How to Create a Gantt Chart in Microsoft Word
Udn Webber
Writer
A Gantt chart gives a visual representation of a single project’s tasks and resources scheduled over time. Suitable for any team or industry, Gantt charts are a valuable tool for project managers to keep teams and stakeholders informed of progress at every phase.
We’ll cover not one but two ways to build a Gantt chart in Microsoft Word with easy-to-follow tutorials! ⚙️
How to Make a Gantt Chart in Word
If you’d like to create a simple Gantt chart table in Microsoft Word, jump to the Version 2 tutorial .
Note: In this tutorial, we use Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.54. The steps and features may look different if you’re on another platform or version such as Google Docs or Google Sheets .
👉 Version 1: Creating a Gantt chart with a Excel table
Created in Microsoft Word
4. Go to the Insert tab > Chart > Column > Stacked Bar graph , and under 2-D Bar , click the middle chart
Note: An Excel window will open automatically
Created in Microsoft Word
5. In the Excel application , rename the first row of columns B , C, and D to Start Date, End Date, and Duration respectively
Created in Microsoft Excel
6. Highlight the cells B and C and right-click. Scroll down to Format Cells and choose your desired date format
Note: The number of cells highlighted depends on the number of tasks you’re adding to the Gantt chart
Created in Microsoft Excel
7. Starting with the first task, edit the placeholder data by adding your project information:
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8. Select cell D2 and type =C2-$B2 in the formula bar
Created in Microsoft Excel
9. Select cell D2 again and click to drag the square at the bottom right corner until the last task in the column
Created in Microsoft Excel
Created in Microsoft Word
3. Click a blue bar to select them all > Fill > No Fill
Created in Microsoft Word
Optional: Add a color scheme to the chart by selecting the table, and under the Format tab > choose your desired table color
Created in Microsoft Word
Optional: Add a color scheme to the task bars by selecting a task bar > Format tab > choose your desired table color
Created in Microsoft Word
Created in Microsoft Word
👉 Version 2: Creating a Gantt chart with a Word table
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7. Click and drag the centerline towards the left with enough space for the task names
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8. Highlight all right columns and under the Layout tab, click Split Cells . Then, type 8 in the Number of columns box, and click OK
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9. In the table, type Week 1 through Week 8 in the first row and add all task names in the first column
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10. Highlight all rows except the first row, and under the Layout tab, click the up arrow under Height control to adjust the row height
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11. Highlight all rows except the first row again, and under the Layout tab, select the Center icon to center align text
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1. Highlight the cells and go to Table Design tab > Shading > choose your desired color(s)
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Optional: Highlight the task bars in a single row, then go to the Layout tab > Merge Cells
Created in Microsoft Word
Created in Microsoft Word
Created in Microsoft Word
✨ Bonus tutorials :
Create Professional Gantt Charts in UDN Task Manager
While it’s handy to know how to create Gantt charts in a popular tool like Microsoft Word or any project management software, that was a ton of work for a chart that will be unusable the next day… maybe in the next hour or two.
As we all know (and experience), projects change daily. So while you’re busy manually creating a dynamic Gantt chart in MS Word, the data, people, and circumstances might change, and you’ll have to start over.
This inevitable situation is why it’s essential to use an intuitive software tool to remove the manual work and update in real-time. With UDN Task Manager , a powerful Microsoft Project alternative , you won’t need to create multiple versions of Gantt chart templates!
UDN Task Manager is the ultimate productivity platform allowing teams to manage projects, collaborate smarter, and bring all work under one tool. Whether you’re new to productivity apps or an expert project manager, UDN Task Manager ’s customization can stretch to any team size for consistent collaboration.
Access UDN Task Manager on any device, anywhere, any time
UDN Task Manager ’s Gantt view couldn’t be any easier to create and manage.
Add a view through the + in the Views Bar
What Microsoft Word can’t do that the UDN Task Manager ’s Gantt chart feature exceeds at is setting and managing dependent tasks :
Set dependencies and determine the chain of tasks crucial to a project’s completion with Critical Path and Slack Time
With the drag-and-drop editor, make changes in seconds to your Gantt Chart without starting from scratch:
What’s next?
Create your professional Gantt chart in UDN Task Manager , a feature-rich project management tool, and share it with anyone for free today!
