Customizing Activity Layouts

Change a Gantt Chart bar's style - under Gantt Chart

1)Choose View, Bars.

You can also click the Layout Options bar and choose Bars.

2)Select the Gantt Chart bar for which you want to change the display style.

3)Click the Bar Style tab.

4)To change the shape of the bar’s Start Endpoint (first field), the height and position of the bar (second field), and Finish Endpoint (end field), click each corresponding field and select a shape.

5)To change the color of the bar’s Start Endpoint (first field), body (second field), and the Finish Endpoint (end field), click each corresponding field and select a color.

6)To change the pattern of the bar’s Start Endpoint (first field), body (second field), and Finish Endpoint (end field), click each corresponding field and select a pattern.

7)In the Options section, specify whether to show the bar when collapsed, as summary bars only, or both.

8)Specify a row.

Rows indicate where the bars should be drawn on the Gantt Chart: bars can be drawn stacked one above another, or occupying the same row so that only some of the bars are visible.

9)Click OK.

To view your changes without closing this dialog box, click Apply.

Note

Bars are drawn on the Gantt Chart according to their position in the Bars dialog box. When the bars are stacked, bars higher up the list are drawn overlapping bars that are lower in the list when these bars occupy the same row. If a bar low down on the list occupies the same row as a bar higher up the list and has the same dates, the lower bar might be obscured by the higher bar.

Change a Gantt Chart bar's timescale - under Gantt Chart

1)Choose View, Bars.

You can also click the Layout Options bar and choose Bars.

2)Select the Gantt Chart bar for which you want to change the timescale.

3)In the Timescale column, select the timescale you want the Gantt Chart bar to represent.

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4)Click OK.

To view your changes without closing this dialog box, click Apply.

Change an activity's start and finish dates in the Gantt Chart

1)Move the mouse pointer over the activity’s Gantt Chart bar end until it displays a hand pointer.

2)Click and hold the mouse button.

To move the activity’s start date and finish date back in time, drag the bar to the left.

To move the activity’s start date and finish date forward in time, drag the bar to the right.

Notes

You cannot move the activity if the activity has already started.

Changing a bar’s position in the Gantt Chart does not affect activity duration.

When you change a start or finish date, depending on your application settings, a dialog box may display to prompt you to enter a constraint. To accept the constraint, click Yes in the Confirmation dialog box. If you specify start and/or finish dates without applying Must Start On or Must Finish On constraints, the dates you enter may be changed when the project is scheduled.

If resources are assigned to the activity, and the resource assignment has manual future period values, the values may be affected when you change the activity start or finish dates.

Delete a bar from the Gantt Chart

1)Choose View, Bars.

You can also click the Layout Options bar and choose Bars.

2)Select the Gantt Chart bar that you want to delete.

3)Click Delete.

Tip

To remove the Gantt Chart bar from the Gantt Chart display without deleting it, you can clear the Display checkbox.

Change an activity's duration in the Gantt Chart

1)Move your mouse over the right end of an activity’s Gantt Chart bar until it displays a double-ended arrow.

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2)Click and hold the mouse button.

To increase the duration of the activity, drag the bar to the right.

To decrease the duration of the activity, drag the bar to the left.

Notes

If resources are assigned to the activity, the activity’s labor/ nonlabor units or the activity's resource assignment units per time are adjusted when you change the activity’s duration in accordance with the activity’s duration type.

If resources are assigned to the activity, and the resource assignment has manual future period values, the values may be affected when you change the activity duration.

Add a curtain attachment in a Gantt Chart

1)In the Activities window, click the Layout Options bar and choose Attachments, Curtain, Add Curtain.

2)Mark the 'Display curtain attachment' checkbox.

3)Click to select the Start and Finish Dates.

4)Select the color to use for the curtain.

5)Select the fill pattern for the curtain date range.

6)Click OK.

Tip

When you add a curtain attachment, it is added to the open layout, not the open project(s). If you save the open layout after adding a curtain attachment, the attachment is saved as part of the layout. The curtain attachment is then displayed whenever you view the layout, unless you subsequently choose to delete or hide the curtain attachment.

Notes

The data range defaults to the longest date interval. For example, if the date interval is Month/Week, the default range will be one month.

You can manually shift the entire curtain or change the start and finish dates of the curtain display. Move the mouse pointer over the curtain and click and drag the curtain to the new dates.

Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving any changes.

Hide a curtain attachment in a Gantt Chart

1)Double-click on the selected curtain in the Gantt Chart.

2)Clear the Display curtain attachment checkbox in the Curtain Attachment dialog box.

3)Click OK.

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Tip

When you hide a curtain attachment contained in a saved layout, the attachment is not deleted from the layout. If you save the layout after hiding the attachment, the attachment is still available for display by all users who have access to the layout.

Add a text attachment to a Gantt Chart

1)In the Activities window, select the activity to which you want to add the attachment.

2)Click the Layout Options bar and choose Attachments, Text.

3)Click the Font button to select the attachment's font and font style.

4)Click OK.

Notes

Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving any changes.

The attachment text displays in the foreground of the Gantt Chart, wherever you click in the layout.

To modify an existing text attachment, double-click to select it, then modify it in the Text Attachment dialog box.

Remove a text attachment from a Gantt Chart

1)In the Gantt Chart, click to select the text attachment you want to remove.

2)Press the Delete key.

Attach notebook items to bars in a Gantt Chart

1)Click the Layout Options bar and choose Bars.

2)Click the Bar Labels tab.

3)Click Add to add a label, then select a position for the label.

4)Click in the Label field and select a notebook item from the list of available bar labels.

5)Click options to set the dimensions of the notebook item.

Notes

Only one notebook item can be attached to each bar.

Notebook items can be printed with the layout or published with the layout to the project Web site.

Hide all curtain attachments in the Gantt Chart

In the Activities window, click the Layout Options bar and choose Attachments, Curtain, Hide All. The Hide All menu item is only available if at least one curtain attachment is currently displayed in the Gantt Chart.

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