Task Properties #
Each task has properties that control how it is scheduled, how costs are calculated, and how it appears in the Gantt chart. Set these in the Task Properties dialog.
Duration #
While planning your project, you enter durations as estimates, meaning the duration is a reasonable guess of how much time a task will take for all resources involved.
Don't confuse Duration with Work. For example, if three people are working on your task, but they complete it in one hour, you set the Duration of the task to one hour. If these three people are assigned to the task, Ingantt calculates the Work property for you as three hours.
Duration can be changed using the Duration field in the Task Properties dialog.
When you're not yet confident with your estimate for the duration, you can mark it as an Estimate in the Task Properties dialog. This causes the duration to always display a question mark ("?"). Checking or unchecking this flag does not affect scheduling.
If at least one subtask of a summary task has Estimate checked, the summary task's duration is also marked as Estimate and thus also shows "?".
Duration can be set in Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months. By default, "1 Day" means 8 hours, "1 Week" means 5 days (40 hours), and "1 Month" means 20 days. These defaults can be changed on the Duration tab of the Project Properties dialog.
When you change resource assignments, work, or duration, one of these is recalculated according to the task's Type.
Work #
Once a task has a work resource assigned (such as a person performing the task), the Work property of the task becomes greater than 0. It shows the time all resources will spend working on the task. For example, if a task with a Duration of 5 hours has 2 assigned resources working on it, the task's Work is equal to 10 hours.
Work can be changed using the Work field in the Task Properties dialog.
Just like Duration, Work can be specified in Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months using definitions on the Duration tab of the Project Properties dialog. The default display format for work can be changed on the Time tab.
When you change resource assignments, work, or duration, one of these is recalculated according to the task's Type.
Deadline #
Sometimes you need to ensure a task is completed by a specific day, typically called a deadline.
The deadline of a task can be specified using the Deadline field in the Task Properties dialog.
Deadlines are for your reference only and do not affect scheduling.
Deadlines are shown in the Gantt chart as special icons.
If your schedule shows that a task finishes later than its specified deadline, Ingantt shows an icon in the task list and counts such tasks in the navigation drawer.
You can set a deadline for the entire project by setting the deadline for the root summary task. Just make sure the root summary task is set to visible in the Options dialog.
Milestone #
Any task can be marked as a milestone by checking the Milestone checkbox in the Task Properties dialog. This doesn't change its duration or affect scheduling, but the task is shown in the Gantt chart as an icon.
If you specify 0 as the Duration of a task, the task is automatically marked as a Milestone once you save the change.
Type and Effort Driven #
Work resource assignments (or units of assigned work resources), work, and duration depend on each other. When you change one of these, the others must be recalculated accordingly. The task's Type (with the help of the Effort Driven flag) defines which of the remaining two properties stays unchanged, so that only one of them is recalculated.
For example, you can set the Type to Fixed units (the default), in which case when you change Duration, Work is automatically recalculated.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Fixed units | When you change Duration: Work is recalculated. |
| When you change Work: Duration is recalculated. | |
| When you change Units: | |
| - If Effort Driven is set: Duration is recalculated. | |
| - If Effort Driven is not set: Work is recalculated. | |
| Fixed duration | When you change Duration: Work is recalculated. |
| When you change Work: Units are recalculated. | |
| When you change Units: Work is recalculated. | |
| Fixed work | When you change Duration: Units are recalculated. |
| When you change Work: Duration is recalculated. | |
| When you change Units: Duration is recalculated. |
In other words, the Type allows you to freeze one of the three properties, while the Effort Driven flag defines whether Work should stay unchanged out of the remaining two.
Type and Effort Driven settings are not available for summary tasks, which are always Fixed duration and not effort driven.
Notes #
You can add any text to your task by filling in the Notes field on the Notes tab of the Task Properties dialog. Use it for task descriptions, contact information, ideas, or any other text data.
If a task has the Notes field filled in, a special icon is shown for the task in the task list. On Windows, macOS, and Web, hovering the mouse over the icon shows the note. On mobile, open the Task Properties dialog to view the full note.
Hyperlink #
You can attach a URL to your task using the Hyperlink field on the Notes tab of the Task Properties dialog. Tasks with a hyperlink display a link icon in the task list. Clicking the link icon opens the URL in your browser.
Hide Bar and Rollup #
On the Visual tab of the Task Properties dialog:
- Hide bar — Hides the task's bar in the Gantt chart while keeping the row visible in the task list. The invisible bar area still responds to clicks and context menus.
- Rollup — Displays the subtask's bar on its parent summary task's row in the Gantt chart. This provides a condensed view when summary tasks are collapsed.
These can also be toggled from the Edit > Display submenu or the right-click context menu.