Navigating a Gantt chart is essential for project managers and team members to understand the project timeline, dependencies, and progress. By using its features such as task dependencies, milestones, and progress tracking, you can keep your project on track and ensure its successful completion. 

This article will guide you on navigating the different areas of the gantt chart.

Gantt Chart View

Selecting Edit Gantt from the project workspace will take you to the Gantt page where you can create and manage your project schedule plan.

		The left side of the Gantt view displays the list of scheduled tasks that constitute your project plan. This section provides an organised overview of all tasks, allowing you to see how each task fits into the overall project timeline and plan.  You can re-order line items by simply clicking and dragging them up or down the list. At a glance you can see the following for each item/columns: The unique identifier; Name of the assignee; Duration (in number of days) of the task; Due date of the task;  % completion; and A count of the chat entries. The columns can be customised to suit your reporting needs. To do this, select the "Schedule Columns" toggle, which will display a list of columns to choose from.
The intuitive drag-and-drop interface on the right side of the Gantt view allows you to: Change the start and end times, as well as the duration of the tasks  Set the percentage of task completion Establish task dependencies between Gantt items, including Finish-to-Finish, Start-to-Finish, Start-to-Start, and Finish-to-Start. Set a delay (lag) between linked tasks by double-clicking on the dependency link.

The Gantt Chart View Tool Bar

The toolbar in the Gantt view offers various functions to help you efficiently manage and customise your project plan. Here are the key features:

1. New Task: Create a new schedule item by clicking on the New Task button. To create a child item under an existing task, click on the icon next to the item.
   
   
2. Indent and Outdent: Use these buttons to create and modify task hierarchies. Indent a task to make it a subtask of the task above it, and outdent a task to move it out of the hierarchy.
   
   
3. Undo and Redo: Quickly reverse or reapply recent changes to your schedule. Use the Undo button to revert the last action and the Redo button to reapply it if needed.
   
   
4. Expand and Collapse: Easily manage large schedules by expanding or collapsing all parent and subtask items. This helps you focus on specific sections of your project.
   
   
5. Replan the Schedule: Use this feature to recalculate your project plan based on the dependencies (linked tasks). It ensures that changes in one task are reflected throughout the schedule, maintaining logical consistency.
   
   
6. Baseline the Schedule: Capture the original start and end dates of tasks to compare them with the current dates. This helps in tracking deviations from the initial plan. Learn more on schedule baseline, click here.
   
   
7. Show Critical Path: Highlight all tasks and dependencies that lie on the critical path of your project. This view shows the shortest timeline in which the project can be completed, helping to identify crucial tasks that could impact the project’s completion date.
   
   
8. Include Weekends: Toggle this option to include or exclude weekends (Saturday and Sunday) from your schedule. By default, weekends are excluded. Adjusting this setting can impact the duration calculations of your tasks. More details on this feature can be found here.

9. Search Schedule Items: Use the search function to quickly locate specific tasks within your schedule.
   
   
10. Zoom the Schedule Display: Adjust the timeline view by zooming in or out to display tasks by day, week, month, quarter, or year. This flexibility helps in reviewing both detailed and high-level overviews of your project.
     
11. Schedule Columns: Toggle to customise which columns are displayed in your Gantt view. This allows you to tailor the view to your specific reporting needs.
    
    
12. Refresh: Refresh the Gantt chart to ensure you are viewing the most current data. This is useful after making multiple changes or updates to the schedule.

This comprehensive toolbar guide helps project managers and team members navigate and utilise the Gantt chart effectively, ensuring efficient project management and successful project outcomes.