Contents:

An overview of the Gantt module

The Gantt module is your go-to module for managing projects and portfolios. Use it to plan and visualize project schedules and roadmaps, monitor and control their execution, and generate data exports showing data that meets your business needs.

The Gantt module includes four key elements:

(A) Customizable task tree that presents almost any Jira or built-in fields as columns with aggregated data.
(B) Timeline with taskbars and dependencies that visualize and auto-schedule your work items.
(C) Infobar that highlights the most important information related to your project, such as overdue tasks, critical path, dependencies, milestones, and change history.
(D) Resources panel that shows your resources’ workload.

Gantt module featuring WBS, Gantt chart, and Infobar.

If you have BigPicture Enterprise, you can change the terminology and rename modules. The module icon cannot be altered to help you recognize the module even under a different name.

Main features

The table below lists the main features of the Gantt module:

Feature	Description

Feature	Description
Home	Return to the Home (Root) box.
Box status	Change the status of your box to Not started, In progress, or Closed.
Box switcher	Navigate between boxes, change the currently viewed box, or narrow the scope to a sub-box.
Scenario mode	Try different variants of your plan, compare the results, and find the best one.
+ Add task	Use this option to: Create new tasks and subtasks as Jira issues and basic tasks. Import tasks from a file (requires the BigTemplate app). Clone the existing scope. Access the Manage scope definition page.
Data	Add the following features to all tasks within the box scope: Organize tasks - changes the order of the tasks in all the users' views in an ascending (A-Z) or descending way (Z-A), based on the fields added as columns in the current column view. Scheduling mode - enables auto-scheduling or manual planning. Baselines - creates and displays schedule baselines under your tasks. Group tasks - groups tasks by one or multiple active columns and counts them in each group. Resynchronization - triggers an incremental sync of the box (requires Box Admin or Box Editor security role).
Sort by	Sort your task tree in an ascending (A-Z) or descending way (Z-A), based on the fields added as columns in the current column view. Unlike the Organize tasks option, sorting does not affect other users' views.
View	Customize the look of the WBS and Gantt chart and add extra details to your Gantt chart view: Layout - adjusts the row height (compact, regular, wide) so that you can fit more or fewer tasks on your screen; also adds and removes horizontal and vertical lines. Baselines - displays schedule baselines under tasks to compare initial and actual schedules. Critical path - highlights tasks on the critical path that determine project duration. Period warning - shows the position of parent tasks calculated in relation to their children. Progress - shows task progress directly on the taskbar.
Taskbar	Show task information using labels added to the task on the timeline or change the task colors based on status or manually: Task information - determines what task details are shown on the Gantt chart and their position. Other scope info - shows/hides an icon indicating that a given task is in the scope of multiple boxes. Task color - changes the color of the taskbar based on the status of the user’s choice of color.
Dependencies	Visualize two types of dependencies one the Gantt chart: Strong dependencies. Soft dependencies.
Show/Hide Resources	Use the Resources panel to see the workload of each resource (assignee). When enabled, an additional icon with Resources settings will appear next to the Show/Hide Resources button: Effort modes: Original estimate. Remaining estimate. Aggregations: Daily. Weekly. Monthly.
Switch to Resources	Once the Resources panel is enabled, you can click Switch to Resources to be redirected to the Resources module.
Export	Export data to a specified file type (requires the BigTemplate app): MS Project: MPP, XML, PDF, MPX. MS Excel: XLSX. CSV. PDF image.
Column Views	Column view displays field-based data for your project in a clear, tabular format. Under the Column Views button, you can find: Current View - indicates the active column view. Available section - lists available views you can select. Star (icon) - marks a column view as a favorite. Manage Column View - takes you to the box configuration page, where you can manage your column views. Click the triple dots on the selected column for column configuration options. (The available options vary depending on the column type): Pin column - pins the column on the left or the right side of your column view. Sort tasks - sorts tasks A-Z or Z-A. Customize - if the data cannot be aggregated, it provides options for customizing the way the data in the column is displayed (icon and name; icon; name). If the data can be aggregated, it provides a list of aggregation methods. Column info - displays the field name the column is based on and indicates where the given field is mapped in the field mapping settings. Resize all columns to fit - resizes all columns in the view to fit the screen. Delete - removes the column from the column view. Additionaly, double-click the column edge to fit the column width to its content.
Save changes	When you introduce changes to your current column view, click the Save changes button to save your changes. (Requires Box Admin security role.)
Undo	The Undo button becomes available when you make the following actions: Resize a taskbar on the Gantt chart. Move a taskbar on the Gantt chart. Shortcut: ctrl/cmd + z Important: Only a single, most recent action can be reversed. The Undo button is grayed out by default. It becomes available when the user performs an operation that can be undone. Performing an undo operation OR reloading the page makes the Undo button grayed out again. After pressing the Undo button, the application displays a screen asking the user if he wants to undo the change (Undo or Cancel). The screen shows the issue Key, a summary of the operation, the name of the user who introduced the change, and the date and time of the operation. If the last operation cannot be undone after pressing the Undo button (because some other changes took place elsewhere in the system in the meantime), the application displays a screen saying the undo operation cannot be performed. The screen shows the issue Key, summary of the operation, and the date and time of the operation.
Filters	Add your favorite filters to the header and filter the list tasks to see only the items which you are interested in. There are two types of filters: Quick Filters - narrows down the visible scope based on JQL statements. Date range - narrows down the visible scope to the defined period.
Search Box	Use the search box to filter out unwanted information. Choose between two modes: Text search. JQL.
Filter options	Apply additional filtering options to Quick Filters and Date range.
Timeline zoom	Zoom in and out, move to the current date, or scale to fit all your tasks on the timeline.
Timeline settings	Show additional elements on the timeline: Markers. Timeboxes. Week numbers.
Task structure	Indent and outdent your tasks manually or move them up and down the list. The manual structure might be in conflict with the active structure builders in which case a warning will be displayed.
Deleting tasks	You can delete the tasks from the list in which case the task will be also removed from the Host and External platforms (in case of connecting with other External Platforms such as Trello or other Jira instances).
Infobar	Show more information about your tasks: Change History. Critical path (Infobar). Dependencies. Milestones. Overdue tasks.
Mini-map	Enable a mini-map to navigate through the whole timeline with a single click.

Live-sync

Live sync is available for the Gantt module. It lets you see data changes without refreshing a page. With live sync, your data will be instantly updated when users update their tasks.

Editor slider

When you select several tasks, the editor slider appears on the left side of the Gantt chart. It allows you to carry out the following bulk operations:

Move up or down the hierarchy.
Indent or outdent.
Create or delete a baseline for selected tasks.
Change the scheduling mode (regardless of the relationship of selected tasks).
Convert all to milestones.
Manually select the color.
Delete.

Editor slider options for bulk operations on tasks in the Gantt module.

If you select a single task that has no tasks nested under it, the editor slider additionally displays:

Edit.
Create dependency.
Convert to Jira issue (applies to basic tasks only).

For parent tasks, you can additionally:

Organize children tasks (A-Z or Z-A) by one of the columns available in the current column view.
Create and delete a baseline for a parent task or both parent and children tasks.
Change the scheduling mode for a parent task or both parent and children tasks.

If you cannot see the editor slider, enable it in the View options.

Edit tasks

You can edit task details in several ways.

Inline editing

To inline edit a task detail, double-left-click the selected field in the column and change its value.

Context menu

Right-click on a task in the task structure or on a taskbar on a Gantt timeline (anywhere but the Key field) to prompt a context menu. This menu displays the same options as the editor slider.

Select Edit from the menu.

When you click Edit, a Jira issue screen appears, allowing you to modify the selected task.

If the task is based on a Jira issue, you will see the Configure Fields button in the upper-right corner. Click it to manage issue fields. Other items (such as sprints or components) cannot be edited in this way.

The task details screen looks different for a basic task. On that screen, you can update only the task summary and (optionally) start/end dates.

Editor slider

Left-click on a task or taskbar to select it.
The task is now highlighted in blue and the editor slider appears in between the work breakdown structure and the Gantt timeline.
Click on the three dots.
Click Edit.

Redirection to a connected tool

When you click on the Jira issue Key (either in the column view or on a Gantt timeline), you will be taken to the connected tool (for Jira, it will be the Jira issue detail screen).

Limitations:

Basic tasks do not exist in any connected tool, so their Key does not function as a link.
For a Project, the Key will take you to the Project screen.
For a Sprint, the Key will take you to the Issue search, displaying all the sprint issues.

Delete tasks

The Delete option removes a task from a box. This action cannot be undone. If the task is based on the Jira issue, it will also be deleted from a Jira project.

You can exclude a task from the scope of the box without deleting it on the scope definition page (box configuration > Tasks > Scope definition).

If the task you want to delete is a parent task:

Children tasks will outdent by one level.
The structure present under that task will be preserved.

You can delete a task in the following ways:

Context menu

Right-click on a task and select Delete from the context menu.

Editor slider

Click on a task or taskbar to select it. Select Delete on the editor slider.

In both cases, you will be asked to confirm your action.

It is possible to delete tasks in bulk using the context menu and editor slider.

Connected tool

Remove the task directly in the connected tool (for example, in Jira).

Convert tasks to milestones

You can convert a single task to a milestone (and convert it back to a task). The following methods also apply to bulk task conversion.

Context menu

Right-click on a task or taskbar you want to convert (anywhere but the issue Key link) to prompt the context menu.
From the menu, select Convert to milestone.

Editor slider

Select a task or taskbar to highlight it and prompt the editor slider.
From the editor slider, select Convert to milestone.

Inline editing

Click the plus icon in the upper-right corner of the column view.
Locate the Milestone field (scroll down or type the name into the search bar).
Add the column.
Double left-click on the milestone field to select/deselect a milestone.

Task color

The app can display task colors according to one of the two modes:

Task status.
Manual colors (selected by the user).

The View settings override task color (in either mode). In particular, the Overdue and Critical Path features require overriding the task color setup to show critical information.

Task scheduling mode

Scheduling mode of all tasks

To change the scheduling mode of all tasks, click Data > Scheduling mode and select one of the four options. The scheduling mode you select will overwrite all current scheduling modes.

Scheduling mode of a single task

Before you attempt to change the scheduling mode of any of your tasks, make sure the new mode will not cause a scheduling conflict.

For example, an upper-level task is set to auto bottom-up, while the tasks nested under it (children) are set to auto top-down.

If the task has other tasks nested under it, you can include them in the new mode:

To change the scheduling mode of a single task:

Right-click on a task (anywhere but the Key link) or a taskbar to prompt the context menu.
From the menu, click Scheduling mode.
Select the mode from the list to apply it to your task.

Alternatively, you can change the scheduling mode using the editor slider:

Click the task to highlight it and prompt the editor slider.
From the editor slider, click Scheduling mode.
Select the mode from the list to apply it to your task.

Scheduling mode of a selected group of tasks

Select the tasks using the multi-select mechanism.
Right-click to prompt the context menu. OR use the editor slider to change the scheduling mode for all the selected tasks.

Task baseline

Baseline for all tasks

To create baselines for all the tasks in the scope, click Data > Baselines > New baseline. This action will override the existing baselines.

Baseline for a single task

To create a baseline for a single task:

Right-click on a task (anywhere but the Key link) or a taskbar to prompt the context menu.
From the menu, click the Baseline > Create.

Alternatively, you can create a baseline using the editor slider:

Click the task to highlight it and prompt the editor slider.
From the editor slider, click Baseline > Create.

If the task has other tasks nested under it, you can create a baseline for them as well.

Baseline for a selected group of tasks

Select the tasks using the multi-select mechanism.
Right-click to prompt the context menu. OR use the editor slider to create baselines for all the selected tasks.

Task structure

Task structure can be organized in the following ways:

Automated task structure based on Structure builders.
Drag-and-drop mechanism. Select a single task (or multiple tasks), click the task on the icon on the rear left to drag it, and then move and drop it in a new location.

If you move a task that has children nested under it, the whole structure (task and all its children) will be moved.

Keyboard shortcuts

Move up: Shift+↑

Move down: Shift+↓

Indent: Shift+→

Outdent: Shift+←

Some bulk operations are too complex to be carried out for the whole group using shortcuts.

Editor slider

Select a group of tasks using the multi-select mechanism and position them with the arrow buttons from the editor slider.

Some bulk operations are too complex to be carried out for the whole group using the editor slider. If you have selected the tasks and the editor slider' arrow buttons are greyed out, you will not be able to move/indent/outdent your tasks.

Context menu

Select a group of tasks using the multi-select mechanism, right-click one of them to prompt the context menu, and position them with the context menu options.

Some operations are too complex to be carried out for the whole group. Unavailable actions are greyed out.

Undo a task

The Undo button allows you to undo the most recent action: taskbar moving or taskbar resing.

The Undo button is grayed out by default. It becomes active when you perform an operation that can be reversed. Performing an undo operation OR reloading the page makes the Undo button grayed out again.

After pressing the Undo button, the application displays a screen asking for confirmation whether you want to undo the change (Undo or Cancel).