Gantt Chart

Tagline: Build the schedule where you work — grid on the left, bars on the right.

Project → Gantt is the primary schedule workspace in ProjectLibre Cloud. You enter task names and durations in the spreadsheet, watch bars appear on the timeline, indent into a WBS, link dependencies, save baselines, assign resources, edit task details, split interrupted work, zoom the scale, and customize columns — all from one view.

This chapter walks the end-to-end create from blank Gantt path shown in the Gantt Chart create project video (~7:13). Deep dives for critical path math, calendars, constraints, and EVM live in sibling chapters — this section teaches the Gantt surface and points you there.

See also: Linking Tasks · Scheduling · Assigning Resources · Resources · Resource Leveling · WBS · Network Diagram · Create project manually · Performance Management (EVM) · Field Configuration

Watch: Gantt Chart create project (~7:13).

Blank Project → Gantt — enter Summary on the spreadsheet — from Gantt Chart create project.

Project → Gantt — primary schedule workspace

Open a project from Portfolio (eye / view control on the row), then stay on Project → Gantt in the left sidebar. The center title shows the project name (demo: New Project). The view is two panes:

• Left — spreadsheet with columns such as ID, Name, Duration, Percent Complete, and Predecessors (plus Start / Finish when activated).

• Right — Gantt bars on a time scale: summary brackets, task bars, milestone diamonds, dependency arrows, and baseline underlays.

Toolbar highlights from the demo: + Create, AI (sparkle — covered in the AI chapter), people (Assign Resources), edit/pencil, Save Baselines, Zoom Out / Zoom In, filter, and settings. Sibling views under Project include WBS, Network, and Usage — use them when hierarchy or logic needs a different lens; build day-to-day on the Gantt.

Starting blank? See also Blank — create manually.

Enter tasks, durations, and milestones

In the Name column, type your tasks. The demo builds: Summary, Design, Development, Document, Test, and Product rollout.

Set Duration as you go. Demo values: Design / Development / Test at 10d, Document at 5d, and Product rollout at 0d.

Milestone tip: a 0d duration draws a black diamond on the timeline — the standard marker for a milestone event rather than a work bar.

Enter task names on the Gantt spreadsheet — from Gantt Chart create project.

0d Product rollout — black diamond milestone — from Gantt Chart create project.

Critical path colors on the Gantt

As soon as tasks have durations (and especially after you link them), bar color tells you float vs critical:

• Red / pink bars ≈ critical — little or no float; slip tends to move the finish.

• Blue / purple bars ≈ non-critical — they have float (slack).

This chapter shows the colors in context while you build. For the fuller teaching of summaries, rollup, and critical path, see Scheduling — Summaries & critical path and Critical path colors.

Durations with red (critical) and blue (float) bars — from Gantt Chart create project.

Indent → Summary / WBS rollup

Select the child tasks under your summary row, then use the toolbar Indent control. Children nest under Summary; a chevron appears so you can collapse or expand. Duration, Start, and Finish roll up to the parent (demo summary later shows 30d, then 36d after splits and links).

The indentation structure is your WBS on the Gantt. For both Indent and Project → WBS chart, see Work Breakdown Structure — especially Indent in Gantt and Rollup.

Indent children under Summary — WBS hierarchy — from Gantt Chart create project.

Link tasks — arrows and Predecessors

You can link in two ways on the Gantt workspace:

1. Graphically — draw dependency arrows between bars on the chart. Default type is Finish to Start (FS).

2. Predecessors column — type predecessor IDs or typed codes. Examples from the demo: 2 (FS to ID 2), 2FF (Finish to Finish), 3;4 (multiple predecessors).

Click an existing link arrow to open Edit Task Dependency. Fields: Predecessor, Successor, Dependency Type, and Lag (Days). Types shown in this video: Finish to Start (FS), Start to Start (SS), Finish to Finish (FF). Actions: Delete, Cancel, Save Changes.

Demo sequence on Design → Document: change FS → SS, set Lag (Days) = 2, and also show FF (column ends as 2FF). When logic shifts, a saved baseline underlay stays anchored for comparison.

Deep dive on relationship types and offsets: Linking Tasks and Dependencies. Logic-first editing also appears on the Network Diagram.

Link tasks graphically with dependency arrows — from Gantt Chart create project.

Predecessors column — FS links by ID — from Gantt Chart create project.

Edit Task Dependency — Finish to Start (FS) — from Gantt Chart create project.

Edit Task Dependency — Lag (Days) = 2 — from Gantt Chart create project.

Edit Task Dependency — Finish to Finish (FF) — from Gantt Chart create project.

Save Baseline from the Gantt

On the Gantt toolbar, open the baseline control (tooltip Save Baselines / SaveBaselines). Dialog title: Save Baseline.

1. Save baseline to — choose a slot. ProjectLibre offers 11 baseline slots.

2. Check Entire project for a full snapshot (helper text: if unchecked, applies only to selected tasks).

3. Save Baseline (or Cancel). Optional: Clear Baseline.

After save, a thin baseline line appears under / through the live bars and stays anchored when the schedule moves — useful for scope and schedule change comparison.

Full baselines teaching (including selected-task saves and EVM use of the plan): Scheduling — Baselines · Save Baseline · EVM — baseline & status date.

Save Baseline dialog — choose slot and Entire project — from Gantt Chart create project.

Anchored baseline line under live Gantt bars — from Gantt Chart create project.

Assign Resources from the Gantt

Select a task (demo: Development), then open toolbar Assign Resources (people icon; tooltip AssignResources). Dialog title pattern: Assign Development.

• Columns: Resource, Assignment % (slider + 100% button).

• Demo: set Connor to 100% → Save. The resource name appears beside the Gantt bar.

• Assign All / Unassign All — if a team is assigned to the project, the dialog list is team-scoped.

Full assignment behavior (work/duration, cost): Assigning Resources to Tasks · Assign / Unassign dialog. Pool and capacity views: Resources · Resource Leveling when overallocation appears.

Assign Resources — Connor at 100% — from Gantt Chart create project.

Task edit modal — Main, Baselines/EVM, Actuals, Constraints, Notes

Select a task → edit/pencil or double-click. The modal title uses the task name (demo: Development). Tabs: Main | Baselines | Actuals | Calendar | Constraints | Notes | Other.

• Main — Name, ID, Duration, Work, Cost, Start, Finish, Percent Complete, Priority (many schedule fields are calculated).

• Baselines — section Earned Value Analysis with BCWS, BCWP, ACWP, SV, CV, EAC, BAC, VAC, SPI. For EVM formulas and interpretation, see Performance Management (EVM).

• Actuals — track real-world progress (demo fields: Actual Duration, Remaining Work, Actual Work, Remaining Cost, Actual Cost).

• Calendar — task calendar override. See Scheduling — Calendars for the complete calendar workflow.

• Notes — rich text (bold, italic, underline, headings, lists, alignment).

Closing with unsaved edits prompts Discard unsaved changes? → Keep editing / Discard.

Task edit modal — Main tab — from Gantt Chart create project.

Task Baselines tab — Earned Value Analysis fields — from Gantt Chart create project.

Split a task

Use split to model a real-world break without deleting work. Tooltip: Click on a Gantt bar to split. The bar splits into segments; drag the detached segment out. Summary duration may increase (demo 30d → 36d).

Step-by-step split teaching: Scheduling — Split tasks · Split demo.

Split task — detached bar segment moved out — from Gantt Chart create project.

Zoom — day / week / month / quarter

Toolbar Zoom Out / Zoom In changes the time scale from about 3 days to week, month, and quarter. Use coarser scales for long programs so the whole horizon fits.

Zoom Out / Zoom In on the Gantt toolbar — from Gantt Chart create project.

Field Configuration — Active vs Available

Open Field Configuration from the Gantt (gear / columns control) to customize the spreadsheet.

• Active Fields — columns currently on the grid (demo: ID, Name, Duration, Percent Complete, Predecessors, Start, Finish). Drag handles reorder them.

• Available Fields — search; group by Group | Type; categories include Main (Cost, Priority, Work), Baselines, Actuals, Calendar, Constraints, Notes.

• Drag an available field (demo: Calendar) into the active set. Manage +, Cancel.

Alias: Gantt spreadsheet configuration → you are in Field Configuration from the Gantt.

Field Configuration — Active Fields — from Gantt Chart create project.

Drag Calendar from Available into Active Fields — from Gantt Chart create project.

Drag-and-drop row reorder

Grab the six-dot drag handle on a row and reorder tasks. The demo moves Test, Design, and Document / Documentation; Gantt bars shift with the structure. This is a Cloud 2.0 convenience for reshaping the outline without cut/paste gymnastics.

Drag-and-drop row reorder with six-dot handle — from Gantt Chart create project.

Watch the Gantt create-project video

Gantt Chart create project (YouTube · ~7:13) — blank Gantt → tasks → indent → links → baseline → dependency types/lag → assign → task tabs → split → zoom → Field Configuration → drag-reorder.