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Three week ago I visited the Newton Excel Bach web site where I spotted the Dynamically Defined Dancing Pendulums NewtonExcelBach.
Having noticed that Doug had done a nice animation in Strand7 (a Finite Element Analysis program) Strand7, I thought “I can do that in Excel” and so I did.
This post will not go through the logic of constructing and animating the pendulums in Excel as I have described that over at Excelhero.com and readers who are interested are encouraged to visit there and explore the techniques used.
During the Pendulum project I came across two sub-projects which I felt are worthy of a post here at Chandoo.org as they are a great demonstration of some basic VBA techniques as well as demonstrating the ability of VBA to quickly simplify repetitive tasks.
Sample files are attached for Excel 97-2003 and Excel 2007/10 users to follow through the examples.
PENDULUM SIDE PROJECTS
The Pendulum project consists of 16 Pendulums. Each Pendulum requires 4 Named Formulas, meaning that the projects needs 64 Named Formulas for the 16 Pendulum, as well as adding 16 Series to the chart.
(The above animated GIF is a very poor representation of the smooth scrolling achieved in the Excel animation)
I thought it would be a great idea to see if these jobs could be automated and hopefully save some time during the process.
The result was 2 simple VBA routines which will be described below:
NAMED FORMULAS
Each Pendulum in the project was based around 4 Named Formulas
Named Formula for each Pendulum
p1Len =’1′!$B$9 The Length is stored on the worksheet.
p1o =OMax*SIN(SQRT(g/p1Len)*t) Current angular position of Pendulum 1 at time t
p1x =p1Len*SIN(p1o)*{0;1} Current orthogonal X position of Pendulum 1 at time t
p1y =-p1Len*COS(p1o)*{0;1} Current orthogonal Y position of Pendulum 1 at time t
The only difference between the formulas for Pendulum 1 and Pendulum 2 etc is the replacement of the names of p1 with p2 in the various Named Formulas and of the associated formulas.
On a worksheet Named Formulas a number of formulas were written which display the Named Formulas as required above. Then a small VBA routine was written which loads the Named Formulas.
How
On the Named Formulas worksheet, I have added two columns of formulas for the various Named Formulas required.
For the Pendulum Length Named Formulas
For the Pendulum Angular Position Named Formulas
For the Pendulum X Position Named Formulas
For the Pendulum Y Position Named Formulas
When the formula above are copied down they adjust for the various pendulums numbered 1 to 16 based on the row numbers.
I then setup a VBA routine, Load_Named_Ranges, shown below which loads the Named Formulas.
To Use
Select some or all of the required Named Formulas from the Name Column. That is the code will only load the Selected Named Formulas, allowing the user to load 1 or 2 Named Formulas, for testing purposes, or all the Named Formulas if you choose.
Then Execute the Load_Named_Ranges subroutine either using the Big Red Button or directly within the VBA Editor.
The following will load Named Formulas p3Len to p7Len.
The Load_Named_Ranges subroutine is shown below:
Sub Load_Named_Ranges() Dim c As Range For Each c In Selection ActiveWorkbook.Names.Add Name:=c.Text, RefersTo:=c.Offset(, 1).Text Next End SubWhat does the code do?
The code:
1. Defines the start and name of the subroutine,
Sub Load_Named_Ranges()
2. Defines a variable c as a Range object,
Dim c As Range
3. It then loops through each cell in the selection and assigns it to the variable ‘c’;
For Each c In Selection
4. It then adds a new Named Formula,extracting the Name from the Text Value of ‘c’ and extracts the formula from the cell directly to the right of cell ‘c’;
ActiveWorkbook.Names.Add Name:=c.Text, RefersTo:=c.Offset(, 1).Text
The Name and Formula (RefersTo) both use the Text of the cell, which is what is displayed.
5. It then loops through each cell in the selection until it has done them all;
Next
6. Defines the end of the subroutine;
End Sub
Lets Test It
To test the subroutine we will first delete all the Named Formulas beginning with “p”
Goto the Formula Ribbon Bar and select Name Manager
Select all the Named Formulas that begin with “P” and press the delete button
Accept any warnings
Try and Run the Pendulum’s
Nothing happens as there are no formulas
Ensure the Pendulum are turned off, as the code is still running behind the scenes.
Now Goto the Named Formulas Page
Select all the Named Formula Names in Name Column; B3:B66
Click the Load Named Formulas, button
Go back to Page 1 and try and run the Pendulums now.
ADD CHART SERIES
The second sub-project was the addition of 16 Chart series to the Chart, 1 for each Pendulum.
Using the logic of the Named Formulas VBA code above, the 16 Chart Series Names, X Values and Y values were developed using formulas on the Add Cht Series worksheet and then loading into a chart using a simple VBA routine.
The Add_Cht_Series subroutine is in the Add Cht Series sheet object in the VBA editor.
How
On the Add Cht Series worksheet, I have added three columns of formulas for the various Named Formulas required.
For the Pendulum Name, X Range and Y Range.
When these formulas are copied down they adjust for the various pendulums numbered 1 to 16.
I have then setup a VBA routine, Add_Chart_Series, shown below which loads the Named Formulas.
To use Select some or all of the required Chart Series from the Pendulum Name column.
Then Execute the Add_Chart_Series subroutine using the big red button.
The Add_Chart_Series subroutine is shown below:
Sub Add_Cht_Series() Dim sNumb As Integer Dim c As Range Worksheets(“1”).ChartObjects(“Chart 5”).Activate For Each c In Worksheets(“Add Cht Series”).Range(“B19:b20”) sNumb = ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.Count + 1 ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.NewSeries ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).Name = c.Text ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).XValues = c.Offset(, 1).Text ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).Values = c.Offset(, 2).Text Next End Sub
What does the code do?
The code:
1. Defines the start and name of the subroutine,
Sub Add_Cht_Series()
2. Defines a variable sNumb as an integer, and a variable c as a Range object
Dim sNumb As Integer Dim c As Range3. It then activates the Chart containing the pendulum
Worksheets(“1”).ChartObjects(“Chart 5”).Activate
4. It then loops through each cell in the Range defined by the Range, in this case B19:B20 and assigns it to the variable ‘c’; You can adjust the Range to suit.
For Each c In Worksheets(“Add Cht Series”).Range(“B19:B20”)
5. It then counts how many existing series are in the chart and sets the next Series Number sNumb to that value + 1.
sNumb = ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.Count + 1
6. The next 4 lines add a new series to the chart and setup the new series Name, X Value and Y Values. The Name, X Value and Y Values are retrieved from the Text of the cell c and the adjacent two cells using a Range Offset modifier
ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.NewSeries ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).Name = c.Text ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).XValues = c.Offset(, 1).Text ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(sNumb).Values = c.Offset(, 2).Text7. It then loops through each cell in the selection until it has done them all;
Next
8. Define the end of the subroutine;
End Sub
Lets Test It
To test the subroutine we will first delete a few of the Chart Series
Select the Chart
Select two Pendulums noting the series Number of the Bobs eg: 9 & 10
Goto the Add Chart Series Worksheet
Note the Range Corresponding to the 2 missing Pendulum B11:B12
Goto the VBA Editor
Adjust the Line
For Each c In Worksheets(“Add Cht Series”).Range(“B11:B12”)
With your cursor in the Subroutine press F5 once only
Go back to Page 1 and you should now have 2 New Pendulum
Run the Pendulums now.
You will have to manually set the shape of the Bobs to a Circle and size 15 and re-arrange the order of the series to ensure they are in order, but you can practice that manually.
SUMMARY
The post has shown how using some very simple VBA and a bit of lateral thinking to put together some simple tools to simplify 2 common and repetitive tasks.
In the Named Formulas case, the code took less than 2 minutes for me to write and then another 5 minutes to do the formulas for the Named Formulas. I didn’t try but I am sure it would have taken a good 20+ minutes to enter 64 Named Formulas.
Writing this post took much longer than doing the whole Pendulum Project.
Two examples during my working career, where VBA code has been used to save massive amounts of time and money:
In the first case I wrote some code to combine data from several hundred workbooks with varying numbers of sheets up to 30 and differing quantities of data on each sheet, a task that could have taken weeks manually with the included opportunity for errors to be introduced, into a subroutine which took 30 minutes to run and gave a printout of the results including what files, sheets and rows of data were included in the import.
In a second case a Number of Workbooks, a Word template and some VBA code was used to replace a person whose sole job was to manage that data. This job saved the company $50k+ per annum and the task was given to a clerical person who could now do the task in their spare time.
LINKS
Huis Excel Hero Pendulum: http://www.excelhero.com/blog/
Pendulum Physics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pend.html
Newton Excel Bach: http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/dancing-pendulums-2/
What could your simplify by using automation within Excel ?
What could you simplify or speedup using Excel automation?
Let us know in the comments below:
35 Responses to “Quick and easy Gantt chart using Excel [templates]”
"Please share your experiences and ideas using comments"
For those willing to go VBA, XL can do far more w/Gantt Charts. Compare to PapaGantt. https://sites.google.com/site/beyondexcel/project-updates/papagantt-thebigdaddyofxlganttcharts
While making PapaGantt was neither quick nor easy, using PapaGantt is both, not just for displaying Gantts, but for scheduling tasks as well.
is it possible to get a xls(m) file ?
instead of a zip-file with .xml-files ?
i cannot open it with excel :/
Regards
Stef@n
@Stef@n
Try saving the file and then open from Excel as opposed to opening directly from the post
Also try this link: http://img.chandoo.org/pm/quick-gantt-chart-template.xlsx
Thanks very much for this workbook idea.
To slightly up-scale functionality I added:
1. conditional format for when the cell value =2 to be red which could be used for critical path or other activity highlighting needs (milestones perhaps)
2. conditional format for when the cell value =c to be green which could be used for showing activity progress
3. conditional format for the same range where formula =DATE(YEAR(D$5),MONTH(D$5),DAY(D$5))=TODAY() and set custom to ;;; and cell fill colour to a light blue. This will highlight today down the whole table to allow quick assessment of activity progress to plan. Anything not green upto where the date indicator is shows activity is behind the plan. Opposite for tasks ahead of the plan.
(There is probably a better way to get the same result but this works for now. If there is please post for us to share.)
Hope this made enough sense.
Also, thanks Craig for the link. I'll have a better look soon.
Regards,
Darren
Hey Chandoo,
I actually made one of these for a friend of mine but added an extra level of automation.
Rather than putting in 1 on all the dates the activity occurs, I added a column for start and end date of each project. Then I used formula along the lines of :
=IF(AND(DateAtTop >= Start Date, DateAtTop <= End Date),1,"")
Then used the same conditional formatting where 1 was coloured.
I thought this was a nice touch, especially if a project lasts for many days.
Let me know what you think 😉
Lucas
P.S. First time I've posted here, love your work btw!
Hi Lucas... welcome to the comments and thanks for your first of many comments.
I like the idea. In fact, it was one of the first Excel tricks I ever learned (to use conditional formatting to automate things like this). See this (written almost 6 years ago)
http://chandoo.org/wp/2008/03/13/want-to-be-an-excel-conditional-formatting-rock-star-read-this/
and scroll-down to the tip on gantt charts. 🙂
I liked this approach and tried adding it into the Conditional format via Formula = statement. It workd fine with just the AND statement but then I realised you need the "1"'s to calcluate the duration.
I then put the whole IF statemnt in but it hasnt worked. Any thoughts?
Ta
Hi Lucas and Darren,
I tried the conditional formatting but I really don't succeed in getting the solution. Do you have a template of this?
Thanks in advance
Br
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[…] via Quick and easy Gantt chart using Excel [templates]. […]
Excellent, thanks for this tip and expample.
I had a monthly reporting template very similar to this, but was done in excel which needed more manual inputs.
I used your exmaple and updated my monthly group reporting plan.
I further devided the day into 4 quarters to make it easy for us to followup on different tasks.
Now, I just have to update the start date, and everything gets udpated by itself in fraction of a second.
Thanks once again. love your daily udpates.
Wow.. glad to hear that.
Hi Prahlad,
Can you share ur template even i am looking for similar kind of template .where i want day duration ,split in hrs and each task effort represented in hr spent by each resource .
Thanks
savi
Hi Chandoo,
Can you guide on preparing an indian version of the captioned sheet. We have saturdays working :-(, and only one day weekly off on sunday.
Regards-Prajay
Hi Chandoo,very useful post.i need gantt chart for inventory module.
[…] Quick and easy Gantt chart using Excel […]
Hi.
Really usefull post. I would like to know if i can also include weekends.
Thank you
Hi Chandoo, thank you for the great job, I was wondering if you can customize this sheet for Inventory planning purposes?!
thank you indeed
This was so helpful. ive been through about 10 different tutorial type things and this has to be the best so far, helped me out a great deal. and now my boss is happy i can make gantt charts!
thanks
This's a great post, thanks for sharing
Hi Chandoo,
Thanks for the excel tutorial. I wanted to make a simple modification, however it will cause issues with the duration part. I created another rule/cell marked 2. For my project I want to show a projected timeline and then an actual timeline. The issue is that the duration is being logged for when I enter 2, which I want to be projected and not actual. Will you please assist in letting me know how I can create a duration for both project and actual on the same line?
Thank you,
Steven
Showing vertical line between every week is very useful for me, I used to do it manually. Thanks so much!!
But how about, my gantt chart included Saturday & Sunday, and I want to show the vertical line after Sunday, could any expert teach me how to fix it. Thanks again.
This was so helpful - thank you! I had a bit of trouble with the end of the week conditional formatting over-writing the filled cells but switching the order of the rules sorted it out. Needed to put together a gantt chart quickly for an important bid at short notice and this was just the job - thanks for taking the time to post it. Much appreciated.
This is the first time I'm reading a tutorial that actually makes sense 🙂 This is absolutely great, with only one minor issue I can't seem to figure out on my own. How do I include weekends in (or instead of) the Workday formula? Thank you!
[…] This template I made myself but I inspired from Chandoo.org. […]
Hi,
Sometimes I must work at weekends - it is possible to modify the dates so that you can include Sat + Sun as well?
Thanks,
H
Nice gantt chart template chandoo, simple but useful
Thank you so much for this excellent guide! I have adapted this to show scheduled activities at multiple project sites weekly over the course of the year, including active and proposed work. With just a tiny bit of tweaking to your tutorial, I was able to create a chart that suited my needs perfectly!
Thank you very much for idea sharing .very innovative workday formula is showing 5 days but i want 6 days , is there any other option plz reply..
i got it friends..
=WORKDAY.INTL(F4,1,11)
hhhhhh
@Somnath
I also like the structure using =WORKDAY.INTL(F4,1,"0000001")
where each day is a 0 or 1
Hi thanks a lot for the tuto!! It helped me a lot!!
But can you tell me how can I add a vertical line representing today on it?
@Cynthia
Open the template
Select D7:DS26
Goto Conditional formatting
New Rule
Use a Formula
=D$5=today()
then set the format as a Red Right Hand Border only
Apply
Do not select stop here for the rule
Hi Chandoo,
I purchased your Project Management templates a month ago and have not had the chance to thank you for the great templates. Thank you!!!!! It has saved me a lot of time creating and re creating templates. Unfortunately, I had to do a lot of customization but it's not that bad. I am now in the process of customizing my GANTT which my boss thinks is too granular. He doesn't want to see a weekly grant. Only the months should be showing. I have researched and researched but to no avail. Do you have any examples I can look at?
Hi Chandoo,
thanks so much for all your tips on Gantt Table.
I'm actually building one at the moment and want to use the conditional formatting. However, I always get into trouble with that when I have to add new lines. I don't know the final size of my table yet and I eventually also want other people to be able to work with it.
Conditional formatting tends to "split up" into various "applies to" ranges when you insert a new row or copy and past values from somewhere.
I'm sure you've come across this issue already... So far I couldn't find a feasible solution to this. I was wondering if you had an idea / suggestion for me?
Thanks so much!!!
Nadine