Entering Tasks in a Gantt Chart

You can type a task list directly into a view such as the Gantt Chart view. Alternatively, if the list already exists in another application (such as Excel, Outlook, or Word), you can import or paste a copy of the list into Project. This chapter focuses on typing the list directly into Project.

NOTE

Project 2002 includes the Excel Task List Template, which you can use to create a task list in Excel that you can then import into Project. There is also a new Import Outlook Tasks command on the Tools menu to expedite importing tasks from Outlook. See Chapter 17, “Exporting and Importing Data with Other Formats,” for detailed instructions on importing from other applications.

The Gantt Chart view (see Figure 5.3) is the best view for creating a task list. However, you can use other views, and several are discussed later in this chapter, in the section “Using Other Views to Create Tasks.”

The task table on the left in the Gantt Chart view is ideal for creating and editing the task list. You can edit the list of tasks, easily rearrange their order, and change the outline by indenting and outdenting tasks. You can enter a maximum of 1 million tasks in a single project, so the task table can be expanded to a million rows. You can include up to 65,535 levels of outlining indentation to organize the project into major phases or processes. Pop-up forms are easily accessible for any task to add or view more details than are provided in the table.

→ Microsoft Project provides drag-and-drop features in the Gantt Chart view for moving, copying, outlining, linking, and assigning resources, all of which make editing the task list easier. See “Working with the Gantt Chart View,” p. 238.

→ There are many options for customizing the Gantt Chart display. If you want to learn more about using those options, see Chapter 19, “Using the Standard Views, Tables, Filters, and Groups,” p. 739.