Spreadsheet: 720098d1614009807-conditional-formatting-and-if-statements-project-plan
Sheet: Help

Help
https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/excel-gantt-chart.html
About This Template
 | This Gantt Chart Template provides an easy way to create a simple project schedule. You only need to know some basic spreadsheet operations, such as how to insert, delete, copy and paste rows and cells. For more advanced uses, such as defining task dependencies, you will need to know how to enter formulas.
 | Be sure to read the Getting Started Tips below. Watching the video demos for Gantt Chart Template Pro may also help you see how to use the spreadsheet.
 | Watch Demo Videos of the Pro Version on Vertex42.com
 | Please read the license agreement in the TermsOfUse worksheet to learn how you may or may not use and share this spreadsheet.
Getting Started Tips
 | • [Bracketed Text] is meant to be edited, like the project title and task descriptions.
 | • Some of the labels include cell comments to provide extra information. | Label
 | • To adjust the range of dates shown in the [NAME] chart, change the Display Week number.
 | • The Project Start Date is used to define the first week shown in the gantt chart.
 | • [NAME] new tasks using one of the methods listed below.
 | • Define the task start date and duration (days) by editing the light green cells. | Input Cell
 | • If you see "#####" in a cell, widen the column to display the cell contents.
 | • Backup your file regularly to avoid losing data! Excel files get corrupted occasionally.
Inserting New Tasks (Rows)
 | When inserting and deleting tasks, you need to insert and delete entire rows. Some columns contain formulas (such as the End Date and the Work Days columns), so these formulas need to copied to the newly inserted rows.
 | METHOD 1 (recommended)
 | • Insert a new blank row by right-clicking on the row number and selecting [NAME].
 | • With the new blank row selected, press Ctrl+d to copy the formulas and formatting down from the row above OR use the row drag handle to copy the formulas and formatting down.
 | METHOD 2
 | • Copy a row from the set of template rows at the bottom of the worksheet.
 | • Right-click on the row where you want to insert the new task and select Insert Copied Cells.
 | Method 2 will work, but Excel will split/fracture/duplicate conditional formatting rules rather than merging the rules. This can cause inefficiencies in very large and heavily modified files.
 | Help improve Excel by voting on a suggestion to fix this problem.
Using the Template Rows and Choosing a WBS Level
 | The set of template rows at the bottom of the Gantt Chart worksheet provide examples of different ways to format and define tasks for different WBS levels.
 | Each different WBS level uses a different formula in the WBS column.
 | You can either copy/paste/insert these template rows via Method 2 as explained above, OR you can just copy/paste the desired WBS cell when you want to change the WBS level.
 | If you leave a blank cell above a WBS number, the numbering will reset to 1.x.x. The formulas are meant for convenience, but you can manually enter the WBS numbers if you want to.
 | You can indent the task description for sub-tasks by entering leading spaces or using the Indent feature in Excel.
Creating Task Dependencies
 | You can enter the [NAME] date manually, or define task dependencies using a formula. Below are some common options for defining the [NAME] date:
A. | Enter the date manually (e.g. 1/3/2015)
B. | Reference the Project Start Date (e.g. =$E$4 )
C. | Set the Start date to the next Work Day after another task's End date.
 | • Use the formula =WORKDAY(enddate,1) where enddate is the reference to the End date of a predecessor task.
 | • For multiple predecessors, the formula would be =MAX(WORKDAY(enddate1,1),WORKDAY(enddate2,1))
D. | Set the Start date to the next Calendar Day after another task's End date.
 | • This formula is very simple: =enddate+1
 | • For multiple predecessors, the formula would be =MAX(enddate1,enddate2,enddate3)+1
E. | Set the Start date to a number of days before or after another date.
 | • This formula is just like the one in C or D, except that in place of the "1" you enter the number of days, such as =WORKDAY(enddate,5) or =WORKDAY(startdate,-5)
F. | Use a lookup formula and the Predecessor column to define the start date.
 | [The formulas for using this method are built into Gantt Chart Template Pro]
Changing the Color of the Bars in the Gantt Chart
 | [Advanced] The Gantt Chart is created using conditional formatting, so you can modify the conditional formatting rules to change the format to a different color. The Pro version includes a column where you can change the color by entering a color code ("b"=blue, "g"=green, etc.)
FAQs
Q: | How do I enter the Work Days instead of Calendar Days?
 | Entering work days instead of calendar days is a feature of the Pro version. There is nothing in the free version preventing you from entering your own formulas, though.
Q: | How do I calculate Calendar Days after entering the Start and End Dates?
 | You can calculate the duration in calendar days (including both start and end dates) using the formula =enddate-startdate+1
Q: | How do I change the Print Settings? (Excel 2010, 2013)
 | Select the entire range of cells you want to print and go to File > Print Area > Set Print Area. Then go to File > Page Setup or File > Print Preview and adjust the Scaling, Margins, and Page Orientation as desired.
Q: | How do I increase the range of dates displayed in the [NAME] chart?
 | You will need to add columns to the right of the Gantt Chart via copy/paste. Copy and paste the columns in groups of 7. Afterwards, you will also probably need to update the print area.
Q: | How do I create a summary row that shows the MIN and MAX dates for all sub-tasks?
 | In the Start column, use the formula =MIN(range_of_start_dates)
 | In the End column, use the formula =MAX(range_of_end_dates)
 | In the Days column, use the formula =end_date-start_date+1
Q: | How do I calculate the %Complete for an entire category of tasks?
 | The %Complete for a group of tasks can be calculated from its sub tasks using the formula below, where "workdays" is a reference to the range of work day values and "complete" is a reference to the %complete for each of the subtasks.
 | =SUMPRODUCT(workdays,complete)/SUM(workdays)
 | Example: Let's say you have 3 sub tasks that are 10 days, 12 days, and 14 days long, respectively. If the first subtask is 50% complete and the others are 25% complete, you could calculate the overall percent complete for the group as: =(10*50%+12*25%+14*25%)/(10+12+14).
Q: | I've messed up the chart area somehow. How do I fix it?
 | Find a row that works, then copy the cells that make up the gantt chart area from that row into the row that is messed up.
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