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Chapter 15 - Changing the Look of Your ProjectIntroduction Format Text Elements in Sheet Views Change the Wording and Fit of Column Headings Format Individual Text Format a Category o

Chapter 15 - Changing the Look of Your Project

Introduction

Format Text Elements in Sheet Views

Change the Wording and Fit of Column Headings

Format Individual Text

Format a Category of Tasks or Resources

Format Gantt Bars

Change the Color, Shape, and Pattern of Gantt Bars

Which takes precedence, individual or category formatting?

Change the Height of Gantt Bars

Change the Appearance of Link Lines

Add Information to Gantt Bars

Create a Custom Gantt Bar for a Task Category

Roll Up a Gantt Bar to a Summary Task Bar

Format Timescales

Format Gridlines

Format a Gantt Chart Automatically

Sort a View

Copying Graphics Between Programs

Copy a Graphic from Another Program

Copy a Microsoft Project Graphic to Another Program

Microsoft Project automatically applies an effective and eye-pleasing format to your views, whether you’re viewing them on screen or in print But the default format may not meet your needs You might, for instance, want to highlight certain information or print project documents so that they’re consistent with corporate

standards Using Microsoft Project’s powerful formatting tools to modify your project plan, you can:

• Format text elements, including the appearance of individual pieces of information and column headings

in sheet views

• Format Gantt bars, changing their shape and pattern, adding text to them, changing the look of link lines, and so on

• Format timescales to view your project at the level of detail you want

• Format gridlines, changing their color, pattern, and other characteristics

• Sort a view, so that information appears in an order that’s useful to you

You can also focus attention by applying formatting to text or Gantt bars that identify all tasks or all resources

that belong to predefined Microsoft Project categories For instance, critical tasks, milestone tasks, and summary

tasks are among the task categories you can format Allocated resources and overallocated resources are two of the resource categories you can format

To spice up your views even further, you can import graphics from other programs In addition, you can capture selected portions of your views and export them as graphics to other programs Because you’re likely to use the Gantt Chart view to perform many of your project management tasks, this chapter focuses on ways to format the Gantt Chart But you’ll be able to apply many of these formatting methods to other sheet views as well The special role of the Gantt Chart is underscored in this chapter by a discussion of the GanttChartWizard, which helps you redesign the Gantt Chart view exactly as you want it to appear

Format Text Elements in Sheet Views

Microsoft Project does some sheet-view formatting for you automatically; for example, it makes summary tasks bold But if this automatic formatting doesn’t highlight the information you want in just the way you want it, you can format these elements yourself Column headings, individual pieces of information, and even entire

categories of information can easily be rewritten, realigned, and reformatted

Change the Wording and Fit of Column Headings

For sheet views, such as the Gantt Chart view and the Resource Usage view, Microsoft Project supplies default names for column headings, such as Task Name and Resource Name From time to time, a default heading might not accurately convey to you the type of information contained in that column For example, you might call that type of information by another name Or, a heading might not conform to your business standards "Activity" could be used instead of "Task Name," for example If a default column heading isn’t suitable, you can change its content as well as its format

Any changes you make to a column’s title or width appear only in the table in which you make the changes For example, if you change the name of the Duration column to Length in the Entry table, the Duration column in the Summary table still appears with the title Duration

To change the wording and fit of column headings

1 On the View Bar, click the view you want to modify

To select a view that doesn’t appear on the View Bar, click More Views , click the view you want in

the Views list, and then click Apply

2 Double-click the column heading whose text or fit you want to change

3 To change the text of the column heading, type a new column heading for the field in the Title box

4 To change the alignment of the column heading, click the alignment you want in the Align title box

5 To change the column width, enter the width you want in the Width box

Format Individual Text

If one particular piece of information in your view deserves special notice — such as the completion date of a slipped task — you have the flexibility to call attention to that information by formatting it individually

To apply formatting to individual text

1 On the View Bar, click a sheet view

To select a view that doesn’t appear on the View Bar, click More Views , click the view you want in

the Views list, and then click Apply

2 Select the text you want to reformat

3 On the Format menu, click Font

4 Select the formatting options you want

Format a Category of Tasks or Resources

Sometimes you may want to format one particular category of tasks or resources so that it stands out from the rest For example, to keep a sharp eye on critical tasks you may decide to make all critical task names italic

You can format categories of tasks and resources in all views except form views

To apply formatting to a task or resource category

1 On the View Bar, click the view you want to reformat

To select a view that doesn’t appear on the View Bar, click More Views , click the view you want in

the Views list, and then click Apply

2 On the Format menu, click Text Styles

3 In the Item to Change box, click one task or resource category to reformat, and then select formatting

options for that category

4 Repeat step 3 to change the formatting of other categories of information

Format Gantt Bars

Microsoft Project applies default formatting to Gantt bars, which is suitable for many situations But if you want

to change the appearance of Gantt bars to include or highlight certain information, or to conform with corporate standards, you can format Gantt bars manually or use the GanttChartWizard Using either method, you can:

• Change the color, shape, and pattern of a category of Gantt bars

• Change the height of Gantt bars

• Change the appearance of the link lines that connect Gantt bars

• Add the date or other text to a category of Gantt bars

Change the Color, Shape, and Pattern of Gantt Bars

To call attention to all tasks of a certain predefined Microsoft Project category, you can change the format of all Gantt bars that represent that task category on the Gantt Chart

To change the color, shape, or pattern of a Gantt bar category

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Bar Styles

3 In the table, select the category row (such as Task or Milestone) you want to change, and then click the

Bars tab

4 In the Shape boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar shapes you

want

5 In the Pattern box under Middle bar, click a Gantt bar pattern

6 In the Color boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar colors you

want

Some categories, such as Milestone and Task, have only a start shape Others, such as Summary Task, have shapes for the start and end elements as well as for the middle bars

Draw attention to a specific task that has special requirements or significant project implications by formatting the associated Gantt bar differently from other bars in that category

To change the color, shape, or pattern of an individual Gantt bar

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 In the Task Name field, select the tasks whose Gantt bars you want to reformat

3 On the Format menu, click Bar, and then click the Bar Shape tab

4 In the Shape boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar shapes you

want

5 In the Pattern box under Middle bar, click a Gantt bar pattern

6 In the Color boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar colors you

want

Which takes precedence, individual or category formatting?

Individual Gantt bar formatting overrides category formatting For example, if you format all critical task bars as black, you can still format some of those bars as red

Change the Height of Gantt Bars

Gantt bars appear on your screen with a certain predefined height so that they can be displayed and printed clearly In some cases, though, you might want to change the height For example, if the Gantt bar area is cluttered with information, you could reduce the height of the bars to cut down on distractions If you want the Gantt bars themselves to stand out more in a printout, you might increase their height

To change the height of Gantt bars

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Layout

3 In the Bar height box, click the height of the Gantt bars in points

Change the Appearance of Link Lines

When you link tasks, Microsoft Project displays link lines on the Gantt Chart to show the task dependencies of the linked tasks You can change the look of link lines, even hiding the link lines completely

To change the appearance of link lines

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Layout

3 Under Links, click the link line style you want.

Add Information to Gantt Bars

You can identify predefined categories of project information on the Gantt Chart by adding the information to the Gantt bars themselves You might choose to add task names, resource names, completion percentages, and start dates, for instance This text can appear at the top, bottom, left, and/or right of the Gantt bars, as well as inside them

To add dates or other information to a Gantt bar category

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Bar Styles

3 In the table, select the type of Gantt bars (such as Milestone or Summary) to which you want to add text,

and then click the Text tab

4 In the Left, Right, Top, Bottom, and Inside boxes, click the fields whose data you want to display on

the Gantt bar

If you display dates for a Gantt bar category, you can change the format for those dates For example, you can change the start date format from 2/18 to Wed 2/18/98 8:00 AM

To change the format of dates on Gantt bars

1 On the Format menu, click Layout

2 In the Date format for bars box, click the date format you want

You may want to spotlight one specific Gantt bar instead of all of them You still have the option of adding text directly inside the Gantt bar and to the left, right, top, and bottom For example, you can display the task name above a Gantt bar and display the task duration or the start date to the left of the bar

To add dates or other information to an individual Gantt bar

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 In the Task Name field, select the task whose Gantt bar you want to annotate

3 On the Format menu, click Bar, and then click the Bar Text tab

4 In the Left, Right, Top, Bottom, and Inside boxes, click the fields whose data you want to display on

the Gantt bar

Create a Custom Gantt Bar for a Task Category

Sometimes you’ll want to highlight a particular task category that is not represented by its own Gantt bar When this happens, you can create a new Gantt bar For example, you can add a Gantt bar to show available slack or

to call attention to delayed tasks

To create a custom Gantt bar for a task category

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Bar Styles

3 Select the row in front of which you want to insert a new Gantt bar, and then click Insert Row

4 In the Name field of the new row, type a name for the new bar, and then press ENTER

5 In the Show For Tasks field of the new row, click the category that the bar is to represent

6 In the From and To fields, click the fields you want to use to position the start and finish points of the

new Gantt bar

To create a symbol that represents a single date, click the same field in both the From and To fields

7 Click the Bars tab

8 In the Shape boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar shapes you

want

9 In the Pattern box under Middle bar, click a Gantt bar pattern

10 In the Color boxes under Start shape, Middle bar, and End shape, click the Gantt bar colors you

want

Roll Up a Gantt Bar to a Summary Task Bar

In a project that contains many tasks, you can see only a small percentage of the tasks on the screen without

scrolling An effective way to see information about more tasks on one screen is to roll up task bars; that is,

display them on their summary task bars This gives you a quick overview of the scheduled finish dates for selected subtasks On the summary task bar, the rolled-up tasks are represented by bars and milestone dates are represented by diamonds

To roll up a Gantt bar to a summary task bar

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 In the Task Name field, select the subtask you want to roll up

3 Click Task Information , and then click the General tab

4 Select the Roll up Gantt bar to summary check box

The task bar is displayed as part of the summary task bar

5 To hide the original subtask bar, select the Hide task bar check box

Format Timescales

At the top of the Gantt Chart view (and most other time-related views), you’ll see a timescale consisting of two components: a major scale on top and a minor scale beneath it The timescale determines how much of your project is visible on the screen You can adjust the major and minor scales independently to view your project at the level of detail you need

To format the timescale on your Gantt Chart

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 On the Format menu, click Timescale, and then click the Timescale

tab

3 In the Units boxes under Major scale and Minor scale, click the units of time you want to use

To display only the major scale time unit, click None in the Units box under Minor scale

4 In the Label boxes under Major scale and Minor scale, click the labels you want to use

5 In the Align boxes under Major scale and Minor scale, click the alignments you want

6 In the Count boxes under Major scale and Minor scale, type the numbers of intervals you want

between the unit labels on the major scale and on the minor scale

For example, if the major scale unit is weeks, and you type 2, the scale will be separated into 2-week segments

7 To display vertical lines between unit labels, select the Tick lines check boxes

8 To display a horizontal line between the major and minor scales, select the Scale separator check box

9 To reduce or enlarge the timescale so that you can see more or less time in the same space, type a new

percentage in the Enlarge box

Major and minor scales are adjusted by the same amount

10 To format nonworking time, click the Nonworking Time tab

11 Under Draw, select whether you want the nonworking time bars to appear behind or in front of task bars

or not at all

12 In the Calendar box, click the base or resource calendar to which you want to apply the nonworking

time format

13 In the Color box, click the color of the nonworking time

14 In the Pattern box, click the pattern of the nonworking time

Format Gridlines

To enhance the readability and clarity of a view, you can specify different patterns and colors for the gridlines You can change gridlines that appear only once in a view (such as the horizontal line that divides column

headings from fields) and gridlines that appear repeatedly (such as the lines that divide a sheet view into rows) The view you’re using will determine the gridline options you can change

To quickly zoom in and out of a

view, click Zoom In or Zoom Out

To format gridlines

1 On the View Bar, click any view except the PERT Chart, Task PERT, or a form view

To select a view that doesn’t appear on the View Bar, click More Views , click the view you want in

the Views list, and then click Apply

2 On the Format menu, click Gridlines

3 In the Line to change list, click the type of gridline you want to change

4 In the Type box under Normal, click the line pattern you want to use

If you don’t want a gridline for the selected line type, click the blank option in the Type box

5 In the Color box under Normal, click the line color you want to use

6 If the gridline appears repeatedly and you want contrasting gridlines at specified intervals, click an

interval, line type, and line color under At interval

To skip a gridline at certain intervals, click the blank option in the Type box under At interval

Format a Gantt Chart Automatically

When you want to format the Gantt Chart view in a certain way but you aren’t quite sure how, you can let the GanttChartWizard help you The GanttChartWizard is a series of interactive dialog boxes containing various options for formatting the Gantt Chart view When you finish selecting the options you want, the

GanttChartWizard formats your Gantt Chart view for you

For example, using the GanttChartWizard, you can format:

• Noncritical tasks and critical tasks

• The color, pattern, and end shapes of Gantt bars for various task categories

• The appearance of text for a category of Gantt bars

• Link lines

To format your Gantt Chart view automatically

1 On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart

2 Click GanttChartWizard

3 Follow the GanttChartWizard instructions

Sort a View

By default, tasks and resources are listed in ascending order by ID number If this order doesn’t meet your needs

— for example, you want to see tasks in order from longest duration to shortest — you can sort the order by different criteria When you sort, you rearrange tasks or resources by specifying the fields that should control the order, such as Duration for a task or Standard Rate for a resource You cannot sort in a PERT Chart

Sorting is maintained when you return to a view and is saved when you save your project file