view, select the item you want to format.

2. On the Timeline Format tab, in the Font group, apply the formatting options you want.

To add timeline bars (up to 10) to the Timeline view

1. Select anywhere in the Timeline view.

2. On the Timeline Format tab, in the Insert group, select Timeline Bar. Project adds another timeline bar to the Timeline view; it is initially empty.

3. Make sure the new timeline bar is selected. Then on the Timeline Format tab, in the Insert group, select Existing tasks to open the Add Tasks to Timeline dialog.

4. In the dialog, select the tasks you want to add to the new timeline bar and then select OK.

To adjust the date range over which a timeline bar is drawn

1. Select a timeline bar.

2. On the Timeline Format tab, in the Show/Hide group, select Date Range to open the Set Timeline Dates dialog.

3. In the dialog, select the start and finish dates you want and then select OK.

To add a label to a timeline bar

1. Select anywhere in the timeline.

2. On the Timeline Format tab, in the Show/Hide group, select Bar Label to open the Update Bar Names dialog.

3. In the Update Bar Names dialog, enter the desired name for each timeline bar and then select OK.

Format a Network Diagram view

A network diagram is a way of representing project activities and their relationships. Tasks are represented as boxes, which are also called nodes, and the relationships between tasks are drawn as lines connecting the nodes. Unlike a Gantt chart, which is a timescaled view, a network diagram enables you to view project activities in a manner more closely resembling a flowchart format. This is useful if you want to place more focus on the relationships between tasks than on their durations and sequence.

In the Network Diagram view displayed in Figure 16-9, each node contains several pieces of information (fields) about the task.

Project represents completed tasks as nodes with an X drawn through them and summary tasks as nodes shaped as parallelograms.

As with Gantt chart views, Project provides rich formatting options for the Network Diagram view. For example, you can change the overall layout to group nodes by resource. If you’re a heavy-duty network diagram user, you’ll want to explore the formatting options in greater detail.

Use the Box Styles dialog (available from the Network Diagram Format tab, in the Format group, when you’re in the Network Diagram view) to change the appearance of different types of nodes (see Figure 16-10).

In the Network Diagram view, box styles are similar to bar styles in a Gantt chart, in that different box styles apply to different task types. Box styles include three main parts: data templates, box border formatting, and box background formatting. The Network Diagram view’s box styles are all predefined. You can alter the appearance of the built-in box styles (specifically, you can adjust the border and background appearance), but you can’t create your own.

For the Network Diagram view, Project uses data templates such as Standard and Summary. In this context, templates determine what fields appear in boxes (nodes) in addition to their layout. (Don’t confuse these templates with file templates.)

You can either apply another built-in data template to your Network Diagram view or create your own template, as Figure 16-11 shows. For example, you can create a template that includes each task’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) code field. You do so in the Data Template Definition dialog.

These additional formatting buttons on the Network Diagram Format tab apply to the Network Diagram view:

• In the Network Diagram view, you can format all boxes by using the Box Styles button, or you can format just the active box by using the Box button. This is similar to the Bar Styles and Bar buttons available on the Gantt Chart Format tab when you display a Gantt chart view.

• Use the Layout button to control items such as the overall arrangement of task boxes by time period, such as by week or by month.

• Show or hide the types of task relationships, such as Start to Start (SS), between tasks by selecting the Link Labels checkbox.

• Use the Collapse Boxes button to quickly zoom out the Network Diagram view to show more of the network.

To modify a Network Diagram box style

1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, select Network Diagram to display the Network Diagram view.

2. On the Network Diagram Format tab, in the Format group, select Box Styles to open the Box Styles dialog.

3. In the Style settings for box, select the box style you want to modify.

4. In the Data template list, select the data template for which you want to change a box style.

5. In the Border section, select the shape, color, and other display options you want to apply to this box style.

6. In the Background section, select the color and pattern you want.

7. Select OK.

To create or modify a Network Diagram box (node) data template

1. In the Network Diagram view, open the Box Styles dialog.

2. Select More Templates to open the Data Templates dialog. In this dialog, you can either create a new data template or create a copy of a template.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Select New to create a new template.

   • Select a template and then select Copy to create a copy.

   • Select a template and then select Edit to edit the template.

4. In the Data Template Definition dialog, select the options you want. Use the task node preview in the dialog to help guide your work.

5. Select OK to close the Data Template Definition dialog and then select Close to close the Data Templates dialog.

6. In the Box Styles dialog, make sure your modified or new data template is selected and then select OK.

To modify a specific task box (node) in the Network Diagram view

1. In the Network Diagram view, select the task box you want to modify.

2. On the Network Diagram Format tab, in the Format group, select Box to open the Format Box dialog.

3. In the Format Box dialog, select the options you want. Use the preview in the dialog to help guide your work.

4. Select OK.

Format a Calendar view

As with the Timeline view, the Calendar view shown in Figure 16-12 is one of the simpler views available in Project. This view is especially useful for sharing schedule information with resources or stakeholders who prefer a traditional “month-at-a-glance” format in place of a more detailed view, such as the Gantt Chart view.

This view displays several weeks at a time. The visible weeks are indicated by the narrow boxes to the left of each week in the monthly calendars on the left side of the view.

As with other views, Project supports style-based formatting of the Calendar view. You can change the appearance of all instances of a particular type of item in the Calendar view. For example, you can make all tasks on the plan’s critical path appear red. See Figure 16-13 for an illustration of a bar style modification.

Similar to bar style formatting in Gantt chart and other views, style-based formatting in the Calendar view applies to all of that style’s task type in the view, as Figure 16-14 shows.

Depending on the number of tasks that are scheduled on the same day, you might not see all the bars for those tasks, or the week height might be taller than you need for the number of tasks you want to display. In either case, use the Adjust Week Height button (on the Calendar Format tab, in the Layout group) to change the week row height.

To change Calendar bar styles

1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, select Calendar.

2. On the Calendar Format tab, in the Format group, select Bar Styles to open the Bar Styles dialog.

3. In the Task type list, select the type of task whose style you want to change.

4. In the Bar shape and Text sections, select the formatting options you want. Use the preview in the Sample area to help guide your work.

5. Select OK.

6. If your style changes affect the height or position of bars, on the Calendar Format tab, in the Layout group, select Layout Now.

To adjust week height

1. Display the Calendar view.

2. On the Calendar Format tab, in the Layout group, select Adjust Week Height.

Print and export views

Project offers customization options for printing views beyond what Chapter 7 covered. Because views such as the Gantt Chart view are often shared with resources and other project stakeholders, you might find that you need to adjust details for the views you print.

Printing in Project is similar to printing in other Microsoft apps. Some settings differ for Project, however. A handy print setting in Project is the option to print data for a specified date range. In a Gantt chart view, for example, Project prints the table portion of a Gantt chart view as it is currently set up in the view and then prints just the date range you specify from the chart portion of the view. See Figure 16-15 for a preview of the first page of a printout of a Gantt chart view.

The printing and page layout options you can adjust vary with the type of view that’s currently displayed. Simpler views, such as the Resource Sheet view, have fewer printing and page layout options than more complex views, like the Gantt Chart view. You can see these differences in the Page Setup dialog shown in Figure 16-16.

Consider some examples of how the page setup options can vary:

• For Gantt chart and usage views, you can have the timescale sized to fit the page.

• For usage views, you can choose to include row and column totals.

• The Legend tab is not available for sheet views such as the Task Sheet or Resource Sheet views.

When printing most types of views, you can choose from a wide range of options. For example, you can customize headers and footers, specify what to print in the legend, and include specific options such as task or resources notes.

One common item to customize when printing is the legend that prints with a Gantt chart view. You do this on the Legend tab of the Page Setup dialog.

You can add general items to the legend, such as the project title, or you can add specific field values, such as the plan’s total cost (recorded in the Cost field), as shown in Figure 16-17.

The legend tab includes a preview of how the field codes and other text in the Left, Center, and Right tabs appear. You can even insert an image into the legend. Explore the Legend options to include exactly the information you want in your printed views.

Sometimes you need to share a snapshot of a Project view with others who might not have Project. To this end, Project supports easy generation of PDF and XPS files. You “print” to a PDF or XPS file as if you were printing to a printer, so all the page setup options described in this topic apply when generating PDF or XPS output files.

To adjust print options

1. Display and arrange the view the way you want it to appear in the printout. For example, in a Gantt chart view, you can adjust the timescale and visible columns.

2. Select the File tab to display the Backstage view, and then select Print to display the Print page with the active view in the preview.

3. In the Settings section, adjust the print settings you want. Use the preview to help guide your work.

To adjust view-specific options

1. Display and arrange the view the way you want it to appear in the printout.

2. Display the Print page of the Backstage view.

3. At the bottom of the Settings section, to the left of the print preview, select the Page Setup link to open the Page Setup dialog.

4. The view-specific options appear on the Legend and View tabs. Select the options you want, and then select OK.

To customize a view’s header or footer

1. Display and arrange the view the way you want it to appear in the printout.

2. Display the Print page of the Backstage view.

3. In the Settings section, select Page Setup to open the Page Setup dialog.

4. Select the options you want on the Header and Footer tabs, and then select OK.

To generate a PDF or XPS file

1. Display and arrange the view the way you want it to appear in the printout.

2. Select the File tab to display the Backstage view, and then select Export to display the Export page.

3. Select Create PDF/XPS Document.

4. On the right side of the page, select Create PDF/XPS to open the Browse dialog.

5. Select the location where you want to save the file, and then enter the file name you want.

6. In the Save As type box, select either PDF Files or XPS Files and then select OK to open the Document Export Options dialog.

7. In the Document Export Options dialog, select the date range and other options you want and then select OK.

Skills review

In this chapter, you learned how to

• Format a Gantt chart view

• Format a Timeline view

• Format a Network Diagram view

• Format a Calendar view

• Print and export views

Practice tasks

The FormatInDepth practice file for these tasks is located in the ProjectDesktopSBSCh16 folder. For practice file download instructions, see the introduction to this book.