Attaching Drawing to Task

[sunrhat]

Hello,

I'm new to MS Project.

In my attempt to make a collapsed, reader friendly Gantt chart, I
thought I would attach a text drawing box with big letters over my main
tasks. This schedule and is several feet long when the subtasks are
printed, so collapsing tasks is necessary to see the big picture. If in
the properties window I attach the drawing to the timescale, when I
expand that task to see subtasks, the other timescale-attached drawings
stay put and cover those subtasks. If I attach the drawing to the task
number, it expands as needed, which is perfect. However, when I change
the timeLINE from days to weeks, the drawing will not contract or
expand to the new time line. It's fixed in its length and width. So my
question - is there a script or method to have the drawing contract and
expand with the timeline? Or is there a better way to show the 10 main
tasks as a collapsed weekly Gantt chart without having to link them to
a new project file?

Thanks for your help.

 

[John]

Hello,

I'm new to MS Project.

In my attempt to make a collapsed, reader friendly Gantt chart, I
thought I would attach a text drawing box with big letters over my main
tasks. This schedule and is several feet long when the subtasks are
printed, so collapsing tasks is necessary to see the big picture. If in
the properties window I attach the drawing to the timescale, when I
expand that task to see subtasks, the other timescale-attached drawings
stay put and cover those subtasks. If I attach the drawing to the task
number, it expands as needed, which is perfect. However, when I change
the timeLINE from days to weeks, the drawing will not contract or
expand to the new time line. It's fixed in its length and width. So my
question - is there a script or method to have the drawing contract and
expand with the timeline? Or is there a better way to show the 10 main
tasks as a collapsed weekly Gantt chart without having to link them to
a new project file?

Thanks for your help.

sunrhat,
Gee, I though schedules were measured in time, not in feet

Welcome to the Project newsgroup. The drawing features in Project are
very rudimentary. Project is a scheduling tool, not a graphics package.
It isn't real clear why you can't simply collapse the file to show the
"10 main tasks". Or, create a filter (Project/Filtered for/More filters)
to isolate those tasks you want to highlight.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[sunrhat]

Hi John,

Thanks for your quick reply! The reason I don't just collapse the tasks
is because the Gantt lines are too small to put a font inside that is
readable. White font spills out of a black line, for instance. I'm
working with artists, and they like a nice readable, Excel style
schedule. I was hoping to keep all tasks in one place, then just
collapse to major tasks and weekly timeline when they need a printout.
Is there a way to widen the task line beyond what is given in the menu
so I put a 10 pt font inside?

-Kate

 

[John]

Hi John,

Thanks for your quick reply! The reason I don't just collapse the tasks
is because the Gantt lines are too small to put a font inside that is
readable. White font spills out of a black line, for instance. I'm
working with artists, and they like a nice readable, Excel style
schedule. I was hoping to keep all tasks in one place, then just
collapse to major tasks and weekly timeline when they need a printout.
Is there a way to widen the task line beyond what is given in the menu
so I put a 10 pt font inside?

-Kate

Kate,
Excel style schedule? Excel is a spreadsheet application - it is
mediocre at best for creating schedules. Project is a scheduling
application - it is mediocre at doing graphics. Artists probably aren't
going to like Project, no matter what you do to it.

What is it exactly that you have to put inside the Gantt bars (i.e. what
information)?

I don't know if by "task line" you mean the task row height or the Gantt
bar height. Either one can be increased. To increase the row height,
drag and drop the line separating rows either for an individual row or
for all rows. To increase the Gantt bar height, go to Format/Layout and
increase the bar height.

John
Project MVP

 

[sunrhat]

Hi John,

Aha - that's what I was looking for. I wanted to increase the Gantt bar
height. Not the most intuitive place to put that, so thank you.

Yes, excel schedules...we do animation production long and short form,
so regular film production scheduling software doesn't fit for us.
Project is good for managing, but not for when have to post pretty
calendars for the artists and directors. The task information will be
something like scheduling each phase of each of the movie's characters
from developement, final drawing, model sheet, 3D block model, 3D
detail model, and rigging. Then there are the other departments such as
background, animation, lighting, visual effects, compositing, and
outsource tracking.

Thanks again!

 

[John]

Hi John,

Aha - that's what I was looking for. I wanted to increase the Gantt bar
height. Not the most intuitive place to put that, so thank you.

Yes, excel schedules...we do animation production long and short form,
so regular film production scheduling software doesn't fit for us.
Project is good for managing, but not for when have to post pretty
calendars for the artists and directors. The task information will be
something like scheduling each phase of each of the movie's characters
from developement, final drawing, model sheet, 3D block model, 3D
detail model, and rigging. Then there are the other departments such as
background, animation, lighting, visual effects, compositing, and
outsource tracking.

Thanks again!

sunrhat,
You're welcome. And yes, Project is not nearly as intuitive as other
Office applications. That's probably why we're paid the really big
bucks, because we know where all the stuff is hidden (yuck, yuck, yuck)


John
Project MVP
P.S. Actually, we are not paid at all. We are all just volunteers - in
case someone doesn't see my humor attempt.