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02 Getting Started
Walk through the complete flow in ten minutes: create a project → build a task tree → connect dependencies → assign resources → see the critical path → level → save a baseline.
Go to https://zgm4z.github.io/planit/ . Data is stored in your browser's IndexedDB, so it survives a refresh; a different browser or device won't see the same data (see Editing and Data).
On the project list page, click New plan, give it a name and a project start date (the project's origin, the zero point of the timeline).
The project start date matters: every automatically scheduled task is pushed forward from this date.
Enter the Gantt view. Use New task from the "Task" menu to add a row, or double-click a task name in the outline to rename it.
To build hierarchy: select a task → "Task → Indent" in the menu bar, and it becomes a subtask of the preceding sibling task. A summary task (one that has subtasks) has its dates rolled up from its subtasks automatically.
Shortcut: while editing a task name, pressing Enter commits the rename and creates a new sibling task directly below, with the cursor landing right on the new task's name—very fast for entering plans in sequence. See Tasks and Outline.
In the Gantt chart, move your mouse to the edge of a task bar; a round link handle appears. Drag from it onto another bar, and you've created a dependency (FS by default: the former finishes, the latter starts).
All four types (finish→start / start→start / finish→finish / start→finish) can be created. See Dependencies and Scheduling for details.
Once the dependency is created, the bar behind moves back automatically—that's dependency-driven scheduling.
- Switch to the Resource tab in the inspector and create a few resources (person/equipment/material, or a group).
- Go back to the Task tab, select a task, and pick a resource under "Assigned resources"—or the other way around, pick a task in the resource panel. Both directions are the same command and the same data.
- Want to assign in bulk:
Ctrl(macOSCmd) + click in the outline to select multiple tasks, then check them off at once with the Assign resources dropdown in the top bar.
See Resources and Assignments for details.
The chain of tasks with zero slack is the critical path, highlighted in the Gantt chart—delay any link in this chain and the whole project slips.
The Task tab in the inspector has Total slack / Free slack, or you can turn those two columns on in the outline.
If someone is scheduled for 120% of work on a day, the engine uses slack to push postponable tasks later, until everything fits or slack runs out.
Tasks that can't be moved (manual tasks, ones pinned down by constraints) are left alone; anything that truly can't fit is reported as a conflict honestly, not pretended into a successful leveling. See Leveling.
"Project → Save baseline" takes a snapshot of the current schedule. After that, when you change the plan, the outline shows each task's start/finish variance (workdays) against the baseline.
Once you set a status date and an active baseline, you can also see earned-value metrics such as PV / EV / SV. See Baselines and Earned Value.
Any change can be undone with Ctrl+Z / redone with Ctrl+Shift+Z (macOS Cmd). One drag = one undo; "a task created with one Enter" is also undone as a whole.
| You want to… | Read |
|---|---|
| Understand task hierarchy, milestones, the 27 columns | Tasks and Outline |
| Understand the four dependency types, three lag units, constraints | Dependencies and Scheduling |
| Change working days, add holidays, per-resource calendars | Calendars |
| Understand the two effort models, where cost is entered | Resources and Assignments |
| Help: where data lives, how to back it up, shortcuts | Editing and Data |