ANTE User ManualProject Timeline
The Project Timeline is a cross-project Gantt-style view that places tasks from the projects you are a member of on a real calendar so you can see, in one screen, what is happening and when. Each task is drawn as a horizontal bar between its start and due dates, and you can drag those bars to reschedule work directly on the chart.
Overview
The Timeline pulls tasks from every project you belong to and lays them out on a horizontal calendar grid. Tasks are grouped (by default, by project), and each task bar can be moved or resized to change its dates. The page is read-and-edit in one: you can review the schedule and adjust it without opening each task. While tasks are loading, a placeholder skeleton is shown in place of the chart.
A task only appears on the timeline if it has both a start date and a due date. Tasks missing either date are collected separately so you can find and fix them (see Tasks Without Dates).
Your toolbar choices — grouping, sort order, zoom level, bar colors, and the Actual / Projected overlay toggles — are remembered in this browser, so the Timeline looks the same way the next time you open it.
How to Open the Timeline
- Click Projects in the sidebar.
- In the Projects (Workspace) menu, click Timeline.
The page title is Timeline, and the subtitle shows how many tasks are loaded (for example, "120 tasks"). When filters are active, the subtitle changes to show how many tasks match (for example, "18 of 120 tasks").
Reading the Timeline
The chart is split into two panels that scroll together:
- Left panel — the task list, with three columns: Task, Assignee, and Est. (estimated effort, shown in working days — for example "1d" or "5d").
- Right panel — the calendar, with a date header along the top and one bar per task.
On the calendar:
- Task bars run from each task's start date to its due date. By default every bar is colored by its project — the same project always gets the same color, so a crowded chart still reads at a glance. Open Display in the toolbar to color bars by status or priority instead, or to paint them with a color you name yourself (see Display Menu).
- Completed tasks (tasks whose lane is a closed/done lane) appear faded.
- Weekends are shown as lightly shaded columns, and the start of each week (Monday) is marked with a stronger grid line.
- A vertical today marker shows the current date.
- Task bars wide enough to fit show the task title inside the bar.
Groups and Parent Tasks
When grouping is on (the default), tasks are organized under group headers — for example, one header per project. Each header shows a colored dot, the group name, and a task count. Click a group header to collapse or expand that group.
A task that has subtasks becomes a parent header row showing the task's status color, its ID (for example, #1234), its title, the number of subtasks, and — if it has dependencies — a link icon with the dependency count. Its subtasks are listed underneath as their own bars. Click the chevron on a parent row to collapse or expand its subtasks. Click a parent's title to open that task.
Project Pills and the Right-Click Menu
When Project is turned on in the Display menu (it's on by default), each task's row shows a small pill with its project's name next to the title. Click the pill to open a compact project summary — status, progress, client, person in charge, dates, and member count. If you have access to the project, a Go to Project button opens its full page; if you don't, the dialog shows a message instead and the button is left out.
Right-click — or on a touchscreen, press and hold — a task's name in the left panel (including a parent header's name) to open a small menu:
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open Task | Opens the task detail window, same as clicking its title. |
| View Project | Opens the same project summary as clicking the project pill. Left out of the menu for a task that has no project. |
Toolbar
The toolbar runs along the top of the chart card. The left side has Search, Filter, Display, Group, Sort, and the zoom slider; the right side has a month picker, Create Task, and the fullscreen toggle.
Search
Type in the Search tasks... box to filter the timeline by task title. The search also matches subtask titles, so a parent stays visible if one of its subtasks matches. The search updates a moment after you stop typing. Click the ✕ inside the search box to clear it.
Filter
Click Filter to open the filter panel. A small number badge on the button shows how many filters are currently active. The filter panel offers:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Project | Show only tasks from the selected project(s), chosen from the projects you belong to. You can pick several and search the list. Your selection is remembered — it's still applied the next time you open the Timeline. |
| Assignee | Show only tasks assigned to the selected people. Matches both task and subtask assignees; shows avatars. |
| Priority | Show only tasks at the selected priority level(s). |
Each filter shows All when nothing is selected, and lets you pick more than one value. When at least one filter is active, a Clear all button appears in the panel to reset every filter at once.
The Timeline only ever shows tasks from projects you are a member of. The Project filter narrows that set further to specific projects — it does not expand it to projects you don't belong to.
The search box and the three filters all count toward the active-filter badge. The page subtitle ("X of Y tasks") reflects the combined result.
Display Menu
Click Display to open a checklist of options — several can be on at once, and each click leaves the menu open so you can flip more than one:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Actual | Draws a second bar showing when the task actually started and finished. If the task started but isn't finished yet, this bar stretches to today and is shown as still in progress. It only appears for tasks that have an actual start recorded. |
| Projected | Draws a third bar showing the projected dates. Projections shift a task's planned dates by how late (or early) it actually started, and cascade that shift down to dependent tasks within the same project. |
| Project | Shows each task's project as a pill next to its title in the left panel (on by default). See Project Pills and the Right-Click Menu. |
When Actual or Projected is on, hovering a task shows a tooltip listing the Planned, Actual, and Projected date ranges for that task. The Actual and Projected bars are for reference only — they can't be dragged.
Below a divider, the menu also decides what colors the bars — pick one of:
| Option | Bar color comes from |
|---|---|
| Color by project | The task's project — a stable color per project (default). |
| Color by status | The task's board lane (status) color. |
| Color by priority | The task's priority level color. |
| Any named color you've created | Every bar is painted with that color, and its Actual overlay uses the color's own Actual color instead of the default. |
Only one of these is active at a time — choosing a different one replaces the current choice. The last item, Customize Colors…, opens the dialog where you create named colors and set per-project colors.
Customizing Bar Colors
Click Customize Colors… in the Display menu to open the Customize Colors dialog, split into two parts:
- My colors — your own named colors. Click Add Color to create one (named "Customize 1", "Customize 2", … by default — rename it by editing the name field). Each has a Bar color and an Actual color (used for its Actual overlay when this color is selected). Remove one with the ✕ next to it. Saved colors appear in the Display menu as selectable "Color by" options.
- Project colors — every project currently shown on the chart, each with a color swatch (starting from its automatic default). Change any project's swatch to recolor it under Color by project, or click Restore Defaults to put every project back to its automatic color.
Click Save to apply your changes. These colors are per user — they don't change what other people see on their own Timeline.
Group
The Group selector controls how rows are grouped:
| Option | Grouping |
|---|---|
| Milestone | One group per project milestone (default), in milestone order; tasks with no milestone are collected in a "No Milestone" group at the end. |
| Project | One group per project. |
| Assignee | One group per assigned person. |
| Priority | One group per priority level. |
| None | No grouping — a single flat list of tasks. |
Sort
The Sort selector controls the order of tasks within each group:
| Option | Orders tasks by |
|---|---|
| Start Date | Earliest start date first (default). |
| Due Date | Earliest due date first. |
| Priority | Priority level. |
| Title | Task title, alphabetically. |
| Assignee | Assigned person. |
Zoom
Drag the zoom slider — or click the − / + buttons beside it — to widen or narrow the day columns, from 24 to 120 pixels per day.
Create Task
Click Create Task to open the standard new-task dialog without leaving the Timeline. Choose the project for the new task in the dialog, the same way you would from any other task list.
Fullscreen
Click the fullscreen icon to make the toolbar and chart cover the whole screen — handy when you're reading a wide schedule. Click the icon again, or press Esc, to exit. Esc won't exit fullscreen while a dialog, context menu, or dropdown is open — it closes that first.
Navigating by Month
The calendar always shows whole months — a chart that would otherwise start on, say, January 8th extends back to January 1st.
- Two chips above the calendar, ‹ (previous month) and (next month) ›, step one month relative to whichever month is currently in view — not the edges of what's loaded — pulling in more months on demand.
- Scrolling past the left or right edge of the calendar (for example, overscrolling with a trackpad or mouse wheel) also pulls in another month.
- The month picker on the right of the toolbar jumps straight to any month, loading whatever months lie in between; it also updates automatically to show whichever month you've scrolled to.
Rescheduling Tasks by Dragging
You can change a task's dates directly on the chart — no need to open the task.
- Move a task — click and hold the middle of a task bar and drag it left or right. Both the start and due dates shift together, keeping the same duration.
- Change the start date — drag the left edge of the bar.
- Change the due date — drag the right edge of the bar.
When you release the bar, the task's new start and due dates are saved automatically. A bar is always at least one day wide.
How Dependent Tasks Follow
If other tasks depend on the one you moved, ANTE checks whether the new dates now clash with each dependency and moves only the tasks that clash:
- Finish-to-start — a dependent task that would now start on or before the moved task's due date is pushed to start the next working day.
- Start-to-start — a dependent task that would now start before the moved task is pushed to start with it.
- Finish-to-finish — a dependent task that would now finish before the moved task is pushed so it finishes no earlier.
A pushed task keeps its length in working days, and the check carries on down the chain. Tasks are only ever pushed later: moving a task earlier never pulls its dependent tasks with it, and a task that still fits is left exactly where it is. Finished tasks are never moved.
A parent task's bar always spans its subtasks, so you change a parent's dates by moving its subtasks. When a parent has to be pushed, its unfinished subtasks move together.
Tip: A single click on a task bar (without dragging) opens the task so you can view or edit its full details. Dragging never opens the task — the two actions don't interfere with each other.
Opening a Task
Click any task bar, the task's title in the left list, or a parent header's title to open the task detail window. From there you can review and edit the task as usual. Close the window to return to the timeline.
Summary Bar
Below the chart, a summary line shows:
- Tasks on timeline — how many tasks are currently drawn on the calendar.
- Missing dates — how many tasks are missing a start or due date (shown only when there are any).
Tasks Without Dates
Tasks that don't have both a start date and a due date can't be placed on the calendar. They are collected in a Tasks without dates section at the bottom of the page, with a count.
- Click the Tasks without dates (N) header to expand the list.
- Each entry shows the task ID and title. Click an entry to open the task.
- Add a start date and a due date to the task, then close it — the task will now appear on the timeline.
If no tasks have dates at all, the chart shows a No tasks with dates message reminding you that tasks need both a start date and a due date to appear, along with a count of how many tasks are missing dates.
Common Tasks
See everything happening this week across all projects
- Open Projects → Timeline.
- Set Group to Project to see each project's tasks together, or Assignee to see work by person.
- Use the today marker and the week grid lines to find the current week.
Reschedule a task
- Find the task's bar on the calendar.
- Drag the middle of the bar to move both dates, or drag an edge to change just the start or due date.
- Release — the new dates save automatically.
Focus on one person's workload
- Click Filter.
- Under Assignee, select the person (or several).
- Optionally set Group to Assignee to keep each person's tasks together.
- Click Clear all in the filter panel when you're done.
Compare planned dates against actual progress
- Open Display and turn on Actual to overlay each task's real start/finish.
- Optionally turn on Projected to see where dependent tasks are now expected to land.
- Hover any task to read the exact Planned / Actual / Projected ranges.
Color bars by what matters to you
- Open Display.
- Choose Color by project (the default), Color by status, Color by priority, or a saved named color.
- Click Customize Colors… to create a named color, pick a per-project color, or restore every project to its automatic color.
See which project a task belongs to
- Make sure the Project pill is on in the Display menu.
- Click the project pill next to a task's title.
- Review the summary, then click Go to Project to open the full project (shown only when you have access) — or right-click the task's name and choose View Project instead.
Jump straight to a month
- Open the month picker on the right of the toolbar.
- Select the month you want — the chart loads it and scrolls there directly.
Work in fullscreen
- Click the fullscreen icon on the right of the toolbar.
- Click it again, or press Esc, to return to the normal page layout.
Fix tasks that aren't showing up
- Scroll to the bottom and expand Tasks without dates.
- Open each listed task and add both a start date and a due date.
- Return to the timeline — the task now appears as a bar.
How It Connects
Gets its data from
- Project Details — the start and due dates you set on each project’s tasks become the bars.
Feeds into
- All Tasks — opening a task from the timeline shows the same task as the Tasks page, and dragging a bar reschedules it.
- Project Details — rescheduled dates are the same dates the project’s views show.