User guide ProjectSheet (Pro)

ProjectSheet is an add-on that provides a Google spreadsheet with WBS breakdown and a visual Gantt chart to plan and track a project. You can download the add-on from the Extensions menu in a spreadsheet or from the Google Workspace Marketplace

Once installed, the add-on creates the Task Schedule and Project Summary worksheets, and the Pro version also includes Resources and Holidays.

You can enter and edit the project data with the standard spreadsheet functions in combination with the add-on features in the sidebar. Unlike the standard spreadsheet functions, the add-on functions cannot be undone (Ctrl+Z).

Opening the sidebar is done using menu Extensions > ProjectSheet planning > Open sidebar. You can close the sidebar by clicking on X at the right top.

You can provide all empty or copied Google spreadsheets with ProjectSheet from menu Extensions > ProjectSheet planning > Add ProjectSheet. In case of an empty spreadsheet, wait until the sheets are completed.

Customization

The spreadsheet can be customized, but within restrictions because of ProjectSheet functionality:

do NOT	do
change or extend the Gantt chart in the sheet itself	adjust the Gantt timescale with settings in the sidebar
delete ProjectSheet columns	hide ProjectSheet columns
protect sheets and ranges against editing	share spreadsheet for viewing only
copy ProjectSheet columns	insert Custom columns/headers left of the Gantt chart
change header rows, including hidden row 3	change ProjectSheet and Custom column order
delete ProjectSheet worksheets copy ProjectSheet worksheets in the same spreadsheet	add Custom worksheets

ProjectSheet columns are the Task columns and Resource columns (Pro).
Custom columns and worksheets you add yourself.

See here how to edit the rows and columns of a Google spreadsheet: Add or move columns & cells
ProjectSheet renumbers the WBS when you move, remove, erase or copy tasks.

Authorization

As soon as you start using ProjectSheet for the first time, Google gives an authorization screen. Here you can see that the add-on modifies the spreadsheet and that it requires access to an external service because of the Pro functionality.

Uninstall

If you do not want ProjectSheet anymore in a certain spreadsheet, you can disable it at menu Extensions > Add-ons > Manage add-ons. It opens a dialog with all your add-ons. Select the ProjectSheet options and un-select 'Use in this document'. After you did this you can delete the tabs without rebuild. In the same menu you can 'Uninstall' ProjectSheet completely from all your spreadsheets.

The Task Schedule worksheet consists of a table on the left and an accompanying Gantt chart on the right.

Each column in the table has a header indicating the type of information in its column. The header titles can be customized to for instance a different language. The order of the present columns can be changed and custom columns can be inserted.

A row represents a task as soon as it is described in column 'Task description'. Removing the description will remove the task and make the row empty. Rows may remain empty for readability. Use normal spreadsheet functions to insert, clear, delete or copy rows.

Summary task

A task is a summary task as a result of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A summary task has subtasks and only requires a Task description. Start date, Finish date, Progress, Work and Cost are calculated as a result from its subtasks. Summary tasks have their row text in bold.

Milestone

A milestone indicates an important moment in the schedule. It is a task that only has a finish date, the start date is left empty. In the Gantt chart a milestone is visible with a different color than normal tasks and summary tasks.

In the Pro version a milestone has a duration of 0 days.

The Gantt chart is positioned right from the task table in the Task schedule sheet.

Timescale

The Gantt chart has a timescale at the top. The default time scale covers a total of 13 weeks. For projects that last longer, the start date of the timescale can be shifted to see parts of the project. With ProjectSheet Pro you can change the timescale unit from days to weeks, months or years to see the the entire project at once. With Pro you can also set the timescale automatically to show the entire project.

Task bars

The Gantt chart shows each task with a horizontal bar from its start date to its finish date inside the timescale.

Summary task, normal task and milestone bars have different default colors. The color of a task bar follows the background color of the Task description cell if Gantt bar with progress color is disabled and a background color other than white is selected.

Today indication

If today's date falls in the timescale, a vertical dashed line indicates this date.

Progress indication

The progress percentage of a task is translated into a double line in the task bar in the Gantt chart. If this double line stops before the current date indication, this means project delay.

The task columns are in the Task sheet.

WBS

This column is read-only and states the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) code per task. Changes in the WBS (like inserting tasks) may result in renumbering of WBS codes. Changing a task's level of indent is done by WBS functions in the sidebar.

The code consists of steps divided by dots. Step numbers consist of consecutive numbers starting at 1. The amount of steps equals the level of the WBS code. Codes having an equal start belong together.

Example:

1	Summary task A
1.1	Task B
1.2	Summary task C
1.2.1	Task D
1.2.2	Task E
1.3	Task F

Tasks B, C and F have the same level. They each have two steps.
Tasks D and E belong to the same summary task C, they share the same first two steps.

The WBS column is read-only. The WBS code of all tasks are re-calculated automatically after each affecting change.

Task description

The task description is the starting point of the schedule. The description states what needs to be done or what needs to be delivered. The text will indent according to its WBS level. Notes can be added to a Task description by using the right mouse click menu.

Newly added tasks will automatically get a WBS code with the same outline level as the previous task. A task and its WBS code will disappear entirely if its description is deleted.

Start date, Finish date

These columns contain the start date and finish date of each task. These dates are shown as a bar in the Gantt chart if they are inside the timescale.

Summary tasks receive their dates from their subtasks, they cannot be entered.

Double-clicking an entered date gives a calendar pop-up to adjust the date.

Progress

The progress of each task is entered in %.

Summary tasks calculate the progress of their subtasks, there is no need to enter them. For the Pro version the progress is weighted with the Days task durations, for the free version with the differences between Finish and Start date.

In combination with the corresponding setting in the sidebar the progress results in a color.

Condition	Color
today before task start date	no color
today after task start date and progress on schedule	green
today after task start date and progress behind schedule	yellow
today after finish date and progress less than 100%	red
progress equals 100%	no color

Days (Pro)

The task duration is entered in working days. Two weekend days are taken into account and are not counted in the duration and proceed the week start day as selected in the sidebar.

The finish date follows a change in the duration. The duration follows a change in the finish date. Work hours follow duration days with 8 hours per day if they are coupled with this option in the sidebar.

Removing the duration removes the start and finish dates.
Summary task days cannot be entered, they are calculated based on their start and finish dates.
A duration of 0 gives a milestone.

Link (Pro)

Tasks can be linked:

none	not linked
chain	start date follows finish date of its previous task in the WBS under the same summary task; this is indicated with '>' at the start of the Gantt bar
fixed	start date is fixed and will not shift with its summary task; this is indicated with 'X' at the start of the Gantt bar

Work hours (Pro)

Enter here the hours for a task. A summary task adds the hours of the underlying subtasks.

In the sidebar there is an option to link Work hours to Days task duration, under Adjust working time. If unchecked, the work hours needs to be updated manually. If checked, changing one will also update the other.

Resources (Pro)

The assigned resources. A resource can be of type work, equipment or material, as indicated in the Resources sheet. The quantity per resource is stated after each resource between [ ], except for 1 which can be omitted. Examples:

R	corresponds to 100% availability (work) or 1 unit (material)
R[1]	corresponds to 100% availability or 1 unit
R[0.5]	corresponds to 50% availability or 0.5 units

Assigning multiple resources is indicated by separating them by a semicolon. Example:

R1;R2[0.5]

When assigning work resources, the Work hours will not change, the Days duration follows the Work hours and availability. The duration is equal to the Work hours divided by the hours per work day as set in the sidebar under 'Adjust working time' (default 8 hours). Assigning multiple work resources to the same task will keep Work hours the same and shorten the Days duration.

A resource is automatically added to the Resources sheet or adjusted if already present.

Cost (Pro)

The cost per task, calculated from the assigned resource quantities and the cost per resource. The work hours per task are valid for each assigned work resource separately or are divided amongst the assigned work resources based on availability.

Cost per work resource = assigned availability / total assigned availability * Work hours * Rate per hour

Cost per equipment resource = assigned quantity * Duration hours * Rate per hour

Cost per material resource = assigned quantity * Rate per unit

A summary task aggregates costs of its underlying subtasks. Costs of the summary task itself are also added.

User defined column

A user defined column can contain any information. Also cell formulas can be applied for dedicated calculations.

The resource columns are in the Resource sheet.

Resource name

Descriptive name of the resource. A resource will disappear entirely if its name is deleted.

Type

A resource can be a work (default), equipment or material resource. The cost calculation of an assigned resource to a task depends on the resource type. A work resource is counted per work hour, equipment per duration hour and material per unit.

Rate per resource

Cost for a resource across all tasks per hour or unit.

Total count

All work hours or units assigned to a single resource across all tasks.

Total cost

All cost of a single resource across all tasks.

The Project Summary worksheet contains the data that applies to the entire project, as a top level WBS summary task. The data corresponds to the (Pro) columns of the same name in the Task Schedule worksheet. Added to it is the Remaining work which is a combination of Progress and Work.

In the Holidays worksheet free dates can be noted that cause delay to the project schedule. Each row contains the date for one day. The date applies to all resources at once.

Press Refresh in the sidebar to make the holidays take effect in the schedule.

The non-working dates are shown in the Gantt chart as vertical gray columns when the Gantt scale has 1 day per column. With other scales the holidays are not shown, but they are taken into account for the schedule.

The English version of ProjectSheet can be translated into another language using Google Translate. You can check your language with the translate checkbox, see picture below. If your language is included, the translation will start, otherwise you can send a request. When you un-check the checkbox, the translation will be undone.

You can modify the translated text in the column headers of a worksheet directly. The translations in the menu and sidebar come from a hidden worksheet called TRANSGOOGLE. The original text is in column A, while the translated text is in a column to the right, you may need to scroll to it. You can modify the translated text, which becomes active when you refresh the browser.

Please contact Forscale in English if needed.