This article will explain how to access your BigTime Gantt chart. It’ll also highlight several features to help you get the most from this feature. Let’s get started.
Get to Your Gantt Chart
Our Gantt chart feature is under "Schedule" in BigTime. Follow the steps below to get to it.
1. Click MY COMPANY...PROJECT LIST from your navigation bar.
2. Select a project from your Project List.
3. Click TASKS on your Project Dashboard, then click SCHEDULE.
Your Gantt chart will look like this:
Here’s a high-level explanation of what you’re looking at:
- The toolbar runs along the top of the Gantt chart. It contains several options that’ll help improve your productivity and allow you to customize your workflow. These options are explained in detail in the section below.
- Columns with project-related information appear on the left-side of your Gantt chart window. “Task” and “Start” are the two columns in the image above. The column with the “+” signs allow you to add more subtasks.
- Colored blocks on the right side of your window make up the Gantt chart itself. We’ll show you how to expand this view for a clean look at your project in the section below.
The Tools on Your Toolbar and Other Gantt Chart Options
This section will explain how to use the many options on your Gantt chart window. Before we get started, let’s expand our view so we can clearly and easily see the details of our Gantt chart.
Toolbar Options
Now, we’ll move left to right across the toolbar and explain each feature.
DAY, WEEK, AND MONTH change the view of your Gantt chart. Drill into daily view or expand out to the monthly view. Or toggle among them.
AUTO-SCHEDULE allows you to easily shift a task or subtask and all of its dependencies. See the cascade effect of how changing one affects others.
HIDE CRITICAL PATH hides the Critical Path from your Gantt chart. Restore it by re-clicking on the HIDE CRITICAL PATH hyperlink.
The Critical Path is a visual indicator to see what must get done in order to complete a project. It also shows the quickest time frame you can expect to complete a project. In the image below, the red blocks are tasks that are on the Critical Path.
GO TO TODAY adds a gray line to your Gantt chart, which indicates where you are in your project as of today.
Search a keyword in the search box. For example, we searched for a specific task, and our Gantt chart populated with the result.
The white triangle next to the button with the horizontal lines allows you to collapse or expand the view of your tasks and subtasks on your Gantt chart.
COLLAPSE ALL only shows your tasks, and hides your subtasks.
EXPAND ALL shows both your tasks and subtasks.
THE GEAR ICON allows you to add or remove columns to your Gantt chart. A picklist will populate, and you can make your selections or removals.
Other Major Gantt Chart Options
There are several more options to know about as you get started with Gantt charts in BigTime.
Add LAG TIME to set a delay between linked tasks and extend the due date. Lag time, which is measured in days, is handy to use if you’re running behind with a project deliverable. Or allow time for customer feedback before starting the next task. Double click on a link between two tasks to add lag time.
Click the DOUBLE ARROWS to expand your Gantt chart view and shrink your columns.
Click the PLUS SIGN to add a subtask to an existing task. A new window will pop up, where you can add all relevant subtask details.
Add a Task by clicking ADD A TASK near the bottom of your window. A window will populate where you can add relevant task details. You can also hide completed tasks by checking the box next to the phrase HIDE COMPLETE TASKS.
Perhaps most important of all is the SAVE button, near the bottom-right of your window. Be sure to click SAVE to save your work after you make any changes.