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Create a Gantt chart from a table

This is the everyday way to use SimpleGantt: you already keep your plan in an Excel table, and you want a chart that stays in step with it.

Before you start #

Your table needs at least a task name, a start date, and either an end date or a duration per row. Optional columns such as progress, predecessors, phase and owner add more to the chart. Prepare your plan table lists the columns and formats.

Steps #

  1. Click one cell inside your plan table. You do not need to select the whole table.
  2. On the Home tab, open Add-ins and click SimpleGantt. A chart frame appears on the sheet.
  3. Under Use selected data, click Use selection. The status line names the range the chart is linked to.
  4. If SimpleGantt recognizes the columns, the chart appears straight away. If not, the step Match your columns shows its guess for each field; correct it and click Draw chart.
  5. Move and resize the frame where you want it. A wide, short frame suits a long plan; you can scroll the chart inside the frame.
An Excel plan table with Task, Phase, Start, End and Progress columns and the live SimpleGantt chart next to it

Your data is on another sheet? Select a cell in it there, then come back to the frame and click Use selection.

What stays linked #

  • Changed cells, new rows and deleted rows redraw the chart within a moment.
  • An Excel table can grow and shrink freely. A plain range covers exactly the cells you linked; turn it into a table (Ctrl+T) so new rows are included.
  • Sorting and filtering the table change the chart order and the visible tasks.
  • If you move a linked column, SimpleGantt finds it again by its header, and a renamed header in the same place keeps working. When a column is gone, the chart says which one is missing and offers Fix mapping.

Editing the plan #

The table is the only place where the plan is edited. Click a bar or a grid row in the chart to select that task’s row in the sheet, then type. Double-click a bar to select its start date. Right-click a bar or a row for more: Select row in sheet, Collapse or Expand (on a summary), Show only this phase, Copy task details, Save baseline and Format.

Right-click menu of a task with Select row in sheet, Show only this phase, Copy task details, Save baseline and Format

Several charts #

Insert SimpleGantt again for another chart, for example one per phase or a filtered view for one team. Every chart keeps its own data link and settings. The free version allows one chart per workbook.