Bars & Labels tab of the Layout Options page

Overview

Use the Bars & Labels tab to specify bar properties, arrangement, shape, color, pattern, bar necking, color bars by activity code, filters, and format borders. You can specify bar label properties, alignment, and font.

Screen Elements

Available Bars area

Add button

Click to add a bar to the Gantt or TSLD.

Copy button

Click to copy the selected bar.

Delete button

Click to delete the selected bar. To remove a specific bar from displaying in the Gantt or TSLD without deleting, clear the Show checkbox next to the bar.

Move Up button

Click to move the selected bar up one position.

Move Down button

Click to move the selected bar down one position.

Note The order of the list determines the order in which the bars are drawn. When drawing, P6 Visualizer checks for all "Shown" bars, then draws them in sequence from the top to bottom of the list.

Selected Bar Preview area

Bars View

Use the Bars view area to customize start endpoint, bar, and finish endpoint.

Bar Labels View

Use the Bar Labels view area to customize label positions.

Full Preview

Use the Full Preview area to combine the Bar and Bar Labels view to see how all selected bars could appear in the Gantt or TSLD.

Zoom control

Slide the control to the left to zoom out for a less detailed preview and slide to the right to zoom in for a more detailed preview.

Bars View Palettes

The following palettes display when you view the Bars preview. Use these palettes to customize the start endpoints, bar, and finish endpoints. Palettes can be moved, expanded, minimized, and resized.

Bars & Endpoints Palette

Determines which of the three focus areas, Start Endpoint, Bar, and Finish Endpoint you are customizing. You can add and delete focus areas. You can only add these focus areas and you can only add one of each type. Focus-specific palettes adjust settings accordingly.

Properties Palette

Bar Type list

Select the bar type. The bar type determines what type of dates are used to draw the bar.

Bar Usage list

Determines how the bar is used - Normal, Summary, or Normal and Summary. Summary bars only appear when grouping is specified.

Arrangement Palette

Row field

Type or select the row position of the selected bar. Bars can be placed in an unlimited number of row positions.

Vertical Alignment list

Determines whether the vertical alignment for the bar and endpoints appears in the Top, Center, Bottom of the row position or Stretch. This is only applicable when a single activity with multiple bars is displayed in one row.

Snaps section

Vertical Snap list

Determines where the bar endpoints are vertically positioned next to the bar, Top, Center, or Bottom. Vertical snap settings are applied to the Start Endpoint, Bar, and Finish Endpoint.

Note You will only see the effect of the Vertical snap settings for Bar only when the Bar height is smaller than the Endpoint heights. You will only see the effect of the settings for Endpoints when the Bar height is great than the Endpoint heights.

Horizontal Snap list

Determines where the bar endpoints are horizontally positioned next to the bar, Left, Center, or Right. Horizontal Snap settings are applied only to the Start and Finish Endpoints.

Shape Palette

Shape list

Determines the shape of the endpoints.

Use rounded edges option

Select this option to use rounded edges for bars.

Height field

Type or select the height for the bar and endpoints.

Fill Palette

Color Type radio button

Select Solid color or Gradient color.

Color list

Select the fill color of the bar and endpoints.

When Gradient is selected, three Color lists will display.

Pattern list

The pattern overlay of the bar and endpoints. This list is not displayed when Gradient is selected.

Pattern Color list

The pattern overlay color. This list is not displayed when Gradient is selected.

Bar Necking Palette

Calendar nonwork time option option

Select to show the selected bar's nonwork time, based on the activity's calendar, as a neck.

Activity nonwork intervals option

Select to show the selected bar's nonwork intervals as a neck, based on out-of-sequence progress and suspended/resumed activities.

Relation to work time (%) field

Select to show the Nonwork time bars' proportionate to the Work time bars. For example, if you want the height of your nonwork time to display as half as high as your work time, choose 50%.

Color by Code Palette

Color bars by activity code value option

Select to color bars by activity code value. If this option is not selected, the sub-settings are disabled.

Activity Code list

The names of all activity codes assigned to activities in the selected projects.

Value Color list

Displays the activity code values associated with the selected activity code, and displays the color currently assigned in the P6 Professional or P6 dictionary to each activity code value. The color currently assigned to an activity code value appears in the list below each activity code value name. This list provides colors that you can re-assign to the activity code value. Changes update the colors in the dictionary.

Border Palette

Color list

Enables you to customize the bar and endpoints outline color.

Thickness field

Enables you to customize the thickness of the bar and endpoints outline.

Style list

Enables you to customize the style of the line.

Cap Style list

Enables you to customize the style of the endpoint cap, meaning the beginning and end of the breaks in the line when choosing a Style other than solid.

Filter Palette

Use Filters option

Select to apply filters.

Match option

Select to apply all or any filters to activities that match.

Add button

Click to create a filter assignment.

Remove button

Click to remove the selected filter assignment.

Available Filters list

Select Standard, Global, Layout, or User filters. Use the Filters tab to change the list or criteria for the available filters.

Bar Labels Palettes

The following palettes display when you view the Bar Labels preview. Use these palettes to customize bar labels. Palettes can be moved, expanded, minimized, and resized.

Label Assignments Palette

Add button

Use to add a label assignment. Activity ID is selected by default.

Delete button

Use to remove a label assignment. You can also delete a label assignment by clicking the x.

Arrangement option

Select to align labels vertically or horizontally when multiple labels are assigned within the same label position. This setting applies to the cell (1-15) in general, not just the selected bar.

Font Palette

The palette will not display if the selected label assignment is an HTML field. Instead, fonts specified in P6 Professional or P6 are obeyed.

Font Family list

Enables you to customize the font of text associated with the bars.

Font Style list

Enables you to customize the font style of text associated with the bars.

Size list

Enables you to customize the font size of text associated with the bars.

Color list

Enables you to customize the color of text associated with the bars.

Properties Palette

This palette will vary depending on the type of field chosen for the label, plain text, HTML, or table. This palette will not display if the field is a table format, that is, multiple pieces of data to display. "Step Name and % Complete" is the only field that is in table format.

When a plain text field is selected, the following settings appear.

Wrap Text option

Select to enable the options in the Properties palette. If this option is not selected, all options in this palette are disabled.

Maximum Number of Lines list

The maximum number of lines to wrap.

Maximum Label Width list

The maximum width of a label in inches. For HTML fields, such as Notebook topics, you can set the maximum height and width of the label. If set to zero, the width will expand to fit all text.

When an HTML field, such as Notebook Topic, is selected, the following settings appear:

Maximum Label Width field

Enter or select the maximum width of the HTML field.

Maximum Label Height field

Enter or select the maximum height of the HTML field. If set to zero, the height and width will expand to fit all text.

Apply to All button

For the currently selected bar, resets all other label Properties of the same type to reflect the current settings.

Note

Palettes are listed on the right side of the Options page. To expand or collapse a palette to customize options, select the arrow button or click anywhere on the palette's title bar. You cannot resize palettes.

Getting Here

From the Create or Open Timescaled Logic Diagram dialog box or the Create or Open Gantt Diagram dialog box, click Options. Then click the Bars & Labels tab.

Options is also available from the Diagram page.