Gantt chart

1. What is the Gantt chart?

Scoro’s Gantt chart centralizes all project-related activities – tasks, calendar events, and time entries – into a single view, allowing you to:

• Visualize the project delivery timelines
• Track real-time progress and adjust project plans
• Share project snapshots with stakeholders

To access the Gantt chart, open the project detailed view > Tasks tab > Gantt sub-tab.

The Gantt chart has two main panels:

• The left-side panel (highlighted in red in the screenshot) lists the project’s name, phases, milestones, tasks, and events.
• The right-side panel (highlighted in blue in the screenshot) includes a chart that visualizes the project structure, including all its activities, their dependencies, progress, and more.

The very top row on the right-side panel is the project row, which displays the project title and reflects its overall duration based on estimated dates:

• Triangle icon – the project’s estimated start date
• Diamond icon – the project’s estimated end date

Below the project row, you can find and manage your project phases, tasks, and other activities, along with their details, based on how you’ve customized your Gantt chart view.

2. Customizing the Gantt chart view

2.1. Adjusting the viewed time period

By default, the chart highlights the current period. The red vertical line on the Gantt chart indicates today.

Use the Zoom in and Zoom out buttons, or the period dropdown field (with options for Days, Weeks, Months, Quarters, Years) between them, to select the time period to display in the Gantt chart. 

To get a full overview of the project and see all project-related work on your screen, click the Zoom to fit button.

For more complex projects with lots of detail, you can click the Open Gantt chart in a popup button (next to the Zoom to fit button) to open a larger view of the Gantt chart.

You can customize the Gantt chart view to match the level of detail you need. Simply click the View button and select the data columns to display in the left-side panel and data layers to display in the right-side panel.

2.2. Data columns

To customize the information shown for each task in the left-side panel, click the View button and enable the relevant data columns:

• Status – the current status of the task
• Start date – the task’s start date 
• Due date – the task’s due date 
• Predecessor – the predecessor task’s ID and the dependency type
• Span in days – the total number of days between the task’s start and due dates (if set)
• Planned – the planned duration of the task
  • If your site uses subtasks, the parent task will show the total planned duration of the parent task and all its subtasks
• Assignee – the users and roles (if role assignment is enabled on your site) assigned to the task
• Budget – the budgeted hours based on the linked quote line
  • Values under this column are displayed only on the parent task rows and cannot be modified from the Gantt chart.
  • This column is visible only to users whose permission set has the View budget for the task based on the quote permission enabled.
  • For tasks not linked with a quote, this column remains empty.
• Remaining budget – the budgeted hours minus whichever is larger: the total planned billable hours (of the parent task and all its subtasks) OR the done billable hours plus the scheduled billable hours
  • Values under this column are displayed only on the parent task rows and cannot be modified from the Gantt chart.
  • This column is visible only to users whose permission set has the View budget for the task based on the quote permission enabled.
  • For tasks not linked with a quote, this column remains empty.

2.3. Data layers

To customize the information shown in the right-side panel, click the View button and enable the relevant data layers:

• Time entries
  • When enabled, time entries are visualized on tasks as circles. Based on the time entry’s progress, the circle can be filled or not filled, and in different colors and sizes:
    • Unfilled circle – time entry is not marked as done
    • Filled circle – time entry that’s marked as done
    • Red circle – time entry exceeds the user’s availability
    • Blue circle – time entry fits within the user’s availability
    • Size – depends on the time entry’s length (the longer the time entry, the bigger the circle)
  • Hover over the circle to see the duration of the time entry.
  • When moving a task while rescheduling assignments:
    • Already-scheduled time entries are also rescheduled along with the task, taking the user’s actual availability into account and selecting the next available time slot in their schedule.
    • Done time entries stay put.
      
• Events – calendar events linked to the projects.
  
• Title – displays the name of the activity (task or event) directly on the activity bars.
• Progress – displays a progress bar on tasks. Here’s what each progress indicator means:
  • Estimated - planned duration of the task
  • Done - all time entries that are marked as done
  • To-do - all scheduled time entries that are not yet marked as done
  • Overtime - all time entries (past/future, done/not done) that exceed the task's planned duration
  • Overscheduled - only the time entries that are not marked done, out of the time entries that exceed the task's planned duration
• Actual time frame – displays a visual extension of the task bars (indicated with a dotted border) if there are time entries before or after the tasks’ start and due date.
• Tasks without dates – displays tasks without start and due dates.

3. Managing your project in the Gantt chart

3.1. Project phases

To create a new project phase in the Gantt chart:

1. Click the Add… button (or the plus icon next to the Name column) and select Add phase.
2. Enter the name of the phase and press the Enter key.

The phase start and end dates are dynamic – they’ll be adjusted as you add tasks under them. However, you can specify the phase’s start and due dates in the following ways:

• Double-click on the start or due date next to the phase name and select the correct date from the calendar
• Drag the start or end of the phase to the desired dates.

To reorder the phases, click and drag them to the appropriate positions among the other project phases and activities.

You can click the Expand button on the left of the phase title to expand or collapse the activities under it.

3.2. Milestones

Milestones are useful for tracking goals, such as the final presentation of a given phase. As milestones are just dates for specific goals, you cannot link tasks to them.

To add a new milestone in the Gantt chart, click the Add… button (or the plus icon next to the Name column) and select Add milestone.

3.3. Tasks

To add a new task in the Gantt chart:

1. Click the Add… button (or the plus icon next to the Name column) and select Add task. Alternatively, click the Add task button under a phase to add the task under it.
2. Enter the task name and press the Enter key to save it. Press Enter again if you wish to add another task right away.

If your site uses subtasks, use the Add subtask button under a parent task to create a new subtask. If you don’t see this button, you may need to click the Expand button on the left of the parent task.

The initial planned duration of tasks you’ve added in the Gantt chart will be set based on your default task duration preferences.

You can also modify your project’s tasks directly from the Gantt chart:

• To modify the full task details, click the icon to the left of the task title to open the task detailed view and change the task details.
  
• To set or change the task’s start and due dates, double-click the task’s Start date or Due date field, then select the desired date. Alternatively, drag the task’s start or end in the chart to the necessary date.
  
• To move the task to a different phase, drag and drop it under the correct phase. For longer task lists, we recommend using the task list to change the project phase for multiple tasks at once.
  

3.4. Task dependencies

Setting task dependencies for tasks under each phase lets you define their order of completion – in other words, which assignments should be finished before something else can be started, for example.

See our Task dependencies article for a detailed guide on managing task dependencies in the Gantt chart and other views in Scoro.

4. Sharing the Gantt chart

To provide a better visibility into your projects and timelines, you can share snapshots of the current state of the Gantt chart with your clients and other external stakeholders via a unique share link. This makes it easier for you to propose or confirm timelines, align expectations, and keep all interested parties up to date and on the same page.

To create a share link with a snapshot of the current state of the Gantt chart, click the Share chart button in the upper-right corner. This instantly creates a snapshot of your Gantt chart and generates a unique share link.

Click the clipboard icon to copy the link, which you can share with your clients and stakeholders.

The snapshot of the Gantt chart includes the same project phases, tasks, and calendar events as the user who created the snapshot. The viewers can expand and collapse phases, but cannot modify them.

The snapshot of the Gantt chart does not include any internal data, such as task assignees.

The snapshot is static and doesn't update itself automatically when you make changes, so you have complete control over if and when you want to share further updates with the client:

• To update the snapshot to reflect the latest changes and developments, click the Share chart button, then click the Update snapshot button.
• While the Gantt chart snapshot automatically expires 180 days after creating or updating it, you can stop sharing the snapshot at any point by clicking the Share chart button and then clicking the Stop sharing.

5. Settings related to the Gantt chart

• Including weekends in the workweek
  If you’d like the task start and due dates to fall on any day of the week (including weekends), go to Settings > Work and projects > Projects and enable the Include weekends in workweek checkbox.

6. Keyboard navigation and shortcuts

When moving to the + Add row under the project using the arrows on the keyboard, press Enter to open the dropdown. Move with arrows between the three options, and press Enter to select the chosen item.

Start typing to add a title, and press Enter again to save it. When adding tasks this way in bulk, push Enter after naming the task and add another task.

When adding tasks quickly with keyboard shortcuts, all mandatory fields are flagged. You can later fill out all relevant information by clicking on the pencil icon on the task (to open the task, modify the view, and make changes).

You can also hold down the Ctrl (Command) key and click on the task name to open the task detailed view in a new tab. For example, this is a convenient way to get to the task to add comments or files.

Use these shortcuts on the chart to conveniently move around, view, and add data:

• Enter - Save and jump to the next row
• Shift + Enter - Open task modify view
• Tab - jump to next field
• Esc - Close popup, cancel action
• Space - Expand/collapse phase
• Shift + Click - Open the task detailed view in a new tab

6. Frequently asked questions

Can I export data from the Gantt chart?

While it isn't possible to export or download data from the Gantt chart, you can:

• Create a public link to share a snapshot of the Gantt chart with the necessary stakeholders outside your team
• Export data from the detailed work report – make sure the report view is filtered to show the data from the project you need.

Are other users on my site notified about changes I’ve made in the Gantt chart?

If your team members have set up notifications using triggers and actions, they will be notified only about the changes you have saved.