Every week we review free or shareware software that competes with more expensive high street brands. This week we look at a free project management software.

GanttProject is a project management software that is partly compatible with Microsoft Project.

It lets you import and export files produced by MS Project using its import/export tools.

It also offers a rich set of project management features that are ideal for managing small development projects.

Overview
Ganttproject is a 100% Java application that lets you plan projects using Gantt charts. It lets you break down a project into tasks, show dependencies, and manage resources. As it is written in Java, the Jar file runs on most operating systems, such as GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, MacOsX.

Creating Tasks
You can create tasks by using the New Task button. The tasks appear on the tree on the left pane; you can change their name here. Next, you can organize tasks by indenting them by groups or categories. Use the Up and Down functions to reorganize tasks.

Creating Relationships
You can specify a relationship between two tasks by dragging directly on the chart. Click and hold on the first task and moving the cursor to the second task.

Editing properties

You can edit each task’s properties in a dialog box by using the Properties menu, double-clicking on its name, or it’s Gantt bar. You can edit the name of the task, duration, percent complete, start and end dates, color on the chart, priority, and explanatory notes.

Resource chart

The Resource tab displays all resources on a project.

It shows the resource time allocation and is similar to the Gantt Chart. Each project is composed of tasks and people (i.e. resources) assigned to each task.

You can create resources by specifying the name, function and contact information.

XML format
As Ganttproject uses an XML file format, you can store the list of tasks, resources, relationships, and the links between tasks and resources. File extensions are in .XML or .GAN

Export to PNG/JPG
Ganttproject can export the Gantt chart as a PNG/JPG image. Select Project/Export As… and select PNG/JPG image after specifying the png/jpg filename.

Export to HTML/PDF
Ganttproject can also export the project as HTML web pages. The different web pages contain all the information about the project:

Costs

There is no cost as GanttProject is provided under the GPL License.

Download at: www.ganttproject.sf.net