VARCHART XGantt
Easy Integration of a Gantt Chart in Your Application
Connect your application data to the Gantt visualization in a most easy way. Use a relational data model to define your specific data for your Gantt chart. Specify different tables for tasks, links, resources, resource groups or other objects at design time and customize your data model at runtime by selecting tables and data fields. Different Gantt views will automatically be synchronized by a shared structure.
Configure your Gantt application using Property Pages and simple editors at design time. Store the created styles and settings for your application in a configuration file. Modify your configuration at runtime using our Dynamic Objects.
Use an object-oriented and comprehensive API with powerful objects that automatically adapt to your Gantt application data; e.g. a task can be highlighted as critical without additional coding if its completion is delayed.
The support of Unicode simplifies the localization for character sets of all languages, including the ones of Arabic and Far Eastern cultures. All texts in run time dialogs, context menus or in the time scale of the Gantt chart can be localized.
Support the relevant operating systems of Microsoft Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7. Take advantage of the support of Microsoft’s GDI+ capabilities including color gradients and transparent colors in order to make your Gantt chart look even more attractive.
Get started quickly by using our comprehensive set of application samples offering source code in C# and VB.NET. The samples are supplemented by detailed user and reference guides as well as a HTML help fully integrated in Visual Studio.
Versatile Gantt Chart Layouts
Customize the sections of a standard Gantt chart to your needs. Let your users adapt the size of the different sections in the Gantt view using horizontal and vertical dividers. Let them switch between different views, e.g. between a resource and an order related view or let them switch on or off different histograms to show the work load for one or more resources.
Use multiple Gantt instances to let your users assign resources to tasks by simple drag&drop interactions. Synchronize the instances by the same time scale for simultaneous horizontal scrolling.
Display a separate WorldView window to comfortably navigate also in big Gantt charts, or display a separate Legend window to explain the elements in your Gantt view at runtime.
The Table Section of a Gantt Chart
Gain visual clarity of your data by structuring the table of the Gantt chart hierarchically. Collect the elements of a group below a group title and repeat this for several grouping levels. Let your users collapse and expand groups in the Gantt chart according to what they have to focus on.
The node layers are quite versatile and allow for an appearance similar to the table fields even in the Gantt graph.
If a hierarchical structure code is available in the data of your Gantt chart, display it in the arrangement of your table and make the different levels recognizable by the indentation of a graphical tree structure.
Apart from holding more than one line of text per item, the cells of a Gantt chart table can be split and can contain different data-controlled symbols, such as multi-state fields. The latter display a picture, for example a check box, the state of which depends on the state of the underlying data field, which can simply change its state by ticking the check box.
Configure the table appearance using various line formats for different levels or for different highlighting purposes and display individual columns of your data.
Edit the data of the table cells in your Gantt chart in-place using text controls, date or numeric controls. Use keys for a fast navigation within the cells.
The Gantt Graph Section of a Gantt Chart
Visualize your data by different graphical elements in the Gantt chart for:
Tasks
Create your individual styles how to represent your tasks in the Gantt graph, let them adapt graphically to your data by Filter and Map objects. Use different bar styles, symbols and annotations simultaneously to display what is important to your users.
Have your individual tooltip information displayed when the mouse hovers above a task. Customize the drag interactions for your users to let them move a task vertically and horizontally or prevent them from doing so. Edit your data in-place, if they are displayed as annotations inside or outside the bar.
Switch back and forth between normal, overlaid and optimized layout of your tasks in the Gantt graph.
Links in the Gantt Graph
Show dependencies between your tasks as links in a clear line routing without ambiguity. Indicate the different link types graphically and highlight them according to your data. Create, delete or modify links interactively by simple drag&drop interactions.
Calendar Data in the Gantt Graph
Visualize the availability of resources based on configurable calendar data. Display working and idle hours by a locally restrained and transparent graphical calendar grid. Assign each resource or resource group its own calendar grid or use multiple grids to combine a shut down period with a normal working calendar.
Line Grids and Date Lines in a Gantt Graph
Beside calendar grids, use one or more discrete line grids for different time intervals corresponding to your time scale, and thus make a time grid omnipresent in the background of your Gantt graph.
Define annotated and slidable date lines in the foreground or background of your Gantt graph in order to emphasize important dates in your application like the start of production or others.
Summary Bars in the Gantt Graph
Generate summary bars for groupings or hierarchical levels of your Gantt layout. Their start and end dates derive from the dates of the subordinated tasks. If the earliest date of the subordinated tasks is modified, the early date of the corresponding summary bar will change accordingly. Use the same variety of styles and symbols that are available to tasks in the Gantt chart also to graphically visualize the summary bars.
Text and Graphics Boxes in the Gantt Graph
Use your Gantt chart for presentation purposes and supplement it with editable text or graphics boxes which can be tied to a task in a way that they move along if the task is moved interactively.
The Time Scale Section of a Gantt Chart
Assemble your individual time scale from different time ribbons ranging from seconds to years, including special ribbons for shifts, calendar weeks, fiscal quarters or fiscal years. Combine Gregorian time ribbons with serial time ribbons for your specific company calendar. Localize month and weekday names for different languages.
Save space in your Gantt view by collapsing idle times in the time scale according to a given calendar; e.g. collapse the night hours of an hourly scale, if your application needs to display only the time from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Let your users zoom the time scale in and out, as needed, or let them auto-scale it so that it fits into their window or fills the pages of a print-out.
Focus on a specific time span in detail without losing sight of the past and future of the time span by dividing the time scale into sections of different resolutions.
The Histogram Section of a Gantt Chart
Extend your Gantt view by the histogram section in order to display resource workloads or cost curves in your application. The histogram uses the same time scale as the Gantt graph and is fully synchronized with it. The curve data are either generated from the task data or are defined independently by the API. Thus a bar being moved in the Gantt graph also is reflected in the generated workload curve accordingly. Beside the time scale a configurable numerical scale serves as Y-axis.
Visualize the available capacities of your resources combined with the actual resource workload in different curves, and highlight overload and shortfall areas independently by different patterns and colors.
Let your users switch on and off histograms in a Gantt chart to show the work load of individual resources just as needed. Allow them to add multiple histograms to a Gantt chart. Use comfortable auto-scale functions to fit all histograms into your view or your histogram section.
Show stacked or cumulated cost curves in different line types if favored for your application. Display calendar or line grids in the same way as in the Gantt graph. Let your users edit curves interactively by drag&drop, if they were defined by the API.
Printing and Print Previews in Gantt Charts
Select the page layout and preview it in the integrated print preview. Specify which sections of a Gantt chart are to be repeated on each page and what the title and legend should look like. Auto-scale the time scale in a way that the full page width is used for a page. Create PDF files in order to communicate your Gantt charts in a digital standard format.
Scheduling Functions in Gantt Charts
Complementary to the visualization functions, take also advantage of two independent scheduling functions:
Time Scheduling
Use our time scheduling functionality to calculate for a project the project end date, early and late dates as well as total and free float for your tasks according to PERT/CPM rules. An auto-schedule function lets your users move a task and simultaneously all depending tasks with it.
Resource Scheduling
Avoid over-loading of your resources by using the Resource Scheduling module. Reduce idle times of your resources and keep to delivery dates by the optimal scheduling of tasks.
PDF File for Download
A description of the product features is also available as a PDF file here:
