v1.1.3

SG Gantt Chart - User Guide

Introduction

Welcome to the SG Gantt Chart application! This guide will help you get started with creating and managing your project schedules using Gantt charts. You'll learn how to create tasks, link them using predecessors, organise them into a hierarchy, and import/export your data.

Creating a Chart

To create a new chart:

1. Click on the "New Task" button to add your first task.
2. Fill in the task details such as Name, Start date, Finish date, and other relevant information.
3. Click "Add Task" to insert the task into your chart.
4. Repeat the process to add more tasks.

Task Fields Explained

• Outline Level: Determines the task's level in the hierarchy (e.g., 1 for main tasks, 2 for subtasks).
• ID: A unique identifier for the task.
• Name: The name of the task.
• Start: The start date of the task.
• Finish: The end date of the task.
• % Complete: The progress percentage of the task.
• Predecessors: The IDs of tasks that must be completed before this task can start.
• Resource Names: Names of resources assigned to the task.
• Notes: Any additional information about the task.

Using Predecessors to Link Tasks

Predecessors allow you to define dependencies between tasks. To link tasks:

1. When adding or editing a task, locate the "Predecessors" field.
2. Enter the ID of the predecessor task, followed by the dependency type (optional). For example:
   • 3FS - Task 3 must finish before this task starts (Finish-to-Start).
   • 5SS - Task 5 and this task start together (Start-to-Start).
   • 7FF - This task cannot finish until Task 7 finishes (Finish-to-Finish).
   • 2SF - This task cannot finish until Task 2 starts (Start-to-Finish).
3. You can specify multiple predecessors by separating them with commas: 3FS,5SS.

Task Hierarchy

Organize your tasks into a hierarchy to represent phases and sub-tasks:

1. Use the "Outline Level" field to set the task's level:
   • Level 1: Main task or phase.
   • Level 2: Subtask under a main task.
   • Level 3: Subtask under another subtask, and so on.
2. Tasks with lower outline levels become parents of tasks with higher levels immediately following them.
3. You can collapse or expand tasks by clicking the "+" or "–" symbols next to parent tasks.

Project Name

The project name helps you identify and manage different Gantt charts. Here's how to use this feature:

1. When you import a CSV file, the project name automatically changes to match the file name (without the extension).
2. The project name is displayed at the top center of the page.
3. To edit the project name:
   • Double-click on the project name at the top of the page.
   • Enter a new name in the popup that appears.
   • Click "Apply" to save the new name or "Cancel" to keep the current name.
4. When exporting your chart, the project name is used as the file name for the exported CSV.
5. If no project name is set, the default name "Project Name" is used.

Importing and Exporting Data

Importing CSV Files

You can import tasks from a CSV file:

1. Prepare your CSV file with the following headers: Outline Level, ID, Name, Start, Finish, % Complete, Predecessors, Resource Names, Notes.
2. Click on the "Choose File" button and select your CSV file.
3. The chart will update to display the tasks from your file.

Exporting to CSV

To export your tasks to a CSV file:

1. Click on the "Export" button.
2. A CSV file named according to your project name will be downloaded containing your current tasks.

Additional Features

Zoom In and Out

Use the "Zoom In" and "Zoom Out" buttons to adjust the time scale of your Gantt chart.

Collapse and Expand All Tasks

You can collapse or expand all tasks using the "Collapse All" and "Expand All" buttons.

Resource Filter

Use the resource filter dropdown to view tasks assigned to a specific resource. Select "All" to view all tasks.

Editing and Deleting Tasks

To edit a task:

1. Double-click on the task name or task bar in the chart area.
2. Make the necessary changes in the popup form.
3. Click "Apply" to save the changes.

To delete a task:

1. In the edit task popup, click on the "Delete Task" button.
2. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Notes Editor

You can add detailed notes to each task using the rich text editor:

1. In the task form, click on the "Edit Notes" button.
2. Use the toolbar to format your notes (bold, italic, underline, lists).
3. Click "Save" to apply the notes to the task.

Automatic Task Scheduling

SG Gantt Chart now supports automatic task scheduling based on dependencies:

1. When a predecessor task's end date changes, all dependent tasks will automatically shift accordingly (if "Auto-schedule" is checked).
2. The relationship between tasks is determined by the dependency type.
3. When creating a new task with a predecessor, dates will be automatically calculated based on the predecessor (if "Auto-schedule" is checked).
4. Task duration remains constant when dependencies cause a shift in dates.

Support

For support or feedback, please contact me.

Credits

SG Gantt Chart was developed to provide a simple and efficient way to manage project schedules using Gantt charts.

Thank you for using SG Gantt Chart!