Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 Steps

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Excel Timeline Step 1 – Start with the End in Mind

This image s hows the finished timeline

If y ou were doing this from scratch wit hout my step-by -step guide, I would recommend you get a blank piece of paper and sketch an outline of the timeline and keep it in front of you as you create it in Excel. Don’t worry too much about how prett y it is, just get the shape down and remember that it’s for your own reference. Since I’ve already created the timeline, I can show you a s creenshot of t he finished worksheet. T his will help y ou picture t he end esult so y ou have a target t o aim for. My finished timeline shows orange “At Risk” bars, which I won’t explain in this p ost. You’ll need to read my next blog post where I’ll explain how to add these (coming soon).

Excel Timeline Step 2 – Create your Project Events Table My downloadable timeline template has project events laid out as a table in Excel. I split the example project into four phases, and each phase has a certain number of sub-tasks.

This image shows the pure data with no timeline chart 

Each event is given these values: Phase  – Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4 or “Today”. T his show which phase of the p roject t he event falls under. The rows labelled “Today” are used in step (9) “The Today Line” when we add a vertical line to show where we are today. Type  – Phase, Task or “Today”. This shows the type of event, whether it is a project phase or a task. The rows labelled “Today” are used in step (9) “The Today Line” when we add a vertical line to show where we are today. Start Date  – This is the event’s start date. Event name  – This is the name of the event t hat shows up in the chart data series labels. Duration (days)  – This is the duration of the event measured in days. % Complete  – Shows the % complete for each task and phase. 0% means the task has not started, and 100% means the t ask  is fully complete. Phase % complete is an estimate and not calculated with reference to task completion. You will need to apply your own rules to assess the Phase % complete. Completion (days)  – This is the duration of the event x %Complete. A t ask that lasts 10 days and is 50% complete will have completion of 5 days (= 10 days x 50%).

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Height – The height value is important because it determines how high or low the event is displayed in the timeline chart. You can set any height values you want, but it’s a good idea to stick to small numbers near to zero. I used numbers between +25 and -25. If the height is +ve the event shows above the X-axis. If the height is -ve the event shows below the X-axis.

Excel Timeline Step 3 – Insert XY Scatter Chart & add your first data series “Duration”

 Insert XY scatter chart and add Series "Duration" 

It’s t ime to insert a chart to visualize the project event data you created in Step 2. I used an XY scatter chart as it allows us to be lexible with the position of data points on both X-axis and Y-axis. In Excel 2010 here are the instructions you need to follow: 1. Click on the Insert Menu 2. In the Charts group, click on Scatter 3. Select Scatter with only Markers  (the first option) and a blank chart app ears on your worksheet 4. Reposition that to cover the range B4:K26 by dragging the edges and resizing the chart (tip : hold the ALT butt on to snap the edges to cell borders for precision alignment) 5. Right click  the empty chart and click on Select Data 6. Add a data series by clicking on the Add button 7. For series name  select E30 (“ Duration”) 8. For Series X values  select C33:C46 (“Start Date”) 9. For Series Y values  select H33:H46 (“Height”) 10. Click on OK to close the Add data series dialog 11. Click on OK to close the Select Data dialog This gives us a simple scatter chart with default formatting. Let’s format the event markers to green diamonds:

Download your free 27 to-page preview of Power T ips for Microsoft Exc el 1. Click on a data select PDF the Series point “Duration”

Click 

2. Right click  on any data point selected, and select Format Data Series Here 3. Click on Marker Options , and select the Built-in marker type diamond 4. Change the size  to 10 pt 5. Click on Marker Fill , and select Solid fill 6. Change the Fill Color to green If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 2 min 33 sec (Step 3). So we have created a scatter chart with one data series called “Duration”. And at t he moment it only shows t he start date wit h a green diamond marker. Change the title of the chart by double clicking the textbox – enter something like “Project Timeline”. We’ll add the actual event durations in days in step 5 “The Error Bars” by adding horizontal X-error bars, but first we should clean  p t he chart formatting.

Excel Timeline Step 4 – Clean up the chart formatting on your Timeline Scatter Chart & Add Event Labels

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Clean up the chart formatting by removing items we do not need 

OK, let’s clean up our chart. You can see in the screenshot above that I got rid of some things we don’t need: Y-axis – Hide the vertical Y-axis because it does not add any information to this chart. Horizontal guidelines  – Hide t he horizontal guidelines because they do not add any information to this chart. Legend – Get rid of the default chart legend because we will replace it with something that looks better in step 10 “The Chart Legends”.

I also chose to display Data labels  and position t hem left of the data points . In Excel 2010 a nice way to do all the above is to use the Chart Tools menu. Many of you will be familiar with changing these options so y ou won’t need any further guidance. But if you want further instructions just watch my video from 5 min 39 sec (Step 4), and I take you t hrough each step I used t o clean up the chart formatting with the Chart Tools menu in Excel 2010. How to change the text on the event labels

Changing the text for every event label on the timeline is quite tricky and time-consuming. This is because you need to select each and every label in the data series, then relabel it. You can watch me to this in my video from 6 min 47 sec to 8 min 42 sec. In the video I sped up t he process x4 times, so if y ou are doing this at normal speed it would take longer. Here are instructions for how to change the event label text: 1. Click on an Event label , to select the labels for the whole data series. Don’t click on the green diamonds because that selects the data points. 2. Click on the Event label again , to edit just that one single label. 3. Press t he = key, or click in the Formula Bar. 4. Either t yp e in the cell reference for the Event label, or click on the cell with the Event label. 5. Repeat the first 4 steps for the rest of the Event labels. If you find t his step too difficult or cumbersome, you could use VBA to make it faster – and I revisit t his idea in my followup article (click here). How to Freeze Panes

I also decided at t his st age that it would be useful to freeze panes at row 28. Doing this keeps rows 1 – 27 in view, while limiting the scroll area to rows 28 and below. This means we’ll always be able to see the timeline chart. To freeze panes in Excel 2010: 1. Select cell A28 2. Click on the the View menu in the Ribbon 3. In the Window group, click on Freeze Panes 4. In the drop-down select “ Freeze Panes“ 5. This adds a black horizont al line above row 28, and everything above the line is frozen. The scroll bar will only move what’s  below the line.

Excel Timeline Step 5 – Add Error Bars to bring your Timeline Template to life

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

 Add X Error Bars to show task / phase duration

After st ep 5, y our scatter chart will start to look like a timeline as we add grey bars to show how long each event t akes. The way to do this is using X Error Bars : 1. Select the scatter chart 2. In the Chart Tools menu  group in the Ribbon, click on the Layout menu 3. In the Current S election  group, select the Series “Duration” from the drop down 4. In the Analysis  group, click on Error Bars , then click on More Error bar options . This brings up t he Format Error Bars dialog box 5. Back on the Current S election  group, make sure the Se ries “Duration” X Error Bars  is selected. Excel may bring up the Y Error Bars instead, but we want the X Error Bars for this step. 6. Look at the Format Error Bars Dialog box and make sure it say s “ Horizontal Error Bars “ 7. Set the opt ions: Direction = Plus, End Styl e  = No Cap 8. For Error Amount , click on the radio button labelled “ Custom “, t hen the click on the butt on “ Specify Value “ 9. For Positive Error Value , select the range E33:E46 and click OK  10. Not e: Keep the Format Error Bars dialog box open You’ll be able to see the horizontal duration lines extend out from the green diamond markers. Now we can apply some formatting: 1. Click on Line Color. Change the line color to Solid Line , and choose a gray color. 2. Click on Line S tyle . Change the width to 4pt. 3. Not e: Keep the Format Error Bars dialog box open OK, we now have gray duration bars extending to the right of our diamond markers. Let’s add blue drop lines from the markers down to t he timeline. This helps y ou to see the st art date for each event on t he timeline. The way to do this is using Y-error bars : 1. Make sure your chart is s till selected and you can see the Chart Tools layout menu (Excel 2010) 2. In the Current S election  group, select the Se ries “Duration” Y Error Bars  from the drop down 3. Look back in the Format Error Bars dialog box to check that it say s “ Vertical Error Bars “ 4. Set the opt ions: Direction = Minus, End Styl e  = No Cap 5. For Error Amount , click on the radio button labelled “ Percentage“, and enter 100% 6. Not e: Keep the Format Error Bars dialog box open  Now you’ll be able to see the vertical drop lines extend down from the green diamond markers. Let’s apply some formatting: 1. Click on Line Color. Change the line color to Solid Line , and choose a blue color. 2. Click on Line S tyle . Change the width to 2pt and select a dash type . If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 9 min 51 sec (Step 5).

Excel Timeline Step 6 – Add your second data series “Completion” to the Timeline Chart

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

 Add second data series "Completion" 

In step 6 we add another data series to the chart t o show t ask completion estimates. These are calculated as a p ercentage of the task  or phase duration. If a t ask takes 10 days to complete and is 50% complete, t he completion bar should show 5 days done, with 5 days remaining. This completion bar is a visual aid and does not take into account weekends and public holidays. Add the second data series t o the scatter chart wit h these values: Name  – G30 (“ Completion”) X values  – C33:C46 (Start dates) Y values  – H33:H46 (Heights from axis)

In this tutorial I added the Series “ Completion” after the Series “Duration”, so Excel automatically makes it app ear on the top layer  of the chart. You can see the Series “Completion” with its red markers in the above screenshot. If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 13 min 37 sec (Step 6).

Excel Timeline Step 7 – Format your second data series

 Format the markers for the second data series "Completion" 

In step 7 we format t he Series “Completion” so it looks like the Series “Duration”, with green diamond markers (size 10 p ts). You should remove the data labels from this series. Select the chart Series “Completion” and then: Click on Chart Tools Click on Layout Select Data Labels  and choose “None” You should also remove the marker line: With the Series “Completion” selected click on Format Data Series Select Marker Line Color and set t he value to No Line If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 14 min 55 sec (Step 7).

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Excel Timeline Step 8 – Add Error Bars to show the %Completion of each Task or Phase in your Timeline In step 8 we add X Error Bars to t he Series “Completion”. Y Error Bars are not needed because the start dates are the same.

 Add green X Error Bars to show % Completion

To remove the Y Error Bars: Select the Se ries “Completi on” Y Error Bars For Error Amount  select Fixed Value Set this to 0.0 After we complete t his step we have horizontal green Completion bars for t hose tasks t hat are part ially or fully complete. I decided o set the width of the green Completi on bars  at 7 pts  wide compared to t he gray Duration bars  which are 4 pts  wide. If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 15 min 53 sec (Step 8).

Excel Timeline Step 9 – Add a vertical red “Today Line”

 Add red vertical "Today Line" to show where we are today

I decided to add a vertical marker line to show where we are today. It’s a bright red vertical line that goes to the top and bottom of  our chart to make it clear where today it: Add a new data series  and name it “ Today” X values  – C31:C32 (Start dates) Y values  – H31:H32 (Heights from axis)

Change the top label  to read “Today” Move t he top label so it s its above the marker  Make the t op label bold Delete the bottom label Format the series to remove markers Make sure t here are no X Error Bars  by setting the Fixed Value to 0.0 Set the Y Error Bars  to D irection = Minus, End Style = No Cap , Percentage = 100% Format the Y Error Bars to solid red lines of 3 p ts w idth In my t emplate I used a fixed date for today’s date. T his is to make sure when you open t he template in a couple of months (or  ears) the today line will still be in the right time frame, and not months (or years) after the events on t he project t imeline.

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

But when y ou use this for live projects I s uggest you rep lace the fixed date in cell B2 with the formula = TODAY() The first t wo lines of our data table are reserved for the today line (one for the part above the axis and one for the part below the axis). The formulas in cells C31 and C32 point to cell B2, so if you update B2 the today line will automatically move. The = TODAY() formula will automatically use today’s date, as long as you have automatic calculation on. Or you can p ress F9 t o orce Excel to do a re-calculation of the worksheet.

Excel Timeline Step 10 – Create your custom Chart Legend by adding Textboxes linked to cell text In step 4 we removed the chart legend, and in step 10 we are going to add our own chart legend.

 Add Chart Legend using textboxes linked to cell text 

We’ll use text boxes to add our own chart legend. 1. Click on the Timeline chart 2. Click on the Insert menu  (in the Ribbon) 3. Click on Textbox 4. Create a Textbox in the top right hand corner of the chart 5. Ty pe anyt hing in the textbox (e.g. xyz) 6. Format t he textbox background so the color matches the gray of the Duration X Error Bars 7. Format t he foreground text color to contrast w ith the background (e.g. make it whit e) 8. While the textbox is still selected, go to t he formula bar, press = then select cell E30 (“Duration”) to link  the text of the textbox to the contents of cell E30 This means that whatever is in cell E30 will show up in the textbox. Now create another textbox for the Series “Completion”  and ink it to cell G30. Hey p resto – y ou now have your custom chart legend. You could stick to the default chart legend, but I like using text boxes because they are easier to reformat and reposition than the standard Excel chart legend. If you require detailed step-by-step instructions, watch my video from 21 min 41 sec (Step 10). Do you like free Excel tips and tricks? If y ou’re interested in receiving updates  about future Excel tips from Launch Excel, take this chance to sign up for  y RSS feed by clicking on the orange RSS icon to the right. It’s free and easy to sign up, and you’ll be able to read y content hot off the press!

Timeline Template Download Page If you w ant a copy of my T imeline Template you can download it for free. All you need to do is T weet and Get It. Visit the download page here. Cheers, Victor  P.S. I have a followup Timeline article in the pipeline, and will cover some further ideas for extending the timeline template. Make sure you check it out – I will link to it once it’s published. UPDAT E (6-Feb-2012) – I have published my followup article, read it here. Share this now ➜

Related posts: 1. Easy Project Management using Microsoft Excel

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Welcome to Launch Excel If this is your first time to LaunchExcel.com - Welcome to Launch Excel. My name is Victor and I'm the Chief  Teaching Officer of Launch Excel, a website I started to help you learn how to use Microsoft Excel more effectively. Check out my welcome page created specially for you: Click here to view Welcome Page

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45 Responses t o How to create a Project Timeline Template today in 10 s imple steps using Excel 2010 Download your free Project Timeline Template in Excel January 30, 2012 | 4:42 pm [...] so y ou may get variable results wit h other versions of Excel. Read the timeline template article here for step-by step guidelines on how this t emplate was put [...]

Easy Project Management using Microsoft Excel January 31, 2012 | 11:15 am [...] project timelines (graphical summary of milestones) [...]

5 ideas to enhance our Excel Project Timeline Template February 6, 2012 | 4:39 pm [...] are many ways you could enhance the p opular Project Timeline template we looked at in our p revious p ost. In this p ost I’ll cover 5 different ideas you can try [...]

James Black  March 6, 2012 | 6:35 pm

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

This is great info on how to s et up a project t imeline. Thank you for sharing this information and for y our insights.

Victor  March 6, 2012 | 9:49 pm James, thanks for the feedback – hope you enjoyed downloading and using the template.

Mikael April 12, 2012 | 5:49 pm Hi, I have problems with adding more objects than there is room for on the rows. How do I extend the cell 46 limit?

Victor  April 12, 2012 | 8:10 pm Mikael To add more tasks and phases I recommend that you insert new rows above row 46 . If y ou simply add new rows after 46 then the chart D ata ranges need to be adjusted for each of the series (Duration, Completion, Today, At Risk) – much easier to get Excel to automatically expand the Data ranges for you by insert new rows above row 46. To insert a new row, right click on row 46 and then select “Insert”. T o insert 10 new rows, select rows 46 t o 55 then right click on one of the highlighted rows and select “Insert”. Once you add new rows you s hould copy the formulas from an existing row . Then you can update the new rows to your desired values. Oh and if you’re adding a lot of new tasks and phases, you may need to perform a lot of labelling and I’d recommend installing a free Excel add-in to help automate the labelling process. I talk about the XY Chart Labeler in tip #5 of my follow-up bonus post that y ou can read here: http://www.launchexcel.com/timelines-in-excel-bonus-2/ Cheers, Victor 

Steve April 25, 2012 | 10:58 am This looks amazing. You’ve done a lot of work here and it shows! Thank you for sharing so generously. I’m fairly new to project management and looking for a starter t ool that I can start s imple with, but can grow as my needs grow. One thing that concerns me is the question of what question to ask. Like, what am I missing? What would a dedicated project management program give me that might be very important to me? I need to get something together by next w eek, and it would be good for others to be able to import it into MS Project, (I t hink  this should do that, yes?). What about adding costs? Thanks again for sharing so generously! ~S Victor  April 25, 2012 | 12:01 pm Hi Steve Thanks for the great feedback on the free Launch Excel Timeline Template. My general advice is t o use the right t ool for your project. At a basic level this means: • MS Excel is great for a quick and cheap solution to projects that are relatively simple. The downloadable timeline I present above is fine for some purposes, and y ou can quickly t weak the layout t o suit your organisation’s requirements. • MS Project is far more feature rich, and can automatically schedule tasks using entered dates and durations. In MS Project Pro 2010 you can even visualise team resources and connect teams via shared task lists (for new features in 2010 see this Microsoft Article) In terms of the question “what question should I ask” you could check out this art icle: http ://epmlive.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/excel-vs-project-how-to-convince-managers-that-project-really-is-bett er-formanaging-projects/ Some key p oints that jumped out at me: • Project can calculate critical paths automatically • Project allows users to manage cost and resources by defining local project resources • Project can be used to present project data to different stakeholders (calendar / gantt / network / timeline) • Project can quickly set a baseline and automatically track progress against the baseline

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

There are probably several other key points which make MS Project superior for managing complex projects – and I’d welcome comments and feedback from others who are more experienced than myself. As for importing data from Excel into Project, y es that’s possible and you can read these M icrosoft.com resources explaining how: • Excel 2003 • Excel 2007 • Excel 2010 And some other resources too: http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/7638.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb738433(v=office.12) .aspx Hope that helps! Cheers Victor  Steve April 25, 2012 | 5:02 pm Thanks, Victor. I’m on a Mac and I’m considering Merlin. It’s got very good reviews, but it’s a couple hundred bucks, so I hesitate. I’m going to st art with pen and paper just as you suggest and see where that leads. Thanks again for the great info. Best, Steve

Rao May 1, 2012 | 9:08 am Hi Victor, That’s really a good work. I have question regarding How to represent a task which is on hold and stared now in “AtRisk” Seried. ex : Task1 started on N ov’2011 and completed 30% and its in hold. Again task M ay st art from June’2012. How to represent this? Victor  May 1, 2012 | 11:13 am Hi Rao, Thanks for the question. If y ou want to put a task on hold you can do this by adding a new series similar to the “At Risk” series. In the screenshot below I added a new series called “On Hold” and formatted the X-error bar to be blue, with end points of  a circle and arrow. The original task length is extended so that it reaches beyond the length of the “On Hold” bar, which is why the grey bar in the background is longer than the blue “On Hold” portion.

If you need any further help we’ll discuss over email. Cheers Victor  P.S. If you need to contact me by email, head over to the about page and scroll down to the Contact Form. P.P.S You can find instructions on how to add another series on my followup page: http://www.launchexcel.com/timelinesin-excel-bonus-2/ (Idea 1 “Show Project T asks that are At Risk”)

Mazhar 

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

May 5, 2012 | 3:59 am A good learning site. Can we show two different calendar dates eg.Gregorian & Jewish Calendas on x-axis? Regards, Victor  May 5, 2012 | 6:47 am Hi M azhar thanks for y our comment and good question. Yes I reckon it’s possible to show 2 different calendar dates on the x-axis. Possible but very fiddly! Excel allows a secondary X-axis only if there is already a series plotted on a secondary Y-axis. And it allows a secondary Y-axis only if  there are at least two series on the chart. I have not personally created an Excel chart with a secondary x-axis before so cannot provide detailed instructions, however  here are some links with material that give a little more guidance: http ://www.lytebyt e.com/2009/02/24/how-to-create-excel-chart-with-2-y-axis-or-x-axis/ http ://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/two-x-axes-one-y-axis-different-data-x-t2408001.html Hope that helps, Victor  (Edit added: 17 May 2012) P.S. I originally listed a link to a forum p ost on Mr Excel.com but Google blacklisted M rExcel as containing Malware (odd!) and I have removed the link just to be safe. If you w ant to s ee the original post y ou can visit it (but p lease be cautious) by taking out the sp aces below… http : // www . mrexcel . com /forum/showthread.php?t=17616

Susan May 6, 2012 | 3:02 pm Victor: Thank you so much for sharing your work. With your template and my lack of excel knowledge it is now possible for me to s et up our timeline. The goal in my chart is to make sure we are not t aking on too many projects t hat start/complete overlap each other. The risk would be two or more projects t hat will if awarded the project overlap with other  work already committed t o. How do I change my “ AT RISK” to alert me when more than two projects fall anywhere within the same time frame of st art/completion dates vs at risk t o be completed on time? Thank you!!!!! Susan Victor  May 7, 2012 | 10:38 am Hi Susan Thanks for y our question about how t o automatically show which projects overlap using something similar to the “AT RISK’ series. My short answer is t hat the functionality y ou’re looking for is beyond my s imple template. My suggestion would be to visually line up the projects so that t hose with similar start and end dates are close to each other, and then use your visual  judgement to figure out which projects overlap. I tried working on a set of formulas to build up the desired “overlap” feature but realised that even if I got the formulas to work they’d be difficult t o troubleshoot if t hey broke. Much easier and probably s afer in this case to rely on visual perception which is prett y p owerful. I know that’s p robably not what you hoped for, so if another reader has some bright ideas we’d all be happ y t o hear from you! Cheers Victor 

Our first 1,000 email subscribers! | Launch Excel June 30, 2012 | 9:36 pm [...] How t o create a Project Timeline Template today in 10 simple step s using Excel 2010 [...]

Helpful Excel Tips I learned at Launchexcel.com | GanttDiva August 12, 2012 | 7:23 pm [...] out Victor Chan’s website, www.launchexcel.com . I particularly like the description of the project timeline as this is a very nice way of put ting together a project roadmap t hat easy for p eople who are not [...]

Greg August 14, 2012 | 3:02 am Great timeline. The best I found. I was able to create a timeline from scratch using your st ep by step instructions in Excel 2007. However, I am experiencing one problem. Whenever I save the Excel spreadsheet and then reopen it, the X axis lines disappear. Checking further, the error bar line color is reset to No Line. Both the Duration and Completion lines disapp ear. The data points are still visible. I disp layed the lines and then saved the sp readsheet as many as 10 times with t he same result. A ny s uggestions on how to fix this p roblem?

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Victor  August 14, 2012 | 8:17 am Hi Greg. I’ve not come across that problem before, where the XY scatter chart X-axis error bar disappears after  a save due to t he error bar line color being reset to No Line. I’ll send you an email so we can try to s ort out your  issue. It would help if y ou can send me a copy of your T imeline file (without any confidential information). If anyone else has come across t his problem and thinks they know the answer p lease feel free to comment. Cheers Victor 

Victor  December 3, 2012 | 4:27 pm OK – Just want to post an update on the issue where X-error bars disappear after saving the spreadsheet. It looks like saving as .xls file (2003 compatible) causes this problem. So you must save the timeline spreadsheet as .xlsx file (2007+ compatible) and the X-error bars do not disappear. Case closed.

Tom August 28, 2012 | 3:04 am Victor, how come when I extend my project milestones start date into 2013 i lose all my format on my timeline. I enter the timeline of Jan 4 2013 and all start dates move to one side of the chart. Any ideas. Victor  August 28, 2012 | 2:56 pm Tom – thanks for leaving a comment. It sounds like maybe your start dates are moving to one side of the timeline because you have some empty cells or cells with zeros that feed into the chart data range. When this happens, Excel interprets the “z ero” date as 1-Jan-1900, as that’s t he way M icrosoft have built dates t o work  in Excel. Or it could be that you have dates in early 2012 as well as dates in 2013… due to the way the X-axis is set up you’re going to get a squashed chart like this:

With the current t emplate you will p robably have to create 2 or more timeline charts t o separate out the 2012 and 2013 tasks/milestones, or you could manually change the X-axis max/min values to show a narrower date range i.e. zoom in.

Onix October 4, 2012 | 4:18 pm Thank you ill review and get back with my comments but seems great at first appearance.

John October 7, 2012 | 6:20 pm Victor. First of all thanks for a great instruction by far the best I was able to find. Although I have one question is it  possible to replace duration with exact date. Lets say my t ask starts at 1st of Jan and ends at 4th of Feb instead of  me writing the exact amount of days would it be possible to just write the day that t he task is ending? BR  John Victor  October 8, 2012 | 2:40 am John – t hanks for the compliment about this being the best inst ruction you can find. I make every effort t o keep an open mind about how t o explain stuff so it’s easy to understand.

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Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

To answer y our question, is it possible to replace duration with end date? Yes, y ou can do this by adding an extra column to the left of “Duration” and call it “End Date”, and enter the exact end dates in the new column. Then replace the “Duration” column with the calculation “= End Date – Start Date” to give the number of days duration (replace the ‘End date’ and ‘Start date’ with the actual cell references). Here are some pointers from Microsoft on how t o calculate date differences: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/calculate-the-difference-between-two-dates-HP010070467.aspx Hope that helps, Victor 

Craig October 15, 2012 | 9:02 pm Hello, Great template. However, when I try to insert new rows to extend the chart past row 46, the event column text is not p loted, instead the numeric value of the row height (row h) is what shows. Can y ou please tell me how to fix this? Thanks! Victor  October 16, 2012 | 3:01 am Hi Craig – thanks for your comment. I’d advise inserting rows above row 46, you will still need to manually update t he event column text (see st ep 4) but the data range for the chart should expand. If y ou add rows below row 46, you need to s pecify to Excel that the chart data extends below row 46. Currently my template does not automatically update t he event labels if y ou change the t ext in the event column. How many people would be interested in a more sophisticated version of this t emplate? Let me know by p osting a comment and if there is enough demand, I will arrange for some extra features to be added to make this even more useful! Cheers Victor  P.S. I am currently travelling abroad and will not be able to answer your comments for a couple of weeks. If you have a specific feature request for the timeline template please leave me a comment and I will definitely read every single comment when I’m back. P.P.S You now get a copy of t he timeline template by s ubscribing to my email newsletter, so if y ou don’t use Twit ter y ou don’t have to “T weet and Get It” t o download a copy of the timeline. Use any of the email signup forms on t his page, or  visit the home page / shortcuts PDT page: http://www.launchexcel.com http ://www.launchexcel.com/shortcuts-p df-page/

Dustin October 24, 2012 | 10:30 pm How do y ou get t he X-axis dates to automatically adjust on the chart. For instance when I start my p roject on 12/21/12, the x-axis still shows 11/3/11 as the first date? Victor   November 7, 2012 | 7:01 am Hi Dustin If you format the X-axis and look in Axis options, you should be able to set the minimum and maximum to update automatically. Alternatively you can manually choose a “Fixed” number for the min and max, but bear in mind that this is represented by a number rather than a date. To figure out what number you should use, go to a blank cell in Excel and enter your desired date. Then change the format to general number format. The number you see is the one you need. Cheers Victor 

Catherine October 29, 2012 | 10:34 am Hi, Thank y ou! your inst ructions have been a great help to me. I am experiencing one problem however. When I select C36 – C43 for x-series the selected information doesnot show in my chart. instead each point is Jan00 and the ‘select data source’ box states ‘data range is too complex to be displayed’ I don’t see how my data range is any different in complexity to y our own Can you offer any suggestions? Thank you CAtherine Victor   November 7, 2012 | 7:09 am

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Hi Catherine Your issue does come up when trying to modify an existing chart, with ‘data range is too complex to be displayed’ being Excel’s standard response to a slightly complex range. I emailed separately asking if you’d like me to take a look at your timeline chart. Cheers Victor  P.S. I’ve been in contact with an Excel developer who is writing Timeline functionality into his Excel Gantt chart software (currently available for ~$30) and when I’ve tested t his out I p lan to write a review and link to his website. That software is automated, so it should eliminate some of the trouble you get with changing chart series and adding new data. Victor   November 22, 2012 | 4:59 pm UPDAT E: You can check out Gantt Diva here: http://www.launchexcel.com/gantt-diva This was developed as a standalone Excel tool, written using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). There is a 30 free trial so I suggest you give it a go. Feel free to post any feedback here. Cheers Victor 

Eugenia December 1, 2012 | 7:30 pm hi thank you for t his helpful tool. I am try ing to adapt it t o display grant amounts ($ values) of p rojects over time. So for example a project that has started in May 2010 and ended in May 2011 worth 1 million USD. I have about 40 projects overall that I want t o display over a 3 y ear time span however, because the duration is counted in days I am having to input number of days instead of months so there is a larger error margin as some months are shorter than others (I know only a day except for February) but is t here a way to have the duration be expressed in months instead of days? T hank  you so much for your help! Victor  December 13, 2012 | 3:14 pm Hi Eugenia You can have a look at using the EDATE() function. In versions prior to Excel 2007, this function was only available when the Analysis ToolPak add-in is installed, but if you have 2007 or higher then you can use the EDATE() function straight off. Here is M icrosoft’s function reference: http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/excel-help/edate-HP005209073.aspx This is what EDATE() does: “Returns t he serial number that represents t he date that is t he indicated number of months before or after a specified date (the start _date). Use EDATE t o calculate maturity dates or due dates that fall on the same day of the month as t he date of  issue.” To use it in your situation I suggest you follow these steps:

Insert 2 columns between “Event” and “Duration” Relabel “Duration” to read “Duration (days )” – y ou can use ALT+Enter t o st art a new line inside the same cell if you’d like to put the (days) on a new line  Name the first column you added: “Duration (months)”  Name the second column you added: “EDate” or something similar for the End Date. In “Duration (months)” sp ecify t he number of months that each project lasts. In “EDate” enter t he formula =EDATE(C33,E33) where column C is Start Date, column E is Duration (Mont hs), and you replace 33 with y our row number  In “Duration (days )” enter the formula =F33-C33 where column F is EDate, column C is Start Date, and you replace 33 with y our row number  As you are dealing with 40 projects and may need to relabel your chart I strongly suggest you check out Idea 5. install XY Chart Labeler in my bonus article: http://www.launchexcel.com/timelines-in-excel-bonus-2/ Cheers Victor 

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Charles Stoyle December 12, 2012 | 4:08 pm The timeline chart does not app ear with the download. Also, I think the description of t he Completion (days) column should include Duration – (Duration x % Complete). Could I get a working and editable copy that includes the 5 bonus ideas? Thanks, great job! Charles Victor  December 13, 2012 | 3:32 pm Hi Charles Thanks for y our comments. The Completion (days) column shows the actual portion t hat has been done, so I have described the column as Duration x %Complete. For instance a task that lasts 10 days and is 10% complete would evaluate to Completion of 10 days x 10% = 1 day. Duration – (Duration x %Complete) would give 9 days, or the p ortion left t o be done. So I think the current descript ion works ok. I don’t have a copy of the Timeline that implements t he 5 bonus ideas. I p resented those ideas as food for t hought, or  avenues for further exploration. (for others who’d like the link t o the Bonus article, here is it: http://www.launchexcel.com/timelines-in-excel-bonus-2/ ) Bonus Idea 1 is actually implemented in the Timeline Template v1, available to buy with the Timeline Videos at the following p age: http://www.launchexcel.com/timeline-videos Bonus Idea 2 is very simple to do, simply add another column for milestones and add a new series to the chart, then format the series markers into diamond shapes (select the series then press CTRL + 1 to bring up the format dialog box). Bonus Idea 5 is very handy, as I mentioned in my comment to Eugenia above. It’s a free utility you can install from Rob Bovey here: http://appspro.com/Utilities/ChartLabeler.htm Cheers Victor 

Charles Stoyle December 13, 2012 | 4:07 pm Victor, Of course, you are right. I thought you meant Completion = days remaining. Thank you very much for the file. I am subscribing, and purchasing Power Tips after submitting this comment. With best regards, Charles

Michael December 23, 2012 | 10:57 am Sometimes you don’t necessarily need a timeline – but just need a gant. Here’s a free excel project planning template I created along with some easy t o follow instructions on how to use it … hope someone finds this useful! http://www.mlynn.org/2012/05/excel-project-planning-spreadsheet Victor  January 8, 2013 | 10:16 am Hi M ichael – thanks for y our comment and link to y our very interesting Gantt Chart article. I’m sure many Launch Excel readers will find it educational and useful – go check out Michael’s art icles on Project Planning with Excel if you haven’t already done so! Original article (Excel Project Planning Spreadsheet) Version 2 Excel Project Planning Spreadsheet Version 3 Excel Project Planning Spreadsheet Cheers, Victor 

Carlos January 16, 2013 | 8:48 pm

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2014年3月15日

Create a Project Timeline Template in Excel in 10 steps

Fantastic template, thank you s o much! Victor, I’m not very good with Excel. How do I add an extra task to an existing phase? when I do by inserting a line  between tasks, the chart above gets all mad at me and I don’t know how to update it. It s tarts giving me errors about formulas, etc. Thanks so much! Carlos Michael January 18, 2013 | 10:32 am Carlos, Assuming you’re using the template t hat y ou downloaded from mlynn.org, make sure that when you insert tasks (new rows), you follow these simple steps: 1. Select an existing row. Select the entire row by clicking in the far left row number… this will auto-select ALL columns in that row. 2. Once you have selected the entire row, hit copy (CTRL+C on Windows, Command+C on M ac) 3. Right+Click (or Op tion+Click / Mac) and select “ Insert Copied Cells” This will ensure that the entire row along with all functions are copied. You should see the new row looking just as pret ty as the others. One note – w hen choosing a row to copy, I don’t like to select the Top or the Bott om row because of the formatting. Feel free to drop me an email – or leave a comment on the template post page at mlynn.org  –Mike

Victor  February 11, 2013 | 3:02 pm Hi Carlos I suggest y ou check out Gantt Diva, which was created by Walter Kinio to automate the process of making Gantt Charts in Excel. He recently added Timeline functionality to Gantt Diva, and this looks like it will make your life easier than manually editing for extra tasks in my template (which is time consuming). Here is the link to Gantt Diva: http://www.launchexcel.com/gantt-diva Gantt Diva was developed as a standalone Excel tool, and it has very thorough documentation. There is also a 30 day trial, though when I last checked a full license to use Gantt Diva was only US$29, great value in my opinion! Cheers Victor 

Julia January 25, 2013 | 5:26 pm This is amazing. I ca’t wait t o finally get t he template.

Helpful Excel Tips I learned at Launchexcel.com | Gantt Diva February 10, 2013 | 10:40 pm [...] check out Victor Chan’s website, http://www.launchexcel.com  . I p articularly like the description of the p roject timeline as this is a very nice way of put ting together a project roadmap t hat easy for p eople who are not [...]

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