Multi-Phased Project Timelines in Excel

See how easy it is to take a multi-phased project from Excel and create a PowerPoint-ready timeline

Have you ever wanted to create a timeline view of your Excel project schedule that shows more than just tasks and milestones? Do you need to show your project's phases and resources to your stakeholders?

With OnePager Express, you can make clear and colorful timeline views that focus on your project’s phases and resources.

OnePager Express is an add-in to Microsoft Excel that takes your schedule from Excel and creates a timeline perfect for executive, team, and client presentations. It's easy to get started:

1. Start by opening your Microsoft Excel file.
   
   
2. Timelines are best when kept simple. If you have a long schedule, use a filter column like the "Show it" column below to select the tasks that you want to present in your timeline view:
   
   
   
   The Excel spreadsheet above also contains phase and resource information about your project. Both columns are highlighted.
   
   
3. Click on the OnePager Express button on your Excel toolbar or Add-ins tab. Don’t have OnePager Express yet? You can download a 15-day trial to see how it works.
   
   
4. OnePager Express starts with a wizard, which lets you name your timeline view, choose your filter column, and specify a snapshot or status date for your presentation:
   
   
   
   
5. When you click the Next button, you'll be taken to the second page of the wizard, which lets you choose which Excel columns you want to import:
   
   
   
   We’ve set up OnePager Express to have color dynamically based on resource assignments.
   
   
6. Clicking on the Swimlane grouping, ordering, and labeling… button lets you configure how your timeline will be grouped and sorted:
   
   
   
   This multi-tab dialog box gives you the capability to organize your timeline view into swimlanes and rows based on any Excel data. This shows you the power of OnePager Express. When you are satisfied with the organization, just click Save and use to return to the previous screen.
   
   
7. Now just click Create new project view, and you’ll see a chart that looks like this:
   
   
   
   The Project View (timeline) is organized by phase, and then by resources. Additionally, color coding the resources makes them easy to see in the presentation. Finally, we’ve included representations of the baseline start and finish dates and the “% Done” taken from the Microsoft Excel file.
   
   
8. To get this Project View into your PowerPoint presentation, just click on the Copy to clipboard button on the OnePager Express toolbar and paste the chart into your PowerPoint presentation. It’s that simple.

When you create a timeline view from Microsoft Excel using OnePager Express, you can always be sure that your schedule is based on your exact data from your Microsoft Excel. OnePager Express NEVER changes your underlying Excel data.

You can customize the format of your timeline view for different audiences. OnePager Express remembers your customizations as a template, helping you create other timelines in the future. Customizing can take several forms:

• Group, sort and color-code tasks and milestones by any field in Microsoft Excel (phase, resources, etc.)
• Generate a project view legend that makes sense for your audience
• Reposition tasks or milestones, swimlanes, and rows anywhere on the page with a drag and drop interface.
• Visually display important project data like percent complete and baseline start and finish dates
• Change task labels without corrupting your original Microsoft Excel file
• Customize the time-axis to show all or part of a project and to show any time units (weeks, months, etc.)
• Refresh your timeline view with updated dates and task completion percentages any time your Microsoft Excel schedule file changes.

OnePager Express makes it easy to create timeline view from Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007 or 2010. Using OnePager Express will give you dynamic, creative, and focused project schedules with the click of a button, and eliminates the need to redraw your schedules by hand every time your project changes.

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