How To Make A Gantt Chart In PowerPoint Using Shapes & Charts [+Templates]

Gantt charts are powerful visual project management tools used in presentations to showcase project timelines, tasks, and overall progress. Gantt charts are used by professionals across industries to organize and monitor projects effectively. However, creating one from scratch can be difficult if you don’t know the steps. This blog post will teach you how to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint from scratch using shapes and charts! So, what is the wait? Let’s dive right in.

How To Make A Gantt Chart Using Tables

One of the best ways to create a Gantt chart in PowerPoint is through the use of tables! The table function allows you to show data and information through columns and cells, and enables you to effortlessly list and modify tasks, alongside start and end dates.. Follow these steps to make a Gantt chart in PPT using tables:

Adding And Editing A Table To Your Presentation

Step 1: On a blank presentation, click the “Insert” menu in the navigation bar and select ” Table.”

Step 2: Create the table by choosing “Insert Table” and add the number of rows (tasks that your project has) and columns (how long will the task take in weeks), and click on “Create” once done. 

Step 3: Highlight the first column, click on the “Layout” tab, and adjust the width, as it will house the name of your projects.  

Step 4: Highlight the entire table, click on the “Table Design,” click the “Borders” menu and select “All Borders.” Adjust the size of the table according to your needs.A

Adding Labels To The Table Columns And Merging Cells

Step 6: To add labels to your columns, in the second column and second row, type in “Week 1”. Repeat the same process for each adjacent cell.

Step 7: Once you have done that, select the rows above Week 1 to Week 4 and merge them using the “Merge Cells” option.

Step 8: In the merged cell, you can add “Month 1” and repeat the steps for the next four cells, naming them “Month 2”, “Month 3”, and so on. Once done, you can center align and bold them to make them stand out.

Coloring Coding Each Month And Adding Projects

Step 9: To color code each month separately, highlight each cell, click on the “Table Design” tab, and select the “Shading” menu to choose a color. Repeat the steps for all the months.

Step 10: In the third cell in the first column, start listing your projects in each cell. Once you have added all the projects, you can highlight the column and change its color using the “Shading” menu to differentiate it from the rest of the Gantt chart in PowerPoint.

Adding Task Bars Using Shapes And Editing Them

Step 11: Click on the “Insert” tab and select the second cell in the second row. Then click on the “Shapes” option to open a dropdown menu to choose a shape you like.

Step 12: The shape indicates the start and end week of the project, and it is adjusted accordingly to match the timeline. (For example, Project 1 starts in Week 1 and ends in Week 2, so the shape extends from Week 1 to Week 2). Repeat the process for each project.

Step 12: Change the color of each shape to match your needs by selecting each shape and in the “Shape Format” tab using the “Shape Fill” option. Click “Shape Outline” and choose no outline to make it look polished.

Adding Dates And Milestones To The Task Bars

Step 13: Double-click on any task bar to open a text box where you can add the start and end date of the project. Repeat the process for each task bar.

Step 14: Click on the “Insert” tab and choose the “Icons” button. 

Step 15: Insert your icon of choice, adjust its size, and move it on the Gantt chart to signify a milestone.

There you go! You now know how to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint using shapes and tables in just a few steps! Remember that you can choose any shape of your liking and play around with various thickness options for the table and shapes to match your requirements. While creating a Gantt chart, take a look at how to make an Org chart in PowerPoint!

How To Make A Gantt Chart In PowerPoint

To create a PowerPoint Gantt chart, you can even use charts like the stacked bar chart (which we will use). Creating a Gantt chart in PowerPoint using the stacked bar chart is a lot more fun than creating one using a table, and it is also more professional. Here is how to create a Gantt chart in PowerPoint using charts!

Adding The Stacked Bar Chart And Entering Data

Step 1: In a blank slide in your presentation, select the “Insert” tab and choose “Chart” from the “Illustrations” section.

Step 2: Choose the “Bar” category from “All Charts” and select the “Stacked Bar” type.

Step 3: Once you select the chart, it will be added to your slide, and an Excel window will open up with a table and placeholder data that you can edit.

Step 4: In the Excel table, list down your projects in Column A, which will be reflected on the chart in the slide. As you change each placeholder text, you will see it change on the chart!

Step 5: Rename the columns titled Series 1 to “Start Date,” Series 2 to “End Date,” and the last column to “Duration” (this will be in days)  

Step 6: Format the cells under Start Date and End Date by selecting both columns, right-click on them, and choose “Format Cells” from the menu.

Step 7: This will open a dialogue box. Select “Date” from the “Category” list on the left, and choose the date format according to your needs from the “Type” menu.

Step 8: After formatting the columns, add each project’s start and end dates. (If your chart starts looking broken, don’t worry it will happen, we will fix this)

Step 9: To calculate your projects’ duration, type the formula =$C2-$B2 in the cell next to the “End Date” in the “Duration” column. Select the cell and drag it down using the small green square to apply the formula to the remaining cells. This will then fill the “Duration” column with the correct number of days.

Step 10: Now, you can remove the “End Date” from the chart in your slide to make space for “Duration” to be visible. Select the chart, click “Chart Filters” in the Series group, and uncheck the box next to “End Date.”

Formatting And Customizing The Graphic To Look Like A Gantt Chart

Step 11: Click on any of the blue bars; doing this will select all of them automatically. Right-click to open the mini toolbar.

Step 12: Select the “Fill” icon in the mini toolbar and select “No Fill.”

Step 13: Now your graphic will look a lot like a Gantt chart, and to change the color of all tasks simultaneously, click any one to select all tasks and right-click to open the mini toolbar.

Step 14: Head to the “Fill” section in the toolbar and choose a color of your preference. If you want to color each task differently, click twice on the task and use the “Fill” in the mini toolbar. You can even

Step 15: To change the title of the chart, double-click on the textbox to select it, and type the title of your choice.

Step 16 (Optional): To apply styles and effects to the chart, you can select “Chart Tools Format,” where you will be able to play with various effects such as “Shadows,” “Format Axis,” and a lot more!  

That is how you make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint using charts. While you can add effects and style, we recommend keeping effects to a bare minimum to maintain balance and engagement.

PowerPoint Gantt Chart Examples & Templates

To help you gain inspiration on creating the perfect Gantt chart, we have provided a few of our templates as examples! If you like them, you can download our PowerPoint Gantt Chart templates and make them into your personal slides, as our PowerPoint templates are 100% customizable!

Simple Gantt Chart Example

Work Status Gantt Chart Example

IT Gantt Chart Example

Now that you know how to create a Gantt chart in PPT, it is time for you to get out there and create stunning Gantt charts and blow everyone’s minds out of the water! If you need help creating a good-looking slide, then you can contact us here, give us all the things you want on the slide, and watch us create your masterpiece!

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