default layouts in which you can view tasks inside OneDesk. With the Gantt view, you can look at your workload and your workflow in a more visual manner.
Accessing the Gantt Layout
To access the Gantt view, first make sure that it is turned on and visible. If not, then be sure to turn it on. Next, select the application which you wish to work on. Let’s look at a Gantt chart for our tasks, so we select the tasks application on the left, and select the Gantt chart under “views”.
Inside of the Gantt view, we see all of our items and their schedules laid out on the right-hand side. We will see that not only do our tasks appear, but the folders, projects, and portfolios that they exist inside appear as well, which you can see on the left.
How to Interpret and Use the Gantt Layout
The blue bars in the Gantt view represent the planned schedule for the items, while the green bars indicate the actual schedule. For example, if a certain task has gone over the planned schedule, its green bar will surpass the blue one.
On the schedule you’ll see an outline in red that indicates the critical path. The critical path is the string of tasks where changing its length will impact the project’s overall duration. Not all tasks in this example are on the critical path, so changing them won’t affect the duration of the project they belong to.
The roll-up bars here represent the sum of the tasks below them. These bars are shaded darker when there’s multiple tasks beneath them, so a darker bar indicates a heavier workload in a given period, whereas a lighter bar indicates a lighter workload.
You can create links between tasks by selecting a task and then dragging the node on either end to another task in the order you wish to complete them. Doing so will link the items together both on the Gantt chart and within the task’s detail panel, which you can check by double clicking on the task and navigating to the “subtasks and links” tab.
Back in the Gantt view, you’ll notice there is also a slider on the selected task. Dragging the slider along will change the percent complete of the task on the fly. You can also pull a task in or out to extend or shorten its schedule in an easy manner.
Smart Rescheduling
On the left-hand side of the Gantt layout there are options to zoom in or out the timeline in which you view your items. You can either select day, month, or year from the dropdown, or use the plus and minus buttons beside.
The reschedule button is where you can use the Smart Scheduling tool. Please note that this tool is only accessible from within the Gantt view in the Tasks Application or from the Projects Application. The Smart Scheduling tool will help to optimize the work schedules you’ve set for tasks within a project, to ensure your project schedule is as concise and efficient as can be. Simply select the project whose tasks you wish to reschedule, check the boxes to remove constraints or change project start dates, then click Reschedule. OneDesk will optimize your project’s schedule for you.
Once you have chosen to reschedule a project, you will be prompted to confirm. You cannot undo this change automatically so be sure that you are 100% sure of rescheduling your items before you proceed.
Now you know how to use the Gantt layout and how to reschedule your projects easily and automatically. For any other questions you may have, feel free to reach out to OneDesk directly through the live chat, or email OneDesk at support@onedesk.com.