Format Bar Chart dialog - Tasks tab

To access the Format Bar Chart dialog, on the Format tab, in the Format group, click Format Bar Chart.

1. Click the Use default radio button.
2. Click the Change Appearances button. The Format Task Appearances dialog appears.
3. Use the colour and pattern fields on the dialog to specify the appearance of each type of task.
4. Click OK to return to the Format Bar Chart dialog.
5. Click Apply.

1. Click the Codes on bars radio button.
2. Click Display. The Multiple Display Libraries dialog appears.
3. Select the code libraries that you want to use to colour tasks by adding them to the Show libraries in this order field.
4. Determine the order in which code libraries are used to colour tasks by moving the code libraries up or down in the list in the Show libraries in this order field.
   
   Code libraries at the top of the list take priority over those lower down the list. If a bar is assigned a code from more than one display library, the appearance of the tasks on the bar is taken from the library that appears nearest the top of this list.
5. Click OK to return to the Format Bar Chart dialog.
6. Click Apply.

1. Click the Codes on tasks radio button.
2. Click Display. The Multiple Display Libraries dialog appears.
3. Select the code libraries that you want to use to colour tasks by adding them to the Show libraries in this order field.
4. Determine the order in which code libraries are used to colour tasks by moving the code libraries up or down in the list in the Show libraries in this order field.
   
   Code libraries at the top of the list take priority over those lower down the list. If a task is assigned a code from more than one display library, its appearance is taken from the library that appears nearest the top of this list.
5. Click OK to return to the Format Bar Chart dialog.
6. Click Apply.

1. Click either the Consumable resources radio button or the Permanent resources radio button, depending on whether you want to colour tasks according to their consumable resources or their permanent resources.
2. Click Display. The Multiple Display Resources dialog appears.
3. In the Available resources field, select the individual resources and resource folders that you want to use to colour tasks by selecting the check box to their left. Each selected resource and resource folder appears in the Show resources in this order field.
4. Determine the order in which resources are used to colour tasks by moving the resources and resource folders up or down in the list in the Show resources in this order field.
   
   Resources at the top of the list take priority over those lower down the list. If a task is assigned more than one of the selected resources or resource folders, its appearance is taken from the resource or resource folder that appears nearest the top of this list.
5. Click OK to return to the Format Bar Chart dialog.
6. Click Apply.

1. Click the Use default radio button.
2. Click the Change Appearances button. The Format Task Appearances dialog appears.
3. Select the Determine task appearance from lead resource assignment check box.
4. Use the colour and pattern fields on the dialog to specify the appearance of each type of task (to be applied to any tasks that do not have a lead resource assigned).
5. Click OK to return to the Format Bar Chart dialog.
6. Click Apply.

In order for this type of colouring to take effect, you must specify that one - and only one - resource or cost centre assignment against each task is the "lead resource", by selecting the Lead resource check box on the Details tab of the allocation's properties dialog. If you expect that a resource or cost centre will usually be considered to be the "lead resource" when it is assigned to tasks, select the Lead resource check box on the resource or cost centre's properties dialog to specify that the Lead resource check box should be selected by default for allocations of the resource or cost centre.

You can display spreadsheet fields to the left of the first task on each bar, to the right of the last task on each bar, and over each individual task. This enables you to display, for example, each task's WBS code on top of each task, and each bar's finish date to the right of the last task on each bar. The fields that you specify here are also displayed in CBS and RBS views; in CBS and RBS views, the information displayed is derived from resource allocations rather than from tasks.

Select the fields you want to display in the bar chart, and the position in which to display them, in the Task data display group.

You can configure the information that some fields display by specifying parameters. For example, if you choose to display certain cost-related fields, you can select a specific cost centre and a specific range of dates. If the field that you select supports parameters, the button to the right becomes enabled. Click this button to access the Attributes dialog, in which you can specify the parameters.

Click Change Font to specify the font in which to display the information and use the Opaque background check box to specify whether you want the information to appear with a transparent or white background.

The font settings you specify here are also applied to the lead/lag annotations that appear next to links with lead/lag time.

If you display a duration field in the bar chart, you can choose to display the date of each milestone instead of its duration, using the Show dates instead of durations check box. If you select this check box, the date, rather than the duration, of each milestone is displayed when a duration field is displayed in the bar chart:

If you clear the check box, the duration of each milestone is displayed. As every milestone has a duration of zero, you may find it useful to select this check box, as the date of a milestone is a more useful piece of information than its duration.

To display task notes in popups in the bar chart, select the Show task notes check box. A preview of how task notes will be displayed is displayed. You can change the way in which they are displayed by clicking the Change Font button and selecting different font settings.