Printing the Gantt 

You can print the Gantt chart and sheet data and save it as a PDF. Click below for a walkthrough on how to export and print the Gantt chart.

Your plan can be printed in two ways:

• Print the current view as it appears on your screen.
• Customize your layout with an automatically scaled high-res version of your plan or a tailored layout where you can adjust the PDF title, layout, columns, rows, timeframe, fit and more.

To print, click the print icon on the Gantt ribbon bar:

You'll see two options for printing: Print Current View and Customize Print Options.

See the relevant sections below for more details on these two options.

Print Current View

If you'd like a PDF version of the Gantt exactly as it appears on your browser screen, select Print Current View. Think of this as printing a screenshot of the Gantt page view exactly as you see it on your screen. 

You can customize your Gantt for print by making adjustments directly in the Gantt tab: re-order columns, change column sizes, adjust the size of the visible Gantt, scroll so that the desired print area is in view, etc. 

When you are happy with what is being displayed, click Print Current View, and ProjectManager will generate a PDF file that exactly matches what is shown on your browser screen.

Selecting this option will automatically download a PDF output of this view. You might need to wait a few seconds for the file to download.

The PDF file will feature the name of the project and the date of the download at the top, and display the view of your plan as shown on your screen, minus the toolbar and other navigational elements of the software. Here’s just one example:

Browser requirements - We recommend using Chrome or Edge. The Print Current View option isn't currently available in Safari or Firefox. 

 

Customize Print Options

Choose Customize Print Options if you would like to customize the output of your plan. With this option, you can adjust a variety of different settings to generate a file that fits your needs.
Print to actual size (multiple pages) or print to a single page and control the plan's width. If you print on a single page, the font size will decrease to accommodate the full project. Once downloaded, you can zoom in on the PDF to make it more readable. If you'd like to extend the width to multiple pages, type the number of pages into the box.

Automatic Layout Setting - New!

We have introduced a new autoscaling setting that automatically increases the page size based on the chart content. This allows you to generate clearer, zoom-friendly PDFs and, if required, print the output across multiple pages using Adobe or other PDF tools. 

Under “Layout” there are 3 options. Automatic is the first option. 

This option, when selected, hides the page size dropdown and “Fit” options in the Print popup. You still have the option here to choose which Columns and Rows you want to see and select a Timeframe for the plan. The Timeframe defaults to your Gantt View Settings, but these dates can be for any timeframe you want (limited to 5 years). 

This setting generates a high-res view of the entire plan as PDF, which can be printed at any scale or zoomed in for cut and pasting into other documents. Here is a zoomed-in example of a multi-year project plan generated as a PDF with the Automatic setting:

This view allows you to zoom in and out to the whole plan and print to large-scale printers or formats, as well as the ability to print a readable, high-res view on multiple 8.5 x 11” pages or any other page size allowed by your printer and the PDF tool you are using.

Printing a Large Plan as multiple 8.5 x 11” pages with Adobe Acrobat

If you want to have a large plan printed at scale with multiple 8.5 x 11 pages, you need to use Adobe Acrobat’s “Poster” size option and scaling settings or another PDF tool that supports the ability to print out a large image as multiple pages. Since Adobe Acrobat is the most commonly used PDF tool, we have offered the following recommended settings to generate a large plan on a common paper size.

These are the recommended Adobe Acrobat Settings for an 8.5 x 11” paper output:

• Under “Page Size & Handling” Select:
  • Select the “Poster” options
  • Change “Tile Scale” to 133%
  • Change “Overlap” to .2 inches 
• Orientation: Landscape
• Page Setup: 8.5 x 11”

As you adjust the settings, you will see in the preview window a dark grey shading with dotted page outlines over the plan. Adjusting Tile Scale and Overlap changes this view. In the image below, you can see that this large plan will print over 12 pages.

Example settings:

Then click “Print.” Depending on the length of your plan, your printer will generate the pages with overlap areas, so you can tape or paste these pages together to generate a large plan. 

This is just one commonly used format used as an example for a very large plan. Smaller plans may output with a smaller number of pages. You can also adjust the timeline or additional Print Popup settings before you generate the PDF to just capture a portion of the plan. Here are some additional settings and options you can adjust to customize your plan.   

“Landscape” & “Portrait” Layout Settings

When you select the “Landscape” or the “Portrait” layout options, you have additional options right in the Gantt Print popup. You can select paper size from a dropdown menu.

And you can adjust the “Fit” option with the following settings:

When using the Landscape and Portrait Layout options, you can also adjust settings like Rows to display, Columns to display, and Timeframe. If your plan is 12 months or longer, we recommend adjusting the Timeframe Date settings in the Print popup. This allows you to adjust the dates displayed on the timeline in a condensed manner. Here's an example of the Horizontal Layout customized:

Within the Gantt itself, you can also change the Gantt view by clicking the Calendar icon and setting the top tier to months and the bottom tier to quarters. This will condense the Gantt to reduce the width and make the printout easier to read, especially for plans that are 12 months in length or larger. 

Customizable Display Settings

In both the Automatic, Horizontal and Portrait Layout settings, you can make additional adjustments before printing. Here are the settings and what each of them adjusts:

Title

The title of your printout will be the project title by default. You can give your printed copy another name; for example, “Website Redesign Version 2.”

Layout

You can choose to print your plan in Automatic, landscape or portrait mode, and you can customize the print output size and format.

Columns

When printing, you can choose to print every column, only the task names, or only the columns you currently have activated on the Gantt.

Rows

You can select the rows you would like to include.

Timeframe

You can select a custom timeframe to print; for example, August 1st, 2025 to September 1st, 2025. If a task falls outside your selected dates, an arrow will point to the left or right indicating that the task starts or finishes outside your chosen dates. This improvement gives you more information in your printout without adding additional dates.

In the above example, we've adjusted the date range and the number of rows visible. As a result, the printed page looks like this:

Additional Print Settings

Display task names on all pages

If this box isn't checked, the Task Name will appear only on the first page of the printout.

Display Gantt grid lines

The Gantt grid lines will appear when this box is checked.

Highlight today's date

Today's date will be highlighted on the printout.

Change timeframe automatically

The Gantt timescale will be automatically adjusted to best fit the selected print fit and timeframe.

Summary tasks only

If this box is checked, you will only see the Summary Tasks and not the sub-tasks.

Print collapsed tasks

If this box is checked, collapsed Summary Tasks will display on the printout.

Hide Gantt

Similar to the project view, you can choose to hide the Gantt completely, so only the data graph appears.

Note: If you choose to display Task Name, Percent Complete or Assignee on the Gantt bars under Gantt Settings, you'll see that information displayed on the printout.

Once you have customized your printout, click Print to export your plan as a PDF. Your printout will match your project colors, style and font. If you need to print your project again or print another project, your settings will be saved

Language Support

The software supports the direct input, import or copy of additional languages and currencies, including non-Latin characters like Arabic and Chinese, into the software. We recommend using the Automatic Layout setting for best experience with multi-languagwe support on print.

You can always email us at support@projectmanager.com with any questions that you have.