6 min read

Feature

Needing to visualize project timelines with their dependencies, in a clear and efficient way? We have the perfect solution for you 🌟

The Gantt element on WorkCanvas combines visual thinking with structured planning, ensuring your projects and processes run effectively.

What is a Gantt chart?

A Gantt chart is one of the most classic and useful ways of showing activities displayed against time! A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows a project’s planned schedule and its tasks or events between a start and finish date. Each bar in the Gantt chart represents a task, while the dates are laid out horizontally.

Add a Gantt

To add the Gantt element to your canvas, select the three dots at the bottom of your tool bar, and click on the "Gantt Chart" icon. Once selected, click anywhere on your canvas to paste the element.

WC- Add and Resize Gantt Element.gif

You can easily adjust the size of your Gantt element on your canvas by clicking on the square boxes in the corners of the Gantt, and dragging to resize it.

Tip: If you have added the Gantt element to your canvas and would like to add another, you will find the "Gantt Chart" icon on your toolbar, without having to click on the three dots.

Customize the Gantt

Now that you've added your Gantt element to your canvas, it's time to start customizing the chart to reflect your desired aesthetic and project's needs.

Add rows and columns

You can easily add additional rows and columns to the Gantt by clicking on the "+ Add row" or "+ Add column" buttons in the tope right-hand corner of the Gantt. The new row and column will be added to the left of the Gantt.

WC- Add Rows and Columns to Gantt Element.gif

By clicking on a row or column an editing menu will appear. From here you can change the color of the row and column, as well as add additional rows and columns. WC-Gantt RowsColumns Customize.gif

Note: To add text to a cell in your rows and columns, click on the cell and begin typing.

Delete columns and rows

To delete a column from your Gantt, click on the blue line that appears above the column and select the "Trash" icon from the menu that appears. WC- Gantt delete column.png

To delete a row, click on a cell in the row and select the "Trash" icon in the menu that appears.

WC-Delete Row.png

Define Gantt timeline

The Gantt can be adjusted to display the timeline of your projects. When you click on your Gantt, a menu bar will appear above the chart with a date picker and option to select which time period to display.

Select a start and end date

From within the date picker you can select the start and end date of your projects. The timeframe creates a visual map of the length of time allotted to that project. Click on the dropdown arrow to access the date picker. From here you can choose the start and end dates on the calendar.

WC-Gantt Define Timeline.gif

Select time period

By clicking on the "Calendar" icon next to the date picker, you can select the way in which you would like to view your project's timeline; either by days, weeks, months, or quarters.

WC-Gantt Define Time Measurement.gif

Create tasks on the Gantt

The tasks you add to the Gantt chart are the actionable items within a project. You can determine the due date of the task, provide a description, assign people responsible for the task, and add tags.

To add a task to your Gantt, you can either double click on the chart, or use the "+ Add task" button in the top right-hand corner.

WC- Gantt Add Tasks.png

Once you have added a task, double click on the task to input your text. You can also select the arrows in the top right-hand corner and the task card will expand to full view where you can also edit the name of the task, and add a description.

WC-Gantt Open Task Card (1).gif

From within the task card you will find other settings for the task such as adding tags, assigning the task to members on the account, and setting the task's due date.

WC- Open Task Card Settings.png

Note: You can copy and share a link to the specific task card by clicking on the "Link" icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the task card.

Move or delete tasks

The Gantt is dynamic and allows you to drag tasks across the chart to adjust their timeframe or placement. You can also easily delete a task from your Gantt if it is no longer relevant.

To move a task on your Gantt, simply drag and drop the task to where you would like it to appear on the Gantt. If you choose to move the task to a different row, the task will automatically change color to match that specific row.

WC-Gantt Move Tasks.gif

Tip: To adjust the date of tasks you can also extend the task by clicking and dragging the length of the task across the Gantt.

To delete a task you can either right click on the task and select "Delete" from the dropdown menu that appears, or open the task card and select "Delete" in the bottom right-hand corner.

WC-Gantt Delete Task.gif

Create dependencies on your Gantt

One of the best features of the Gantt is being able to easily visualize dependencies between your items with lines. The dependency line connects a task with another task that is immediately dependent upon its completion. The dependency line help us clearly see the connections between our tasks.

To add a dependency, hover over the side of the task where a blue "+" icon will appear. Click on the "+" icon and drag the line to the corresponding task.

WC-Gantt Add Dependencies.gif