6 min read

Feature

Need 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! It 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 toolbar, and click on the "Gantt Chart" icon. Once selected, click anywhere on your canvas to paste the element. 

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 top right-hand corner of the Gantt. The new row and column will be added to the left of the Gantt. 

Clicking on a row or column will open an editing menu. From here, you can change the color of the row and column and add additional rows and columns. 

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 or row from your Gantt, click on the blue line that appears above the column, or on a cell in the row you want to delete, and select the "Trash" icon from the menu that appears. 

Define a 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 an 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 dates 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. 

• Select a time period

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

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. 

Once you have added a task, double-click on it 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. Here, you can edit the task's name and add a description.

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. 

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. 

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

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

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 helps 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. 

When there is a dependency between tasks, if the date of the first task is shifted, the dependent task will also shift to reflect the new timeline. 

Note: To delete a dependency line, click on the line, and a "Trash" icon will appear. Click on the icon, and your dependency line will be removed.

Gantt integration with monday boards

The Gantt element on your canvas can also be set up to dynamically sync with your monday boards. This two-way sync enables you to input existing monday tasks from your board into the Gantt chart on your WorkCanvas, as well as create tasks on your canvas to be added to your monday boards. 

• Create tasks from WorkCanvas 

You can create tasks on your WorkCanvas to place into your Gantt and then add as monday.com items on your synced board! Once a task has been created and placed within your Gantt element, click on the task and select "Convert" from the menu. 

From the window that appears, select which board and group you would like to add the item to. You can then further map out the information to sync with your board's columns by clicking on the dropdown arrow next to each field and choosing which information to pair with which columns, e.g., the Dropdown Column. 

Any changes made to the item on your canvas will be reflected in the board item, and vice versa. 

The Gantt task information can be mapped to the following columns: 

• Task text- default item name column
• Assignee- People Column
• Date range- Timeline or Date Columns
• Tags- Dropdown Column
• Task description- Updates section

By clicking on the expand "arrows" icon in the top right corner of the task, you will be redirected to your board, where you will see your newly created item. 

Note: If your monday board does not contain the columns needed to map out the Gantt task information, a note will appear informing you that the columns are missing and the information that will not be mapped. 

• Insert monday items into WorkCanvas Gantt 

Firstly, you need to connect your Canvas to a monday board. Click on the "monday.com integration" icon at the bottom of your toolbar. Click on "Import items," and from the search bar at the top of the integration window, select the board with which you would like to integrate your Canvas. 

Once you have selected your board, all items on that board will appear as task cards in the left-hand pane. Click on a task you want to add to your Gantt element, and drag and drop the task onto your Gantt. A new settings window will appear in the left-hand pane, prompting you to set up the integration of the task. Choose whether to define the dates of the item by Timeline or Date. 

Once the integration has been set up, you can drag and drop the item card into the Gantt. Wherever you insert the item card on the Gantt, its timeline will automatically be updated on both the canvas item card and the item on your monday board.

Tip: If you wish to maintain the original start date of the monday item you are inserting into your Gantt, be sure to note the original timeline and place the task within the correct start date on the Gantt.