Change the timescale in a view

Some views, such as the Gantt Chart and the usage views, have a timescale that appears above the chart or timephased portion of the view. You can display up to three tiers of timescale in each view and you can format each tier individually. You can also customize the timescale in the Calendar view to meet your needs.

Note: This topic describes how to change the timescale for views. Do not confuse the timescale with the timeline, which you can add to a view in order to view your entire project at a glance.

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Change the timescale in any timephased view

Change the timescale in the Calendar view

Change the timescale in any timephased view

1. On the View tab, select a view that uses a timescale from the Task Views or Resource Views group. Examples include the Gantt Chart, Task Usage, and Resource Usage views.

2. On the View tab, in the Zoom group, click the Timescale list and then click Timescale.

3. In the Timescale dialog box, click the Top Tier, Middle Tier, or Bottom Tier tab.

4. In the Show list, select the number of tiers that you want to display in the timescale. By default, two tiers are displayed.

5. Do the following for each tier of your timescale:

   • In the Units box, select the time unit that you want to use.

   • In the Label list, select the label format that you want to use to display the time unit.

   • In the Count box, type or select a number to specify the frequency of unit labels on the timescale tier.

     For example, if the unit is weeks, and you type 2, then the timescale tier is separated into 2-week segments.

   • In the Align list, select Left, Center, or Right to align the the label.

   • To display or hide vertical lines between unit labels, select or clear the Tick lines check box.

   • To base the timescale tier labels on your fiscal-year settings, select the Use fiscal year check box, or clear the check box to base your timescale tier labels on the calendar year.

   • To display a horizontal line between the timescale tiers, select the Scale separator check box.

   • To condense or spread out the columns of the timescale tier, type or select the percentage you want in the Size box.

Timescale shortcuts

• To focus on a specific time period or group of tasks, use the zoom slider in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Move the slider to the right to zoom in and see smaller time increments. Move the slider to the left to zoom out and see larger time increments.

  

• You can also press CTRL + / (slash on the numeric keypad) to show smaller time units, and CTRL + * (asterisk on the numeric keypad) to show larger time units.

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Change the timescale in the Calendar view

1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click Calendar.

   

2. Right-click in the Calendar view, and then click Timescale in the menu that appears.

3. In the Timescale dialog box, click the Week Headings tab.

4. In the Monthly titles, Daily titles, and Weekly titles boxes, click the date formats that you want to use for the Calendar view.

5. Under Display, click 7 days to display a 7-day week or click 5 days to display a 5-day week.

6. To add miniature calendars for the next and previous months, select the Display month pane check box.

7. To show the beginning and end dates for the range of time you have chosen to view, select the Display monthly titles beginning and end dates.

8. Click the Date Boxes tab.

9. Under Top row and Bottom row, select the information that you want to display in the left and right portions of each row, and then select the patterns and colors you want.

Note: 

• To change the appearance of working and nonworking days in the Calendar view, right-click anywhere in the Calendar view, and then click Timescale in the menu that appears. In the Timescale dialog box, click the Date Shading tab, and then click the name of the calendar that you want to change in the Show working time for box. In the Exception type list, click the type of date box you want to change, and then select a pattern and color.

• To change the column width, drag any vertical line between two date boxes to the left to decrease column width or to the right to increase column width. To fit the displayed columns exactly to the width of the calendar area, double-click any vertical line between two date boxes.

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