---
title: "Tips and tricks"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/BGdc/3525017803/Tips%20and%20tricks"
format: markdown
---
![A decorative image featuring a big cauldron that overflows with a magic mixture.](media://8d5fe11e-69b8-4baf-a570-b6f6d4f862dd)

Maximize your BigGantt productivity, regardless of your experience level. These smart shortcuts, tips, and notable features will help you work efficiently in the Gantt module.

## Gantt module

A Gantt chart is excellent for visualizing Waterfall and Hybrid projects and Agile or SAFe® roadmaps. To make the most of it, you must ensure you have correctly configured your Gantt chart. Then, it might be helpful to learn a trick or two about how to move around the timeline efficiently.

### Add hierarchy to the task list

In BigGantt, [structure builders](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525804206) are responsible for the hierarchy of your project components, such as Jira work items. They determine parent and child elements.

You can use one of the pre-defined built-in template structures or choose a Jira link-based structure. You can also define a custom structure for your box.

You can find the task structure configuration page in the box settings.

*Note that the Objective & Key Result task structure template is available only in BigGantt Enterprise Cloud.*

![Task structure page in the box configuration.](media://0cb9da99-74d8-455f-950d-fa6612883158)

To further customize your project structure, you can use [basic tasks](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3526066285) as parents to group child tasks that belong to, for example, a Waterfall project phase. Basic tasks are an excellent grouping element and can aggregate data on their children.

### Track data with custom column views and aggregations

Gantt and Scope modules house a hierarchical task list (WBS) alongside the columns displaying various data on your project components. For example, start/end dates for phases and individual tasks. 

Add as many columns as you need and aggregate data on them to help you track your project. Then, save your setup as a [column view](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525705766). You can create many different column views, star them to keep them at the top of the list, and then switch between them on the fly.

![Column view dropdown.](media://fbe38d2a-a395-40f0-894e-580b0e2d386c)

### Schedule tasks using different modes

[Scheduling mode](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525607860) determines how a task (or a group of tasks) will behave in relation to each other’s schedules. There are five scheduling modes: auto basic, auto bottom-up, auto top-down, manual, and locked. Each has a different scheduling property and can impact the schedule of another task.

For example, in the auto bottom-up mode, the children determine the duration of the parent task on the Gantt timeline. If you change the start date of the earliest child (a task that starts first) or the end date of the latest child (a task that finishes last), the parent’s end/start dates will adjust accordingly.

![A context menu listing all available task scheduling modes.](media://5d2d3606-2229-478d-9567-32cacefb8a13)

Task period mode, especially when coupled with [strong dependencies](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525509466), impacts how your tasks behave. Therefore, knowing what scheduling modes you apply to your respective tasks is important.

### Enable timeboxes on the Gantt chart

A timebox in BigGantt represents any consecutive work timeframe, such as a Sprint or iteration, a Program Increment, and a project stage. Even though the Gantt chart is typically associated with Waterfall projects, you can [enable timeboxes on a Gantt chart](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525706511).

Such an option lets you happily marry Classic and Agile projects, allowing you to visualize and manage them on the Agile board and the Gantt chart.

![Timeboxes enabled on the Gantt chart.](media://8911a8cf-a161-46f2-b4f1-3db4ded418b6)

### Enhance taskbar visibility with colors

On the Gantt chart, by default, [taskbar colors](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525215058) come from their respective task statuses (gray for “To do,” blue for “In progress,” and green for “Done”). You can overwrite that status-based coloring code and customize it.

Right-click on the task or milestone (on the WBS side) or taskbar (on the Gantt timeline side) and pick the color from the color palette. Confirm when the app asks you whether you want to set colors on the timeline to manual.

![A set of colorful taskbars on the Gntt chart.](media://1f04926d-eb31-44e4-95d8-9f176aa92884)

If you’re a visual person, such custom color coding might help you recognize and track respective project elements** **more quickly. For example, you can assign a color to MoSCoW-based priority tasks or color a group of tasks according to some theme.

### Use shortcuts for faster Gantt timeline navigation

You can comfortably navigate from one point to another on the Gantt timeline using a mouse (or touchpad). Click and hold the mouse left-click button to drag the entire timeline and drop it on the date range you want.

![A video showing how a Gantt timeline can be dragged in all four directions.](media://1e92513a-c76d-48a0-84b4-4ad0bc29a958)

To move the timeline only sideways, hold Shift and use the mouse scroll wheel to scroll left or right along the timeline. (This shortcut works on the WBS side, too.) 

You can also quickly adjust the timeline’s zoom level to increase/decrease the project view granularity level. Press and hold the Ctrl/Cmd button and use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in/out. 

If you want to focus the entire timeline on a specific task or tasks, press F on your keyboard to trigger the **Scale to fit** option. If no task is selected, this option will scale the entire project (box) to fit your view.

### Synchronize task dates between BigGantt and Jira

BigGantt can calculate a task’s start or end date based on the [task’s estimate](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BGdc/pages/3525280162).

By field mapping the Start Date/End Date in BigGantt to the Original Estimate in Jira, the task’s start/end date and the length of the taskbar automatically update whenever you change its estimate (or duration).