When managing a complex or large project, a clean summary timeline that presents only the key milestones or deliverables of a project may be the best way to share information with non-technical audiences. You can use the timeline as-is, or you can rearrange the tasks any way you want, add text, and even change their colors to make them stand out. Here’s how to create and format a simple timeline directly in MS Project. Rearrange tasks, change colors, and more. 1. Activate the Timeline View in MS Project. mpp project and go to the View tab on the MS Project ribbon.įrom here, tick the Timeline checkbox you can see in the Split View group. Change task dates, durations, and dependencies with drag and drop functionality, or. Microsoft Project will add a blank timeline on top of your Gantt Chart View. Use the Timeline view to track progress and dependencies in a Gantt chart. To filter out unnecessary data and easily add only the key deliverables or events to your timeline, you can use Project’s Group function. Here’s how it works:Ĭlick on the small down arrow on the Task Name header in your project table.įrom the menu that pops up, go to Group by and select Milestones. Microsoft Project will automatically separate your milestones from the tasks and move them all high up in the sheet so you can identify them instantly. This can be done through stand-ups, weekly meetings, or even just quick chats in the hallway. So it’s important to have regular check-ins with your team to make sure everyone is on the same page. Now that your milestones are all grouped together nicely, you can quickly select them all using Shift + Click or pick only a few key ones by holding Ctrl while selecting their corresponding cells. As we mentioned before, communication is key to avoiding scheduling conflicts. For this example, we’ll select all but two milestones from our Project spreadsheet.

Ms project rearrange timelines