Did you know that you can generate gorgeous Gantt charts using Microsoft Visio?

Although it is fairly easy to create Gantt charts in Microsoft Project, it is too time consuming to “pretty it up” for executive presentations. In contrast, you can easily change the backgrounds, borders, titles and other features in Microsoft Visio.

In Visio 2003, on the File menu, point to New, point to Project Schedule and then click on Gantt Chart.

In Visio 2007, Project Schedule is simply called Schedule.

Click on OK in the Gantt Chart Options dialog box.

If you need to import an existing Microsoft Project file, follow the steps above but click on Cancel when prompted in the Gantt Chart Options dialog box.

On the Gantt Chart menu, click on Import to invoke the Import Project Data Wizard. Follow the steps in the wizard.