Creating a Template for Gantt Charts

How do I share Gantt chart templates with other project managers?

Recently, we published an article titled Creating a Microsoft Project Template. That article describes the approach for creating a Gantt chart template with OnePager Pro (an MS Project add-in) that you can use repeatedly on similar projects to make presentation quality Gantt charts. We recommend you take a look at this article.

If you don’t already have OnePager Pro, you can download a 15-day free trial to see how it works.

Once a Gantt chart template has been created, it is easy to share it with other team members and project managers from other divisions. This article provides a brief explanation on how to take a Gantt chart template you’ve created and distribute it to others.

1. Let’s assume we have created a OnePager Pro project view with the characteristics we want by building the project view from a Microsoft Project file. Here's a quick refresher on how to build a Gantt chart using OnePager Pro. First, start with your MS Project field and use any flag column to select the tasks you want to include in the Gantt chart:
   
   
   
   
2. Next, we create our OnePager Pro project view by clicking on the OnePager Pro button on the Microsoft Project tool bar. This brings up the import wizard as shown below:
   
   
   
   We’ve filled in the name of the project view, the “Flag” field we want OnePager Pro to use to control the importing of Microsoft Project file data, and established the first snapshot (status) date.
   
   
3. By clicking on the Create project view button on the OnePager Pro wizard, we’ll create our first project view that will look something like this:
   
   
   
   
4. Now, you can make some modifications to your Gantt chart. For example, you could color-code by project phase, change fonts or backgrounds, etc.
   
   
5. Once you like the way your Gantt chart looks, you can turn it into a template for use with future projects. Just go to Project View->Make Profile from Project View. This will create a template based on the format of your existing Gantt chart.
   
   
6. You can share this template with other people on your team. This process is done by going back to the Microsoft Project file and clicking on the Profile… button next to OnePager Pro. Just click on File and select Export current profile as shown below:
   
   
   
   
7. Taking this action will bring up a “Windows Save” menu which you will use to save the profile data at a location you designate. Simply sent the name of the file and the location where it is to be saved and click “Save” as shown below:
   
   
   
   
8. With the profile data available, you can send the profile out to anyone by email or by posting it on a SharePoint site.
   
   
9. On the receiving end, the person wanting to use the new profile imports the profile into OnePager Pro once the profile is saved on that person’s computer or available from a SharePoint location. To do this we again go to Microsoft Project and click on the Profile… button on its tool bar, go to the File button, click, and select Import profile… as shown here:
   
   
   
   This will make the new template available for use in building new project views.

This article reviewed the process of creating a profile (template) from a Microsoft Project file with OnePager Pro, how to export the profile for others to use, and how others can import the profile for use as a template in their work. OnePager Pro provides an easy and efficient way for multiple users to share profiles (templates) so that standards can be created, maintained, and used.

Using OnePager Pro will allow you to create dynamic, informative project presentations with the click of a button, and it eliminates the need to rebuild your presentation by hand every time your project schedule changes.

Get started today by downloading a free trial or attending one of our demonstration webinars.