How to Make a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint

1. Open a new PowerPoint presentation.
2. ClickBlank Presentation.
   

1. Click theLayoutdropdown menu on theHometab on the top navigation bar, and clickBlankto remove theTitleandSubtitletext areas.
2. Click the slide, click theInserttab on the top navigation bar, and clickTable.
   
3. Add a table either by selecting the number of rows and columns from the grid or by clickingInsert Tableand inputting the number of rows and columns.
4. For this example, add 13 columns and 10 rows to your table. Your numbers will depend on the amount of tasks that comprise your project (rows) and the duration, in weeks, that tasks will take to complete (columns). Click the blueInsertbutton.
   

1. Highlight the first column.
2. Click theLayouttab on the top navigation bar.
3. In theColumnbox, enter 2.13.
   
4. Highlight the remaining columns in the table.
5. In theColumnbox, enter 0.9.
   

1. Highlight the table.
2. Click theTable Designtab on the top navigation bar.
3. From the dropdown menu, select1pt.
   
4. Click theBordersdropdown menu, and clickAll Borders.
   
5. Click theShadingdropdown menu, and clickNo Fill.
   

1. In the second column, in the second row, typeWeek 1.
   
2. 在随后的细胞在第二行,接下来的c类型orresponding Week (ex: Week 2, Week 3, and so on).
   

1. Click theLayouttab on the navigation bar.
2. In the first row, highlight rows 2-5 (the cells above week 1-4).
3. Click theMerge Cellsbutton to create one cell from the selected cells.
   
4. In the newly merged cell, typeMonth 1.
5. Repeat these steps for each set of the next four cells. TypeMonth 2andMonth 3in the respective merged cells.
6. Once you add all months to the top row, highlight the top row. Click theCenter Alignicon to center the labels in the merged cells.
   

1. Highlight the merged cell labeledMonth 1.
2. Click theTable Designtab on the top navigation bar. Click theShadingdropdown menu, and click a color for the cell.
   
3. Repeat these steps for the other merged cells.
   

1. Type your first project in the third cell of the first column.
2. List your respective projects tasks, in order from start to finish, in the following cells in the column.
   
3. Once you add all the tasks, highlight the column. Click theTable Designtab. Click theShadingdropdown menu, and click a muted grey color to differentiate the project task column.
   

1. Click theInserttab on the top navigation bar.
2. Click the second cell in the second row.
3. Click theShapesdropdown menu. In theBlock Arrowssection, clickArrow: Pentagon.
   
4. Drag the shape from the start week to the end week. This shape signifies the project task’s start and end date.
   
   Example: If a task starts in week one and ends in week three, the shape should extend from week one through week three.
   
5. Repeat these steps for every project task listed in the table.
   
   Pro Tip:If you need to change the project task start or end date in the table, click the task icon bar and move the shape to the appropriate spot on the table. You can also drag the front or back of the shape, lengthening or shortening it as necessary.
   

1. Click one of the new task bars.
2. Click theShape Formattab on the top navigation bar. ClickShape Fill, and click a color (we chose red).
   
3. ClickShape Outline, and clickNo Outlinefrom the dropdown menu.
   
4. Repeat these steps for every project task bar in the table.
   

1. Double-click on a task bar. A text box appears within the shape.
2. Type the start and end date of the task within the shape.
3. Repeat these steps for other project task bars where you want to see the date.
   

1. Click theInserttab on the top navigation bar. Click theIconsbutton.
   
2. TypeFlagin the search bar on the right panel.
3. Click theFlagicon, and click theInsertbutton.
   
4. Click on the icon and drag any of the four corners to reduce its size.
5. Move theFlagto a place on the Gantt chart that signifies a milestone.
   
6. Repeat these steps to add more milestones.
   
   Pro Tip:Right-clicking on the icon, clickCopyand then clickPasteto make a duplicate version to use on the Gantt chart.
   

1. Open a new PowerPoint presentation.
   
2. Click theLayoutdropdown menu on theHometab on the top navigation bar, and clickBlankto remove theTitleandSubtitletext areas.
   

1. Click theInserttab, and clickChart.
2. Click theColumncategory, and clickStacked Barfor the type of graph. PowerPoint generates a standard bar chart graph automatically. The application will open a Microsoft Excel table.
   

1. Add project data to the corresponding Excel chart.
2. List each project task name inColumn A.
   
3. Rename the other pre-filled cells of the top row as follows:
   • Series 1: Start Date
   • Series 2: End Date
   • Series 3: Duration
     
     
4. Click cells B2-B5. Right-click on the highlighted cells, and clickFormat Cells. In theCategorylist on theNumberstab, clickDateand choose a format from theTypemenu.
   
   
5. 在细胞D2,计算第一助教的持续时间sk by typing in the following formula:
   =C2-$B2
   
6. Once you insert the formula into the cell, click the small box in the bottom-right corner of cell D2 and drag the fill handle downward acrosscolumn Duntil you reach the last task in the column.
7. After you identify how long tasks will take, highlight theEnd Date列,单击右键,然后单击删除.
   

1. Click a blue bar on the chart to select and highlight the whole series. The format menu will appear on the right panel.
2. Click the paint bucket icon, click theFillbutton, and clickNo Fill.
   
3. Once you unfill the series, that bar chart will resemble a Gantt chart.
   

Interested in creating a Gantt chart in Microsoft Excel instead of PowerPoint? Visitthis article for step-by-step instructions on how to build a Gantt chart in Excel.

1. To reverse the order of your task bars, double-click on the task axis (the y axis).
2. In theFormat Axismenu, click the bar tab and expand theAxis Optionsmenu. Click theCategories in Reverse Order盒子。
   

1. Click a task bar in the Gantt chart. Click the paint bucket icon, and clickFill.
2. Click your preferred color for the individual task.
   

1. 添加阴影等效果、发光和软ges to task bars, click theFormattab on the navigation bar.
2. Use the available options to personalize the Gantt chart.
   

1. Double-click a task bar in the chart.
2. Click theBar Charttab in theFormat Date Seriesmenu.
3. In theSeries Optiontab, slide the dial to increase or decrease the width of the task bars.
   

1. Right-click on the chart legend, and click删除.
   

As your project progresses, you might need to adjust start and end dates for some tasks to keep it running smoothly. Follow these steps below.

1. Reopen the Excel data table that your Gantt chart is referencing in PowerPoint.
2. Right-click on a bar in the chart, and clickEdit Data in Excel.
3. Manually reenter new start and end dates for any project tasks. These changes automatically appear on the Gantt chart in PowerPoint.
   
   Note: You’ll need to re-add theEnd Datescolumn in Excel, then remove it again once you make the updates.