Gantt Charts

Available from Version: -

Operating System: Windows

empower® Add-in: Charts

Gantt charts are usually used in project management context. They can be used to display the timeline of a project as well as its status.

To insert a Gantt chart into your presentation, navigate to the group empower and click on the button Insert Chart (Figure 1, “Button Insert Chart”).

Figure 1. Button Insert Chart

Button Insert Chart

Then, click on the option Gantt under Other (Figure 2, “Option Gantt”).

You can now define the area and size of the Gantt chart on your current slide.

To do so, drag and drop your mouse cursor over the respective area.

If you have enabled guiding lines in the user settings, guiding lines are displayed while you insert the chart.

If you have defined the guiding lines option in the user settings accordingly, press Alt to display the guiding lines.

The guiding lines help you to align the chart to other placeholders or shapes.

To insert a chart into a placeholder, hover over the placeholder. The placeholder is highlighted by an orange frame.

Click into the placeholder to insert the chart into the highlighted placeholder.

After the insertion of the chart, the Gantt chart settings open in a new window.

Figure 2. Option Gantt

Option Gantt

Note

Alternatively, you can select a placeholder you want to use for the chart and then click on the option Gantt. The Gantt chart will be inserted into the selected placeholder, adjusting to its size.

Note

If you want to adjust the size of the Gantt chart later on, select the chart and drag its endpoints to your preferred size. If you have enabled guiding lines, they are also displayed if you change the size.

If you reduce the Gantt chart's size, you may receive a notification that the font size has been adjusted automatically. To revert these changes, click on the button Revert.

Note

For further information regarding guiding lines, see Enable Guiding Lines.

If you have an existing Gantt chart that you want to duplicate to place it on the same slide, select the respective chart and press Ctrl.

A placeholder with a plus symbol appears on the slide (Figure 3, “Placeholder with Plus Symbol”).

Drag the placeholder to the position where you want to place the copy of the chart.

Drop the chart at this position.

Figure 3. Placeholder with Plus Symbol

Placeholder with Plus Symbol

A duplicate of the copied chart will be placed at the respective position on the slide (Figure 4, “Gantt Chart Duplicate”).

You can also select multiple charts or charts and shapes at once to copy them to another position on the slide. In this case, the relative distance between the charts and shapes is maintained.

Figure 4. Gantt Chart Duplicate

Gantt Chart Duplicate

To copy an existing chart to another slide, select the chart and then press Ctrl + C.

Then, switch to the slide on which you want to position the duplicate and press Ctrl + V to paste the chart.

You can then adjust the chart's position on the slide manually using drag & drop.

Adjust Gantt Chart Settings

On the left-hand side of the window, you can use the calendar to define the time span you want to display in the Gantt Chart (Figure 5, “Gantt Chart Settings”).

On the right-hand side, you can adjust the default settings for your Gantt chart.

Here, you can make changes to the regional settings, the header settings, the content and the notes section.

Figure 5. Gantt Chart Settings

Gantt Chart Settings

Note

If you want to adjust these settings after the initial insertion of the Gantt chart, you can access the calendar and regional settings by clicking on the date displayed in the action bar and the notes section settings via the button Properties in the action bar.

Define the Time Span

To define the time span that should be displayed in your Gantt chart, either type in the dates into the input fields on the top or select start and end date in the calendar (Figure 6, “Set Time Span”).

Alternatively, you can drag and drop from start date to end date. If you drag your mouse below the calendar, the calendar will scroll automatically.

Figure 6. Set Time Span

Set Time Span

To jump back to the current date, click on the button Show Today (Figure 7, “Button Show Today”).

Figure 7. Button Show Today

Button Show Today

Note

The current date is not automatically selected when you click on the button Show Today to avoid affecting the date range you have selected for the Gantt chart.

Alternatively, you can set the Gantt period to adapt to the Gantt chart objects automatically.

In this case, the Gantt period covers the period represented by the Gantt objects.

The Gantt period then enlarges if you add an object outside of the current Gantt period or it shrinks if you delete an object that marks the start or end of the period.

The size of the Gantt chart itself does not change, only the time span is adjusted.

To set the Gantt period to adapt automatically, click on the date in the action bar.

The Gantt chart settings open.

Here, switch the toggle button for Automatically Adjust Gantt Period to On (Figure 8, “Adjust Gantt Period Automatically”).

Figure 8. Adjust Gantt Period Automatically

Adjust Gantt Period Automatically

Note

The Gantt period can only be set to adjust automatically if the Gantt chart already contains objects such as task bars, phase arrows, milestones or markers.

If this is not the case, insert the Gantt chart, add objects and then open the Gantt chart settings again. The toggle button will then be available.

Adjust Default Settings

On the right-hand side, you can make adjustments to the default settings for Gantt charts.

To make changes to the regional settings, follow the following steps:

  1. To select your regional settings, expand the drop-down menu for Regional Settings and choose the region your Gantt chart should comply with (Figure 9, “Regional Settings and Date Format” (1)).

Figure 9. Regional Settings and Date Format

Regional Settings and Date Format

  1. To change the week start and weekend settings, click on the gear symbol (Figure 10, “Gear Symbol for Regional Settings”).

    Here, you can decide which days should be displayed as the first day of the week and as weekends.

  2. To choose your preferred date format, expand the drop-down menu for Default Date Format and choose the format you want to use (Figure 9, “Regional Settings and Date Format” (2)).

    The available formats depend on the selected regional settings.

    If you choose to apply a custom date format, a dialog box opens.

Figure 10. Gear Symbol for Regional Settings

Gear Symbol for Regional Settings

  1. Here, either choose a format from the list or enter a new one into the input field.

    A preview is displayed above the input field.

  2. Then, click on the button OK.

  1. If you want to apply the selected date format to all elements in your Gantt chart, tick the checkbox for Apply to All Elements (Figure 11, “Apply Date Format to All Elements”).

    This option is only available if you are editing the settings for an existing Gantt chart. During the creation of a Gantt chart, the default date format is automatically applied to all Gantt chart objects.

Figure 11. Apply Date Format to All Elements

Apply Date Format to All Elements

Note

If the regional setting International is used, the Gantt chart will be displayed in the current Office language.

Note

For further information regarding the default Gantt region, see User Settings.

If you want to use the default header settings, switch the toggle button for Recommended Header Settings to On (Figure 12, “Toggle Button for Recommended Header Settings”).

Figure 12. Toggle Button for Recommended Header Settings

Toggle Button for Recommended Header Settings

If you want to adjust the header settings, switch the toggle button to Off and follow the following steps:

  1. Tick the checkboxes for the units you want to include in the Gantt chart (Figure 13, “Choose Time Units”).

Figure 13. Choose Time Units

Choose Time Units

  1. Click on the painting bucket symbol next to a unit and choose a color (Figure 14, “Choose Colors”).

    This color will be used as fill color for the unit's bars in the Gantt chart.

Figure 14. Choose Colors

Choose Colors

  1. If you enabled the unit Year, click on the gear symbol next to it (Figure 15, “Gear Symbols for Time Units”).

    1. If you want to show vertical lines in the Gantt chart to make the unit more visible, tick the checkbox for Show Vertical Lines.

  2. If you enabled the unit Quarter, click on the gear symbol next to it.

    1. If you want to show vertical lines in the Gantt chart to make the unit more visible, tick the checkbox for Show Vertical Lines.

    2. Choose the format in which you want to display the labels.

      You can choose between Short, Number and Company.

  3. If you enabled the unit Month, click on the gear symbol next to it.

    1. If you want to show vertical lines in the Gantt chart to make the unit more visible, tick the checkbox for Show Vertical Lines.

    2. Choose the format in which you want to display the labels.

      You can choose between Automatic, Long Name, Short Name, Letter and Number.

  4. If you enabled the unit Week, click on the gear symbol next to it.

    1. If you want to show vertical lines in the Gantt chart to make the unit more visible, tick the checkbox for Show Vertical Lines.

    2. Choose the format in which you want to display the labels.

      You can choose between Calendar Week, Short Week Start, Long Week Start, Short Week Duration and Long Week Duration.

  5. If you enabled the unit Day, click on the gear symbol next to it.

    1. If you want to show vertical lines in the Gantt chart to make the unit more visible, tick the checkbox for Show Vertical Lines.

    2. Choose the format in which you want to display the labels.

      You can choose between Numbers, Weekdays (m) and Weekdays (Mon).

Figure 15. Gear Symbols for Time Units

Gear Symbols for Time Units

  1. If you want to display weekends in your chart, tick the checkbox for Show Weekends (Figure 16, “Checkbox for Show Weekends”).

Figure 16. Checkbox for Show Weekends

Checkbox for Show Weekends

  1. Define the header font size by expanding the drop-down menu for Header Font Size and choosing the size (Figure 17, “Choose Header Font Size”).

Figure 17. Choose Header Font Size

Choose Header Font Size

Note

Between the painting bucket symbols and the gear symbol, you can see a preview of what the different time axis levels for the time units will look like in the Gantt chart according to your settings (Figure 18, “Header Preview”).

Figure 18. Header Preview

Header Preview

Note

For further information regarding custom colors, see Use Custom Colors.

To define the content of the Gantt chart, follow the following steps:

  1. If you want to show phases in your Gantt chart, switch the toggle button for Show Phases to On (Figure 19, “Define Rows and Phases” (1)).

  2. Under Phases, define the number of phases to be displayed (Figure 19, “Define Rows and Phases” (2)).

    Either type in a number or use the arrow symbols to increase or decrease the value.

  3. Under Rows per Phase, define the number of rows to be displayed per phase (Figure 19, “Define Rows and Phases” (2)).

    Either type in a number or use the arrow symbols to increase or decrease the value.

Figure 19. Define Rows and Phases

Define Rows and Phases

Under Notes Area, decide if you want to display the first and the second column, both or none.

To do so, switch the toggle button to On or Off (Figure 20, “Enable and Disable Notes Areas”).

If you have finished adjusting the settings, click on the button OK to insert the Gantt chart.

Figure 20. Enable and Disable Notes Areas

Enable and Disable Notes Areas

Note

If you need more phases or rows while editing the Gantt chart, you can add them directly in the chart.

For further information regarding phases and rows, see Add Rows and Phases.

Note

If you want to enable or disable the notes sections later on, you can access this setting via the button Properties in the action bar.

For further information regarding the properties, see Edit Gantt Chart Properties.

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