Gantt Chart Template Pro is a spreadsheet designed for Excel and Google Sheets that makes creating project schedules easy, without using any VBA or macros. It includes many features that make it more powerful than our free gantt chart or project schedule template.

New Version 5.0 - 1/1/2021: New look, new features, improved logic, and new help content.

Use Work Days to Define Task Durations

Gantt Chart Pro provides multiple options for defining Task Durations, including entering Work Days, Calendar Days or the End Date. Version 5.0 includes improved logic and options for calculating the task Start and End based on what you enter in the Task Start and Task Duration columns.

Customize Holidays

You can customize the dates listed in the Holidays worksheet. They are treated as non-work days and are highlighted green in the Gantt Chart (like May 31 above).

Customize Weekend Days

Choose which days of the week to define as the weekend in the Help & Settings worksheet. The default weekend is Saturday and Sunday. Weekends are highlighted in the Daily view of the Gantt Chart.

Choose Different Colors for Tasks

Change the color of the bars in the chart by selecting from a predefined set of of colors. The standard colors are B=Blue, G=Green, P=Purple, K=Black, X=Gray, R=Red, O=Orange and Y=Yellow. Color codes 1-6 refer to the 6 accent theme colors in Excel.

Change the Display to Daily, Weekly, Monthly

The most commonly requested views for the gantt chart are Daily and Weekly, but we've also included Monthly and Quarterly options. Simply select the Display option from the drop-down at the top of the worksheet.

A scroll bar is not available in Excel Online or Google Sheets, but you can change the display by modifying the display Week number.

Show Sequential or ISO Week Numbers

If you want to show ISO week numbers (1-53) instead of sequential numbers in the column labels, you can choose that option in the Help & Settings worksheet. Sequential week numbers are relative to the Project Start date, while ISO week numbers are based on the week of the year (1-53).

Automatic WBS Numbering

The spreadsheet uses formulas in the WBS column to automatically create the outline-style Work Breakdown Structure numbers for each task.

You can insert and delete tasks without having to manually change task IDs. All you need to do is enter the task level (1,2,3,4) in the WBS Level column.

Inserting Rows

One of the most important things to remember when using Gantt Chart Pro is to always copy an entire row down after inserting new rows so that all of the formulas used in the calculated columns and gantt chart area are copied into the newly inserted rows.

Automatic Indenting

Gantt Chart Pro for Excel uses conditional formatting rules and custom number formatting to automatically indent the task description based on the WBS Level. This is not yet possible in Google Sheets.

Excel Tip: The video shows how to fill multiple cells with the same value: Select the cells, type the value, then press Ctrl+Enter.

Create Dependencies Using Predecessors

The most common task dependency, known as the Finish-to-Start (FS) dependency, is a task that starts the next work day after the predecessor task ends. We've made this very easy to do. Simply use a formula in the Predecessor column to reference the WBS of the predecessor task.

Multiple Predecessors

Some tasks depend on the completion of more than one other task. Gantt Chart Pro lets you define up to 3 predecessors per task. Unhide the extra predecessor columns if you want to use them (see the video above).

Specify Lead or Lag with Predecessors

Update 12/1/2021: There is now a new Lead/Lag column hidden by default right after the Predecessors columns. Using this optional column will make the task start X work days after (Lead) or before (Lag) the end date of the predecessor. Enter a positive value for Lead or a negative value for Lag. This column only works in combination with the Predecessors column(s).

Other Dependency Types: SS, FF, SF

Other dependency types can be created using spreadsheet formulas to set the Start Date or End Date (input columns I or L in the above video) equal to the Start or End date of another task (referencing column P or Q for that task). These may be very simple formulas or may get as complex as your spreadsheet skills allow.

For example, to make a Start-to-Start (SS) dependency, edit cell I16 by entering =P15 to set the start date in cell I16 equal to the date in cell P15. The process is similar for a Finish-to-Finish (FF) dependency where you set the end date of one task equal to the end date of another task. A Start-to-Finish (SF) dependency may involve a scenario where you need to start task B a number of days before task A ends, such as the formula =Q15-3 (where Q is the End date column and you are subtracting 3 days).

Track Your Progress

The video below demonstrates some of the features related to tracking your project's progress, including the % Done column, the new Priority column and the new Show Overdue option.

Using Gantt Chart Pro

Getting Started

Mark Milestones with a Diamond

Use Freeze Panes to Aid in Scrolling

Calculate Start and End Dates for Summary Tasks

Show Planned vs. Actual

Grouping Tasks

Assign Budget to Each Task

Expand the Number of Columns in the Chart

Videos for Older Versions 4 or Earlier

FAQ

We also use our blog to provide answers to common questions and other technical support for Gantt Chart Template Pro. The following are quick links to areas on our "Technical Support" page.

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