how to create a gantt chart in excel _ smartsheet

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Jodi Sorensen's blog - July 8, 2013 - 12:00 am

I like Excel. I use it daily. In companies and homes all over the world, people use Excelfor everything – from a makeshift calculator to tracking massive projects. Given thesoftware's omnipresence, it’s no wonder so many people try to repurpose it for tasks thatExcel was never meant to do.

To demonstrate, I created this How to Create a Gantt chart in Excel tutorial. I'll showyou how to create an Excel Gantt chart, then I'll demonstrate how the Smartsheet online

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How to Create a Gantt Chart in Excel | Smartsheet http://www.smartsheet.com/blog/gantt-chart-excel

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Gantt charts make it easy to visualize project management timelines by transforming task names, startdates, durations, and end dates into cascading horizontal bar charts.

An Excel Gantt chart

1. Create a Task Table

List each task in your project in start date order from beginning to end. Include the task name, start date,duration, and end date.

Make your list as complete as possible. Because of Excel's limitations, adding steps or extending out mayforce you to reformat your entire chart.

2. Build a Bar Chart

On the top menu, select Insert, and then click on the Bar chart icon. When the drop-down menu appears,choose the flat Stacked Bar Chart, highlighted in yellow below. This will insert a blank chart onto yourspreadsheet.


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Add Start Date data.

Position your mouse over the empty Excel chart and right click. Then, left click on Select Data. TheSelect Data Source window will appear.

1.

Under Legend Entries (Series), click Add. This will take you to the Edit Series window.2.Click in the empty Series name: form field first, then click on the table cell that reads Start Date.3.Click on the icon at the end of the Series values field. The icon is a small spreadsheet with a redarrow (the lower icon). This will open the Edit Series window. Click on the first Start Date, 3/1 inmy example, and drag your mouse down to the last Start Date. After the right dates are highlighted,click on the icon at the end of the Edit Series form. The window will close and the previous windowwill reopen. Select OK. Your start dates are now in the Gantt chart.

4.

Next, add the Durations column using the same procedure you used to add the start dates.

Under Legend Entries (Series), click on Add.1.Click in the empty Series name: form field first, then click on the table cell that reads Duration.2.Click on the icon at the end of the Series values field. The icon is a small spreadsheet with a redarrow (the lower icon). This will open the Edit Series window. Click on the first Duration, it is 5 inmy example, and drag your mouse down to the last Duration. After the durations are highlighted,click on the icon at the end of the Edit Series form. The window will close and the previous windowwill reopen. Select OK. Your durations are now in your Gantt chart.

3.


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Change the dates on the left side of the chart into a list of tasks.

Click on any bar in the chart, then right click, then open Select Data.1.Under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels, click on edit.2.Using your mouse, highlight the names of your tasks. Be careful not to include the name of thecolumn itself, Task.

3.

Click on OK.4.Click OK again.5.

Your Gantt chart ought to look like this:


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3. Format Your Gantt chart

What you have is a stacked bar chart. The starting dates are blue and the durations are red.

Notice your tasks are in reverse order. To fix this, click on the list of tasks to select them, then right clickover the list and choose Format Axis. Select the checkbox Categories in reverse order and Close.

To give your Gantt chart more space delete the Start Date, Duration legend on the right. Select it withyour mouse, then hit delete.

Hide the blue portions of each bar. Clicking on the blue part of any bar will select all of them. Then, rightclick and choose Format Data Series.

Click on Fill then select No fill.1.Click on Border Color then select No line.2.

You're almost finished. You just need to remove the empty white space at the start of your Gantt chart:

Click on the first Start Date in your data table. Right click over it, select Format Cells, then General.Write down the number you see. In my case it is 41334 Hit Cancel because you do not want toactually make or any change here.

1.

In the Gantt chart, select the dates above the bars, right click and choose Format Axis.2.Change Minimum to Fixed and enter the number you recorded.3.Change Major unit to Fixed and enter 2, for every other day. You can play with this to see whatworks best for you.

4.

Select Close.5.


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If you want to make your Gantt chart look a little nicer, remove most of the white space between the bars.

Click on the top red bar.1.Right click and select Format Data Series.2.Set Separated to 100% and Gap Width to 0%.3.


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You are finished. Your Gantt chart should look like this:

This is a lot to remember.

While your Excel Gantt chart may look clean, it is not exactly serviceable.

The chart does not resize when you add new tasks.It’s hard to read. There is no grid or daily labeling.


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You cannot change a start date, duration or end date and have the other values adjust automatically.You cannot share the chart with others or give them viewer, editor, or administrator status.You cannot publish an Excel Gantt chart as an interactive web page which your team members canread and update.

It is possible to create more complete Gantt charts in Excel, however, they are more complicated to setupand maintain. The things that make Gantt charts useful, sharable, and collaborative cannot beaccomplished with Excel.

In Smartsheet, to make a Gantt chart:

Select Create a New Sheet1.Select Project Sheet2.

Smartsheet will prompt you to name your sheet with the Gantt chart. From there, you're good to go. Youcan start entering your task list.


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Add task names for each task, two of either the start date, duration, or end date. When you enter two ofthese, Smartsheet populates the rest. From here, when you change any of the three variables, the othertwo will automatically recalculate.

The other thing Smartsheet adds automatically are your horizontal bars. Unlike in Excel, there is no needto format anything. Smartsheet does it for you.

Another well-designed feature, when you use your mouse to click and drag either end of any green bar,Smartsheet changes the matching dates and durations in the task table. From here you can add additionalGantt data such as predecessors and task groups.

You can even switch to Smartsheet's calendar view.

Already your simple Smartsheet is far more functional and responsive than an Excel Gantt chart, andyou're just getting started. Watch our video to learn even more.


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See for yourself. If you don't own a Smartsheet account, try one on us. Get a free 30 day trial with nothingto install.

Thank you!

May 9, 2013 - 2:46 pm — Eamon Healey (not verified)I have a serviceable gantt chart in a spreadsheet thanks to you .. and now I know about another solutionfor a better tool that *isn't* MS Project. I will be evaluating smartsheet! thanks again!reply

How do I add additional info to my calendar from my Gnatt Chart

June 12, 2013 - 5:18 pm — N. Grammater (not verified)I would like to add an additional comment that shows up after the 'Assigned To' comment. Is this possible?

reply

How to plan around weekends

September 28, 2013 - 3:09 pm — Anonymous (not verified)A task will take 6 days to complete, but no one will be working on it over the weekend. Setting workingdays for M-F, how can the gantt reflect that?reply

Gantt Chart

November 17, 2013 - 11:01 pm — Danny (not verified)Thanks for this. It's great instructions! : ) I followed it step by step and got a simple Gantt Chart done.

reply

Hours and Minutes Duration

November 20, 2013 - 12:41 pm — Charlie (not verified)How can I change it so that the Gantt Chart Duration is in Hours and Minutes, not days?


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reply

I want to know if I can

November 25, 2013 - 1:53 am — Anonymous (not verified)I want to know if I can export the gantt chart to a word document?reply

How do I place one task on every monday of the week?

January 20, 2014 - 2:03 pm — Anonymous (not verified)I want to layout a task on the GANTT chart so that it is filled in on every monday for a month. I wouldlike to know how I would be able to do this so that it is all on one line and not separated on different linesso it doesn't look like a different task?reply

Gantt Chart in Excel

March 4, 2014 - 8:24 am — Anonymous (not verified)Thank you so much! Step by step detailed instructions helped to learn and create Gantt chart quickly. It isreally helpful.reply

A big Thank you!

March 6, 2014 - 4:37 am — Anonymous (not verified)I can't truly thank you enough for these detailed instructions....you just saved my day...Thank you so muchreply

I Love this...my project

March 11, 2014 - 8:58 pm — Nnamdi (not verified)I Love this...my project supervisor asked me to draw a gantt chart... I had No idea how to do itprofessionally. Thanks a million

reply

Milestones

April 7, 2014 - 8:49 am — Anonymous (not verified)Thank you! I was looking for a tool to display my milestones and read about Gantt chart during my studiesfor CPLP. I search the web for instructions and yours were the best. I did it in no time. Thanks for thesharing of knowledge.reply

Great help

April 14, 2014 - 7:56 pm — Kyle (not verified)Thank you so much, this was a snap.reply

Life Savers!

April 15, 2014 - 8:31 pm — Sam Matankari (not verified)


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I'm doing this operations management plan and needed to do a Gantt chart and you guys totally camethrough, Thanks.reply

Weekend shading

August 5, 2014 - 2:02 pm — Jen (not verified)thanks for the great tutorial. Also, good to know there are options to MS Project. I added shading forweekends to the background. Select chart, right click and "format chart area" - change properties to "don'tmove or size with cells" - change fill to "no fill" - resize the columns behind the chart and style as neededreply

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how to create a gantt chart in excel _ smartsheet

Documents

excel chart

bar chart icon

edit series window

edit series form

entire chart

blank chart

start dates

series values field