Smartsheet Gantt Chart with Predecessors

OnePager can display dependencies, using predecessor logic from Smartsheet, like this:

If you don't already have OnePager, click the button above to download a free trial. Then, follow these instructions to get started:

1. Start by opening your project in Smartsheet. This project has predecessors that we want to display in the Gantt chart:

   

2. Depending on the size of your Smartsheet project, you may want to only select certain rows to display in your Gantt chart. In this example, we've added a checkbox column called OnePager and have checked the rows that we want to import:

   

   To add a checkbox column to Smartsheet, right-click on any existing column and go to Insert Column Right. Choose a Column Type of Checkbox and name it OnePager.

3. Save your Smartsheet project, go to your desktop or Windows Start menu, and launch OnePager:

   

4. When the OnePager start screen appears, click on New to start building a new Gantt chart from Smartsheet:

   

5. On the import wizard, choose Select > BROWSE Smartsheet:

   

   If you've never logged into Smartsheet from OnePager before, Smartsheet will prompt you for your username and password, and will also ask you to Allow OnePager read-only access to your Smartsheet project.

6. Now, select the project that you want to import from Smartsheet and click OK:

   

7. With your Smartsheet project ready for import, point OnePager to the checkbox field that you created earlier, if you want to filter the rows in your Gantt chart. Once you've done this, click on Next, and then Create New Chart:

   

8. OnePager will import the selected rows from Smartsheet to create a basic Gantt chart, like this. In the remaining steps, we'll show you how to modify the Gantt chart to display predecessor information:

   

9. To display predecessors and successors, go to Home > Chart Properties > Task Links and check the Show data-driven task links box. By default, OnePager will use the Predecessors column from Smartsheet to determine where dependencies should be drawn:

   

10. In the same Chart Properties form, click on the Task Bars tab. We want to reduce the height of our tasks and milestones so that the predecessors have more space in the chart. We can change the default task bar height from 0.3" to 0.15" and then click OK:

    

11. OnePager will import the predecessors from Smartsheet, and connect and tasks or milestones that depend on each other:

    

12. OnePager will do its best to route predecessor lines around other tasks and text, but if you'd like to adjust the path of any predecessor, simply click and drag the handlebars until you achieve the optimal layout. You can also click on any piece or text and move it to a different position to get it out of the way of a dependency.

    

    Any dependencies that you reroute or text that you reposition will stay that way after you update the chart, so there isn't a need to drag lines or nudge text over and over.

13. When you're finished, you'll get a clean Gantt chart that clearly shows the dependencies between related tasks and milestones:

    

Get started today by downloading a free trial.