# Gantt Plume: 10 how-to guides (dependencies, critical path, PDF…)

> MS Project numbering, several bars per row, dependencies, critical path, baseline, computed status, Resources view and a one-page PDF, step by step.

- Language: English
- Web page: https://plumevisuals.com/en/tutorials/gantt-plume-cas-pratiques
- Published: 2026-10-14
- Visual: Gantt Plume, technical reference: https://plumevisuals.com/ai/visuals/gantt-chart.md
- If an option name in this tutorial differs from the technical reference, the reference is right (it is generated from the visual's code).

These recipes assume you already have a Gantt Plume in place. If not, start with the [getting started guide](/en/tutorials/diagramme-de-gantt-power-bi): the examples reuse its data. Features marked ★ are premium: they work without a license, with a watermark.

## How do I open the plan on the right period and freeze the status date?

A monthly report must show the situation on the date of the steering committee, not on the day someone opens it, and it should open on the project rather than on an empty period.

1. In **Format › Layout**, type the committee date in **Status date (empty = today)**, for example `2026-10-15`.
2. In **Format › Layout**, set **Initial position** to *Chosen date*.
3. In **Initial date (yyyy-mm-dd)**, type `2026-09-01`.
4. In **Format › Time axis**, set **Initial scale** to *Weeks*.

**Result**: the plan opens on September 2026 in numbered weeks, the "today" line is at Oct 15, and the computed status is assessed at that date.

> **Tip:** **Tip**: to have the date automatically follow the latest month loaded, drag into **Dynamic format** a measure `FORMAT ( MAX ( Tasks[Start] ), "yyyy-mm-dd" )` renamed `layout.startDate` (right-click › **Rename for this visual**).

## How do I keep the same date frame when a slicer filters the tasks?

By default, the plan opens at the **Start of the plan** and the *Automatic* scale frames the whole range of the tasks shown, whatever today's date. A slicer that removes tasks therefore tightens the frame; to compare two projects or two teams, a fixed frame is better.

1. In **Format › Time axis**, **Scale** group, type the bounds in **Axis start (yyyy-mm-dd)** and **Axis end (yyyy-mm-dd)**, for example `2026-01-01` and `2026-12-31`.
2. For bounds that follow the data without being affected by slicers, use two measures instead, dropped into **Dynamic format** and renamed `timeAxis.min` and `timeAxis.max` (right-click › **Rename for this visual**):

```dax
Frame start =
FORMAT (
    CALCULATE ( MIN ( Tasks[Start] ), REMOVEFILTERS ( Tasks ) ),   -- first date of all tasks, filters ignored
    "yyyy-mm-dd"
)
```

Do the same for the end with `MAX ( Tasks[End] )`.

**Result**: the frame no longer moves when you filter; only the bars change.

## How do I number tasks like MS Project and force an order?

A team used to MS Project finds its way with "1.2.3" numbers and wants projects in priority order, not by date.

1. Drag `Rank` into the **Sort order** well.
2. In **Format › Task grid**, **Columns** group, turn on **No. (1, 1.1, 1.1.1…)**.
3. In **Format › Sort**, keep **Sort tasks by** set to *Start date*.

**Result**: **Online store** (rank 1) is No. 1, its phases 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and its tasks 1.1.1…; **Bordeaux store** is No. 2. Within each phase, tasks stay sorted by start date, which breaks ties in rank.

## How do I show several bars on the same row (time off, machines)?

For a team or workshop schedule, you want one row per person or per machine, with all its periods side by side.

1. Prepare a table where each period is a row and the **Task** column holds the name of the person or machine (for example "Press 2" on three rows, for three periods).
2. Drag the department or workshop into **Groups (project, phase…)**, that name into **Task**, the dates into **Start** and **End**, and the reason (vacation, maintenance…) into **Color (team, type…)**.
3. In **Format › Rows and hierarchy**, check that **Same task = same row (several bars)** is turned on.

**Result**: each person or machine takes a single row, with one bar per period, colored by reason.

## How do I enter dependencies in MS Project format? ★

Show who is waiting for whom: electrical work cannot start until structural work is well under way, and the grand opening waits for the interior fit-out and the hiring.

1. Check that `ID` is in the **Task ID (for dependencies)** well.
2. Drag `Predecessors` into the **Predecessors ★** well.
3. Check the syntax in the column: `A3` (finish → start), `A4SS+15` (15 days after A4 starts), `A6;A7` (waits for two tasks). French notation (`A4DD+15`) is accepted too.
4. In **Format › Dependencies ★**, keep **Flag conflicts (successor too early)** and **Follow the chain on hover** turned on.
5. Hover over the **Structural work** bar.

**Result**: elbow arrows connect the tasks. On hover, the whole **Structural work** chain stands out (permit upstream; electrical, fit-out and grand opening downstream). To test a conflict, change A5's predecessor to `A4` (finish → start): A5 starts before A4 finishes, the arrow turns red and the tooltip reports the conflict.

> **Warning:** **Warning**: the visual never shifts tasks to respect the links. Fix the dates in the source.

## How do I show the critical path? ★

The project manager needs to know which tasks to watch closely: those whose delay directly pushes back the grand opening.

1. Set up the dependencies (previous recipe) and the holidays (step 12 of the walkthrough).
2. In **Format › Critical path ★**, turn on **Show**.
3. In **Format › Task grid**, **Columns** group, check that **Float (critical path)** is turned on.
4. Read the **Float** column: 0 means "no slack at all".
5. To also watch near-critical tasks, set **Maximum float (days)** to `5`.

**Result**: tasks with no float are colored red. Each project has its own path: in the online store, tasks follow one another with no slack; in the Bordeaux store, **Team hiring** keeps a few days of float before the grand opening, and only becomes critical with the maximum float set to 5.

## How do I compare actuals with the baseline? ★

The steering committee wants to see what has slipped since the plan approved at kickoff.

1. Drag `Planned start` into **Baseline start ★**.
2. Drag `Planned end` into **Baseline end ★**.
3. In **Format › Baseline ★**, keep **Show** and **Variance in days at the bar end** turned on.
4. In **Format › Task grid**, **Columns** group, check that **Variance (baseline)** is turned on.

**Result**: a thin gray bar under each task shows the plan. The building permit, structural work, electrical, fit-out and grand opening show a ▲ followed by the delay in business days; the online store tasks, which stayed on schedule, show no variance.

## How do I color tasks by status (late, at risk)? ★

Spot struggling tasks at a glance, as of the report date.

1. Check that the `Progress` measure is in **Progress (%)** and that the **Status date** is `2026-10-15`.
2. In **Format › Data colors**, set **Coloring** to *Computed status (late, at risk…) ★*.
3. Keep **“At risk” beyond (points behind)** at `10`.
4. In **Format › Task grid**, **Columns** group, check that **Status (computed status)** is turned on.

**Result**: **Electrical and lighting** (end date passed, 70%) is *late*, in hatched red. **Interior fit-out** (started, 0%) is *at risk*, with ochre dashes. Tasks at 100% are green, future tasks gray, the others blue. Each project takes the most worrying status of its tasks. The status is also spelled out in the **Status** column, never shown by color alone.

> **Tip:** **Tip**: for a rule of your own (for example red only for one team), drag the `Alert color` measure from ["The data to provide"](/en/tutorials/diagramme-de-gantt-power-bi#the-data-to-provide) into **Bar color (measure) ★** instead. It takes priority over the chosen coloring and leaves the other bars untouched.

## How do I see each owner's workload? ★

Before assigning a new task, you want to know who is already busy and spot double bookings.

1. Check that `Owner` is in **Owner / resource**.
2. In **Format › Layout**, set **View** to *Resources (one row per owner) ★*.

**Result**: one row per owner, with their number of tasks; their tasks are stacked in lanes on their row. Overlapping periods are red: **Sophie Bernard** is running **Team hiring** and **Sales staff training** at the same time, from Oct 5 to Oct 23.

## How do I compare many projects, one per row? ★

A portfolio of twenty projects can't be read fully expanded. You want one row per project, with its key milestones named.

1. In **Format › Rows and hierarchy**, set **Levels expanded at start** to `0`.
2. In the same card, set **Collapsed group: detail on its row ★** to *Task milestones*.
3. If the plan stays expanded in edit mode, turn off **Save the state in the report (edit mode)**.

**Result**: each project fits on one row, with its summary bar and its named milestones (**Lease signed**, **Grand opening**, **Go-live**). With *Task bars and milestones*, all the task bars also appear on the project row. Clicking a milestone selects the task itself.

## How do I export the whole plan to PDF on one page? ★

For a steering committee, a printout or an email subscription, the plan must fit entirely on one page, with no scroll bar.

1. Duplicate the report page (right-click the tab › **Duplicate page**) and rename it "Print".
2. On this page, in **Format › Layout**, turn on **Whole plan in the frame (PDF export) ★**.
3. In **Format › Toolbar**, turn off **Show**: the buttons are useless on paper.
4. In **Format › Task grid**, **Columns** group, turn off the columns you don't need (for example **Duration**, **Float (critical path)**).
5. In the **Analytics** pane, **Date markers ★** card, turn on **Show** in the **Marker 1** group with the committee date and label (optional).
6. In Power BI Desktop, click **File** › **Export** › **Export to PDF**.

**Result**: all the rows and the whole period fit in the visual's frame; the PDF shows the complete plan on the "Print" page.

> **Warning:** **Warning**: the visual does not split a plan across several pages. For a large portfolio, filter the page (one project, one period) or collapse the groups to project level with the previous recipe. The fitting only applies to displayed rows: tasks in a collapsed group take no space.

## Learn more

- [Getting started with Gantt Plume](/en/tutorials/diagramme-de-gantt-power-bi): the data to prepare and a first visual, step by step.
- [Gantt Plume: every field and setting explained](/en/tutorials/gantt-plume-champs-et-reglages): each field well and each setting.
- [Getting started with Plume visuals](/en/tutorials/bien-demarrer-visuels-plume): installation, license, styles and settings shared by all visuals.
- The visual's page: [Gantt Plume](/en/visuals/gantt-chart). A question? [Support](/en/support).