How To Insert Chart Template In Word

This step-by-step Word Gantt nautical chart tutorial illustrates how to create professional Gantt charts right within the popular word processor.

Professional Gantt Chart Professionals who wish to create a Gantt chart in Microsoft Give-and-take can do so using the tool'south Stacked Bar feature and some transmission formatting. Notwithstanding, since the software is primarily designed for editing copy and lacks a born Gantt feature, information technology may not offer too much flexibility when information technology comes to more refined customizations or regular updates.

If you need to create impressive Gantt charts and update them frequently for recurring presentations, PowerPoint may show faster and more efficient. Below, nosotros will demonstrate how to make a Gantt chart both manually in Word and automatically in PowerPoint..

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How to manually make a Gantt chart in Word

ane. Build a bones stacked bar graphic.

Open a new Word document and ready the orientation of the folio from Portrait to Landscape to get more space for your Gantt chart. To practice so, go to the Layout tab on the Word ribbon and click on Orientation.
Go to the Insert tab and select Chart from the Illustration department.
In the All Charts window that pops up, select the Bar category and choose Stacked Bar equally the blazon of graphic to use for your Gantt chart.

2. Add together your project schedule information.

One time you complete the steps above, Word will generate a standard chart similar the 1 below forth with an Excel tabular array where you lot tin can supplant the placeholder data with your own.

Standard Stacked Bar Chart in Word Quick tip: Y'all tin can change the type, style, and color scheme of your nautical chart from the Design tab highlighted in the image above or past clicking on the small brush symbol on the right side of the graphic. You can also resize the visual past clicking on the nautical chart area and dragging its sizing handles until you attain the desired top and width.

To begin working on your Gantt nautical chart, you lot first demand to outline the principal phases or tasks of your projection. Once y'all determine the projection tasks, you lot tin can then assign a start date, terminate date and duration (number of days in which a chore is carried out) to each of them:

Enter your tasks' descriptions or titles in column A of the Excel tabular array visible in your Word certificate. As y'all listing the task names, the items will exist stacked upwardly on the graphic, the first task existence displayed at the bottom of the graphic and the last one at the elevation.
Rename the columns entitled Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 into Start Date, End Date, and Duration (days), respectively.
To properly brandish the starting time and terminate dates of your tasks, yous may wish to format columns B and C earlier entering your data. To do and then, select the two columns, correct-click on them, and choose Format Cells from the shortcut menu. In the dialogue box that pops upward, pick Appointment from the Category listing, and select the desired date format from the Type bill of fare.
Once the correct format for columns B and C is set up, yous tin can type in your tasks' First and Terminate dates. Note: Don't worry if the graphic seems to exist off subsequently you enter the dates. We will set up this quickly as soon as we make full out the Elapsing cavalcade.
Calculate the elapsing of your kickoff task by typing the formula =$C2-$B2 in prison cell D2. Then, select the cell and elevate its make full handle downwards across column D. This will apply the same formula to the rest of the cells nether Duration.
Now that you lot've calculated the task durations, you don't need the End Date series anymore, and so you can remove information technology from the graphic to brand the Elapsing series visible. To do so, select the nautical chart then:

i. Click on the Chart Filters button (the funnel symbol on the right side of the graphic);

2. Uncheck the box to the left of End Date, under the Series group;

three. Click on Apply.

Once you've filtered out the End Dates, your chart should expect like this:

3. Turn your graphic into a Gantt chart.

Now your graphic is getting closer to a Gantt chart, but it's not quite in that location nevertheless. To turn it into a Gantt, you'll need to make the blueish bars transparent so that but the greyness ones remain visible. The remaining bars will stand for the tasks of your Gant chart. To do this:

Click on whatsoever of the blue bars on your chart to select the whole serial.
Correct-click on the pick.
In the mini toolbar that pops upwardly, click on the Make full push button, and select No Fill.

The resulting Gantt chart should look similar this:

4. Customize your Gantt nautical chart.

With your Gantt nautical chart ready, you can now make further customizations to personalize it and make it better fit for presentations.

To make your graphic stand out more, you can employ a diversity of styles and effects to it from the Nautical chart Tools Format tab on the Word ribbon. In our example, we chose to add together a slight shadow to the plot area using Shape Effects, and we also applied a Quick Style to all the tasks to make them pop out.
You can also recolor individual tasks to draw attention to detail phases or activities. To do and then, select the desired task bar (you lot may demand to click on information technology twice), then right-click on information technology, and and so go to Fill in the shortcut menu to change its color.
If you desire to reverse the tasks' order, double-click the list of task descriptions on the left side of the nautical chart. And so, in the Format Axis pane that opens, y'all need to tick the checkbox in front end of Categories in opposite social club, under the Centrality Options group.

You will discover that the commencement task is at present displayed at the acme of your Gantt nautical chart and the last i at the bottom, with the date markers too moved from beneath to the tiptop of the graphic.
To bring the task bars closer to the vertical axis of your graphic, double-click on the date serial above the bars to open its settings in the Format Axis pane on the correct. Here, in the Centrality Options group, increase the Minimum number under the header chosen Premises to adjust the leftmost boundary of your chart. In our case, nosotros inverse the initial number from 44300.0 to 44400.0.
In our example, we also decreased the width of our task bars so there would be more infinite between them on the graphic. To do the same, select your tasks then:

i. Right-click on the selection and choose Format Data Serial from the shortcut card that appears;

ii. On the right, under Series Options, increase the per centum in the box next to Gap Width. For our Gantt nautical chart, nosotros raised it to 175%.
Finally, you may likewise want to remove the legend generated automatically by Word as it can be a petty confusing. Simply select it, press Delete, and that's information technology. In the end, your terminal Gantt chart can look similar to this:

Download MS Word Gantt chart template

How to automatically make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint

Making a Gantt chart in Microsoft Discussion is possible but customizing and updating it tin turn out to be too time-consuming. PowerPoint is a faster and simpler pick if you need to build impressive visuals for recurring communications.

Below you volition learn how to automatically create a Gantt nautical chart in PowerPoint using a lightweight add together-in called Office Timeline. To get started, you lot first demand to install Office Timeline Pro+, which will add together a Gantt chart maker tab to the PowerPoint ribbon.

ane. Open PowerPoint and add together your data into the Function Timeline wizard.

Go to the Office Timeline Pro+ tab on the PowerPoint ribbon and click on New.

Yous will be taken to a gallery with a diverseness of Gantt nautical chart templates and styles you can choose from.
Select the template yous desire to use for your graphic by double-clicking on it, and and then click Use Template in the preview window. For our example, nosotros will choose a custom Gantt nautical chart template made earlier.
Now, in the Information Entry wizard, you can either enter your task descriptions and dates manually or re-create-paste them from an existing Excel schedule. This is where yous can also starting time making a few styling choices, such equally changing the shape or color of each job. When ready, click the Create push.

two. A new Gantt chart slide will be instantly generated in PowerPoint.

Depending on the template used and the styling choices you brand, you can go a Gantt chart slide similar to this:
Once you've generated your Gantt chart, you can restyle or update information technology automatically with Office Timeline Pro+. Y'all tin add or edit data at any time, change fonts, colors, shapes, positions or spacing, and include extras such equally Time Elapsed, Task Duration or Notes. In our case above, we chose to insert a few milestones besides, reposition job titles, and add Percent Complete to make the visual clearer.

Download PowerPoint Gantt chart template

FAQs most making Gantt charts in MS Give-and-take

This section provides the answers to the virtually frequently asked questions on making a Gantt chart in MS Discussion.

Does Miscrosoft Word accept a Gantt chart template?

Developed as a word processing platform, Microsoft Discussion does non include whatever pre-designed Gantt chart templates that can be readily updated with your own data. Even so, the software does allow you lot to build a basic Gantt starting from a Stacked Bar Chart that you lot demand to manually format.

How do you create a Gantt chart in Word?

As our tutorial higher up has demonstrated in item, here are the main steps you need to accept in order to make a Gantt chart using Microsoft Discussion:

Insert a basic Stacked Bar Chart in your MS Word document.
Add your project schedule information to the nautical chart.
Format your graphic into a Gantt chart past making role of your nautical chart confined invisible.
Customize your Gantt by recoloring your tasks, adjusting the gap between the chart confined or by reversing their display club.

As an easier and much faster culling, yous tin can create a Gantt in PowerPoint past copying and pasting your projection information from Excel with the help of an intuitive Gantt chart maker add-in chosen Office Timeline. Find out how to exercise so with our short video below:

How to make a PowerPoint Gantt Chart from Excel in less than 60 seconds:

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