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Author: uk365guy

GANTT CHART IN EXCEL 2010, 2013 AND EXCEL 2016

uk365guy
If you were asked to name three key components of Microsoft Excel, what would they be? Most likely, spreadsheets to input data, formulas to perform calculations and charts to create graphical representations of various data types.
I believe, every Excel user knows what a chart is and how to create it. However, one graph type remains opaque to many – the Gantt chart. This short tutorial will explain the key features of the Gantt diagram, show how to make a simple Gantt chart in Excel, where to download advanced Gantt chart templates and how to use the online Project Management Gantt Chart creator.
  • What is the Gantt diagram?
  • How to make a Gantt chart in Excel
  • Excel Gantt chart templates

What is a Gantt chart?

The Gantt chart bears a name of Henry Gantt, American mechanical engineer and management consultant who invented this chart as early as in 1910s. A Gantt diagram in Excel represents projects or tasks in the form of cascading horizontal bar charts. A Gantt chart illustrates the breakdown structure of the project by showing the start and finish dates as well as various relationships between project activities, and in this way helps you track the tasks against their scheduled time or predefined milestones.
Gantt chart in Excel

How to make Gantt chart in Excel 2010, 2007 and 2013

Regrettably, Microsoft Excel does not have a built-in Gantt chart template as an option. However, you can quickly create a Gantt chart in Excel by using the bar graph functionality and a bit of formatting.
Please follow the below steps closely and you will make a simple Gantt chart in under 3 minutes. We will be using Excel 2010 for this Gantt chart example, but you can simulate Gantt diagrams in Excel 2007 and Excel 2013 exactly in the same way.

1. Create a project table

You start by entering your project’s data in an Excel spreadsheet. List each task is a separate row and structure your project plan by including the Start date, End date and Duration, i.e. the number of days required to complete the tasks.
Tip. Only the Start date and Duration columns are really necessary for creating an Excel Gantt chart. However, if you enter the End Dates too, you can use a simple formula to calculate Duration, as you can see in the screenshot below.
Create a table for the Gantt chart

2. Make a standard Excel Bar chart based on Start date

You begin making your Gantt chart in Excel by setting up a usual Stacked Bar chart.
  • Select a range of your Start Dates with the column header, it’s B1:B11 in our case. Be sure to select only the cells with data, and not the entire column.
  • Switch to the Insert tab > Charts group and click Bar.
  • Under the 2-D Bar section, click Stacked Bar.
Make a standard Excel Bar chart based on Start date.
As a result, you will have the following Stacked bar added to your worksheet:
The Stacked bar is added to the worksheet.
Note. Some other Gantt Chart tutorials you can find on the web recommend creating an empty bar chart first and then populating it with data as explained in the next step. But I think the above approach is better because Microsoft Excel will add one data series to the chart automatically, and in this way save you some time.

Step 3. Add Duration data to the chart

Now you need to add one more series to your Excel Gantt chart-to-be.
  1. Right-click anywhere within the chart area and choose Select Data from the context menu.
    Right-click anywhere within the chart area and choose Select Data.
    The Select Data Source window will open. As you can see in the screenshot below, Start Dateis already added under Legend Entries (Series). And you need to add Duration there as well.
  2. Click the Add button to select more data (Duration) you want to plot in the Gantt chart.
    Click the Add button to select more data for the Gantt chart.
  3. The Edit Series window opens and you do the following:
    • In the Series name field, type “Duration” or any other name of your choosing. Alternatively, you can place the mouse cursor into this field and click the column header in your spreadsheet, the clicked header will be added as the Series name for the Gantt chart.
    • Click the range selection icon  next to the Series Values field.
    Click the range selection icon to add the Series Values.
  4. A small Edit Series window will open. Select your project Duration data by clicking on the first Duration cell (D2 in our case) and dragging the mouse down to the last duration (D11). Make sure you have not mistakenly included the header or any empty cell.
    Select your project's Duration data.
  5. Click the Collapse Dialog icon to exit this small window. This will bring you back to the previous Edit Series window with Series name and Series values filled in, where you click OK.
    The Series window with Series name and Series values fields are filled in.
  6. Now you are back at the Select Data Source window with both Start Date and Duration added under Legend Entries (Series). Simply click OK for the Duration data to be added to your Excel chart.
    Duration data is added to the Excel chart.
    The resulting bar chart should look similar to this:
    The resulting Excel bar chart

Step 4. Add task descriptions to the Gantt chart

Now you need to replace the days on the left side of the chart with the list of tasks.
  1. Right-click anywhere within the chart plot area (the area with blue and orange bars) and click Select Data to bring up the Select Data Source window again.
  2. Make sure the Start Date is selected on the left pane and click the Edit button on the right pane, under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels.
    Add task descriptions to the Gantt chart.
  3. A small Axis Label window opens and you select your tasks in the same fashion as you selected Durations in the previous step – click the range selection icon , then click on the first task in your table and drag the mouse down to the last task. Remember, the column header should not be included. When done, exit the window by clicking on the range selection icon again.
    Select the task descriptions.
  4. Click OK twice to close the open windows.
  5. Remove the chart labels block by right-clicking it and selecting Delete from the context menu.
    Remove the chart labels block.
    At this point your Gantt chart should have task descriptions on the left side and look something like this:
    The task descriptions are added on the left side of the Gantt chart.

Step 5. Transform the bar graph into the Excel Gantt chart

What you have now is still a stacked bar chart. You have to add the proper formatting to make it look more like a Gantt chart. Our goal is to remove the blue bars so that only the orange parts representing the project’s tasks will be visible. In technical terms, we won’t really delete the blue bars, but rather make them transparent and therefore invisible.
  1. Click on any blue bar in your Gantt chart to select them all, right-click and choose Format Data Series from the context menu.
    Transform the bar graph into the Excel Gantt chart.
  2. The Format Data Series window will show up and you do the following:
    • Switch to the Fill tab and select No Fill.
    • Go to the Border Color tab and select No Line.
    Go to the Border Color tab and select No Line.
    Note. You do not need to close the dialog because you will use it again in the next step.
  3. As you have probably noticed, the tasks on your Excel Gantt chart are listed in reverse order. And now we are going to fix this.
    Click on the list of tasks in the left-hand part of your Gantt chart to select them. This will display the Format Axis dialog for you. Select the Categories in reverse order option under Axis Options and then click the Close button to save all the changes.
    Change the order of tasks on a Gantt chart.
    The results of the changes you have just made are:
    • Your tasks are arranged in a proper order on a Gantt chart.
    • Date markers are moved from the bottom to the top of the graph.
    Your Excel chart is starting to look like a normal Gantt chart, isn’t it? For example, my Gantt diagram looks like this now:
    An intermediate Gantt chart in Excel 2010

Step 6. Improve the design of your Excel Gantt chart

Though your Excel Gantt chart is beginning to take shape, you can add a few more finishing touches to make it really stylish.
  1. Remove the empty space on the left side of the Gantt chart.
    As you remember, originally the starting date blue bars resided at the start of your Excel Gantt diagram. Now you can remove that blank white space to bring your tasks a little closer to the left vertical axis.
    • Right-click on the first Start Date in your data table, select Format Cells > General. Write down the number that you see – this is a numeric representation of the date, in my case 41730. As you probably know, Excel stores dates as numbers based on the number of days since 1-Jan-1900. Click Cancel because you don’t actually want to make any changes here.
      Find the number of the first date.
    • Click on any date above the task bars in your Gantt chart. One click will select all the dates, you right click them and choose Format Axis from the context menu.
      Remove the empty space on the right side of the Gantt chart.
    • Under Axis Options, change Minimum to Fixed and type the number you recorded in the previous step.
  2. Adjust the number of dates on your Gantt chart.
    In the same Format Axis window that you used in the previous step, change Major unit and Minor unit to Fixed too, and then add the numbers you want for the date intervals. Typically, the shorter your project’s timeframe is, the smaller numbers you use. For example, if you want to show every other date, enter 2 in the Major unit. You can see my settings in the screenshot below.
    Note.In Excel 2013 and Excel 2016, are no Auto and Fixed radio buttons, so you simply type the number in the box.
    Adjust the number of dates on the Gantt chart.
    Tip. You can play with different settings until you get the result that works best for you. Don’t be afraid to do something wrong because you can always revert to the default settings by switching back to Auto in Excel 2010 and 2007, or click Reset in Excel 2013.
  3. Remove excess white space between the bars.
    Compacting the task bars will make your Gantt graph look even better.
    • Click any of the orange bars to get them all selected, right click and select Format Data Series.
    • In the Format Data Series dialog, set Separated to 100% and Gap Width to 0% (or close to 0%).
    Remove excess white space between the bars of the Gantt chart.
    And here is the result of our efforts – a simple but nice-looking Excel Gantt chart:
    The final Excel Gantt chart
    Remember, though your Excel chart simulates a Gantt diagram very closely, it still keeps the main features of a standard Excel chart:
    • Your Excel Gantt chart will resize when you add or remove tasks.
    • You can change a Start date or Duration, the chart will reflect the changes and adjust automatically.
    • You can save your Excel Gantt chart as an image or convert to HTML and publish online.
    Tips:
    • You can design your Excel Gant chart in different ways by changing the fill color, border color, shadow and even applying the 3-D format. All these options are available in the Format Data Series window (right-click the bars in the chart area and select Format Data Series from the context menu).
      Design your Excel Gant chart in different ways.
    • When you have created an awesome design, it might be a good idea to save your Excel Gantt chart as a template for future use. To do this, click the chart, switch to the Design tab on the ribbon and click Save as Template.

Excel Gantt chart templates

As you see, it’s not a big problem to build a simple Gantt chart in Excel. But what if you want a more sophisticated Gantt diagram with percent-complete shading for each task and a vertical Milestone or Checkpoint line? Of course, if you are one of those rare and mysterious creatures whom we respectively call “Excel gurus”, you can try to make such a graph on your own, with the help of this article: Advanced Gantt Charts in Microsoft Excel.
However, a faster and more stress-free way would be using an Excel Gantt chart template. Below you will find a quick overview of several project management Gantt chart templates for different versions of Microsoft Excel.

Gantt chart template for Excel 2013 from Microsoft

This Excel Gantt chart template, called Gantt Project Planner, is purposed to track your project by different activities such as Plan Start and Actual Start, Plan Duration and Actual Duration as well as Percent Complete.
In Excel 2013, this template is available directly on the File > New tab. If you cannot find it there, you can download it from Microsoft’s web-site – Gantt Project Planner template. This template requires no learning curve at all, simply click on it and it’s ready for use.
Gantt chart template for Excel 2013 from Microsoft

Online Gantt chart template

This is an Interactive Online Gantt Chart Creator from smartsheet.com. As well as the previous Gantt chart template, this one is fast and easy-to-use. They offer 30 days free trial, so you can sign with your Google account here and start making your first Excel Gantt diagram online straight away.
The process is very straightforward, you enter your project details in the left-hand table, and as you type a Gantt Chart is being built in the right-hand part of the screen.
Interactive Online Gantt Chart Creator

Gantt chart template for Excel, Google Sheets and OpenOffice Calc

Gantt chart template from vertex42.com is a free Gantt chart template that works with Excel 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013 as well as OpenOffice Calc and Google Sheets. You work with this template in the same fashion as you do with any normal Excel spreadsheet. Simply enter the start date and duration for each task and define % in the Complete column. To change the range of dates displayed in the Gantt chart area, slide the scroll bar.
Gantt chart template from vertex42.com
I hope this helps..

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DYNAMICS 365 BUSINESS PROCESS FLOW

uk365guy
I have requirement to copy the existing business process flow  from the Opportunity entity, When you copy the existing business process flow then the following changes will appear in the system

Copying the existing BPF can create a new name like new_bpf_4070dd7479b24e6bb0957a401.
So we need to add this inside the new solution development , so that you can make changes according to the requirement.
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PRICE LIST CURRENCY MUST MATCH ERROR IN DYNAMICS 365

uk365guy
I was working on opportunity entity to show the records from quotes subgrid and suddenly the below error appeared.

Mostly this error comes when the currency used in sales entities is different than the currency used in price list referred in sales entities. But in our case, when we compared currency in order and price list used, it was same. But when we tried to set the same currency as default currency for this user, this issue got resolved
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ROLE BASED FORMS FOR CHILD BUSINESS UNITS DYNAMICS 365

uk365guy

One of the greatest features of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform is the ability to configure entity forms to be available only for specific security groups. While this works great, in principle, the story quickly becomes muddy when you start implementing it in organizations with a more complex security structure. In particular, when working with different business units.
As we know by now, when adding elements to a solution, we can only capture security roles from the root business unit. This is a limitation of the solution package, and we have ways to work around it for most situations. For example, if we want security roles to be solution aware, even though we need them in child business units, we create them in the root business unit. They are inherited to the child business units, and we can assign the users at the business unit where we need them to have the respective security roles.
Unfortunately, one overlooked aspect is the role based forms. While the scenario described above works fine for users and security roles, once we bring into our equation role based forms, the whole pyramid collapses. Lets look at an example.
We’re going to start with a set of business units as described in the screenshot below.
businessunits
As we can see, we have the root business unit called very creatively me4co. Right below this, we have the following child business units: Finance and IT. And just to make it more interesting, we have the following three child business units underneath the IT business unit: Cloud, Delivery and Infrastructure.
Now let’s create a few security roles. Go back to Settings > Security and choose Security Roles. Here we see the default security roles on an organization, all under the root business unit. We’ll come back to this view in a moment.
Once we’ve seen the default security roles, let’s go and create some new roles in the context of a solution. So, go to Settings > Solutions. Create a new solution if one is not already available for playing with. In this solution go to Security Roles. Once there, create a New role and name it creatively role1. For business unit, leave the root business unit. Click on Save and Close. I’m not going to assign any permissions here, i’m just using it for demonstration purpose.
Same way as before, go ahead and create a new security role. Keeping in line with our extremely creative naming convention, name this one role2. Only this time, instead of leaving the default business unit, change it to Cloud. This is a 3rd level down business unit, having IT as parent, which in turn has me4co as parent (the default business unit). Again, hit Save and Close. Now, looking at the solution, this new role called role2 does not appear in the Security Roles part of this solution. This is because only Security Roles in the default root business unit are being captured in a Solution package. To verify that our newly create security roles was indeed created, navigate to Settings > Security > Security Roles. Select from the Business Unit drop-down the root business unit if not already selected, and observe that role2 is also missing. But if you change the business unit to Cloud, now you will also find role2 in the list. See the below screenshot.
securityroles
Now, with all these items setup and ready, let’s have a quick look at role based forms.
Go to Entities in your solution, select Add Existing, and select Contact.  When prompted to select entity assets, do not select anything, as we’ll just add a brand new view.

Entity Assets is a new feature added  with Dynamics 365, as part of enhancements to the Solution package model.

Click on Finish. Go to the Contact Forms, and add a new Main Form. Click on Save As, and name this form to RBF (short for role based form, but you can name it anything you want).Save and Close this form. In the Active Forms view for Contact, select this newly created form, and click on Enable Security Roles in the ribbon. The new screen that opens up allows you to choose a security role. Unfortunately, you only have a choice from the security roles created in the root business unit. No option to change the business unit selection. This relates to the fact that security roles in child business units are not captured in a solution package.

Conclusion: part of a Solution package, you cannot assign security roles to a role based form if the security role is not part of the root business unit.

But, if you really, really, really need to do this, you can still do it outside of a solution package. Do keep in mind that this configuration can not be ported to another organization through the use of a solution package. If you need this kind of configuration, you will have to manually implement if in all instances (dev, qa, uat, prod)… ugh…
Instead of doing this as part of the existing solution, let’s go back to Settings > Customizations. Select Customize the System instead. These customizations are applied directly to the root solution. Find the Contact entity, go to Forms and find the RBF form we’ve created earlier. Observe how the form created in an unmanaged solution is also present in the default solution.
Now, when you click on the RBF form and select Assign Security Roles, you will find role2 in the list of roles, as shown in the screenshot below.
securityroles2
Once you Save and Publish your customizations, your newly created role based form is available as defined.
Use this approach with care, and only if really necessary. The fact that this configuration can not be captured in a context of a Solution package, and can not be ported to another environment/organization is a major downfall, and it goes against best practices regarding solution management and deployment models.
Enjoy!

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CREATE SANDBOX USING PRODUCTION COPY IN DYNAMICS 365 ONLINE

uk365guy
Here we can create two type of copies from production
1) Production to sandbox(full copy)
2) Production to sandbox(partial copy)

If you choose to make a full copy of the production instance then you need to look into the storage anywhere near the limit from the Dynamics 365 Admin Center..

FULL COPY OF PRODUCTION TO SANDBOX:

The advantage of full copy production to sandbox is that of replica of the production and everything is copied into sandbox (name it as UAT).

Copied functionality is everthing starting from entities, webresources, plugin, workflows, business process flow,  etc..

Here is an important point to discuss is that if you have development work to be done then it is good to  have a partial copy of the production as a sandbox(development environment).

PARTIAL COPY OF PRODUCTION TO SANDBOX:

The advantage of the copying of the partial copy is that its just copy the skeletion of the production instance no records are moved into the sandbox, just  like the brand new CRM but the all the customization of the production without the records and just the views, workflows, webresources etc…

So if you have a project to deliver then start from the partial copy of the sandbox and name it as development environment and create an another copy of the production to sandbox name it as UAT.

After successfull development work in the dev(sandbox) then deploy the  solution into the UAT, then test the functionality and deploy into the production..

I hope this helps::

Happy CRMing.

  

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