Cutting, Copying, and Pasting in Gantt

In the Gantt task grid, you can use keyboard shortcuts to cut, copy and paste the contents of one or more cells, rows or columns within Gantt, or between Gantt and third-party applications.

Note: Due to performance limitations, we recommend that you do not use Gantt on Microsoft IE11 when cutting, copying and pasting.

Selecting Items

  • When selecting rows, click the WBS number. When selecting columns, click the column header.
  • To select multiple adjacent items, press and hold Shift while selecting, or drag the mouse across the items.
  • To select multiple separated items, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or Cmd (Mac) while selecting.
  • When pasting multiple cells, you only need to select the first cell. The number and shape of the pasted cells match the copied cells.

Note: If you double-click a cell so that it is open for editing before pasting, the contents of the multiple cells are pasted into it.

Within the task grid, you can:

  • Paste into cells that are the same format as the copied data. For example, a date cell with a format of 01/01/20 cannot be copied into a date cell with a format of 1/1/20.

    An exception is that you can paste any data into a text cell.

  • Copy from read-only cells, such as Assigned Resources.
  • Paste multiple cut or copied rows to the bottom of the grid. The last row is replaced and extra rows are added.
  • Cut, copy, and paste columns, including custom columns within the task grid. The restrictions on field types are the same as for individual fields.

    Column headers are not copied.

  • Paste into checkboxes or read-only cells, but only if they were copied as part of a multiple selection.

Limitations

Within the task grid, you cannot:

  • Paste dates or durations into cells of a different date format or duration unit.
  • Maintain hierarchies. Pasting a hierarchical selection flattens the hierarchy to the level of the highest task.
  • Paste into lookups, picklists, read-only fields, or assigned resources. However, you can replicate the contents of lookups and picklists. See the section Replicating Cells.
  • Paste if you have clicked a toolbar button, such as Indent or Outdent after cutting or copying. You must reselect the task grid to paste.
Tip: To ensure good performance, do not paste more than 300 rows.

Actions between Gantt and Third-party Applications

You can cut, copy, and paste cell contents between Gantt and third-party applications, such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, SmartSheets, and Microsoft Project.

Useful Information

  • To select the complete contents of the task grid, use Ctrl+A or click the blank WBS column header.
  • Checkboxes in the task grid are converted to text as "True" and "False" when pasted into third-party applications. When pasting from a third-party application into the task grid, this text is converted to selected and deselected checkboxes.
  • Data that is cut or copied from other applications that use a different date format from Gantt cannot be pasted into the task grid.
  • If you have added tasks to a plan in another application, the tasks are added as new rows when pasted into the task grid.

Replicating Cells

A handle in the bottom-right corner of one or more selected cells enables you to replicate their contents to adjacent cells above or below them. Replication does not work when dragging horizontally.

You can use the replication handle to replicate lookup and picklist cells.

Creating Sequences

For date or numerical cells, you can create a sequence by selecting two vertical cells with sequential values, and then dragging the handle to one or more cells.

For example, select two date cells that contain consecutive dates and drag the handle to the cell below. The cell contains the next date in the sequence.

Note: When replicating a sequence of task start and end dates for work calendars that respect non-working days, tasks that end on a non-working day are changed to zero hours checkpointsClosed A zero duration task record, which is used to represent an event in the project such as a key decision, completion of a work package, completion of a deliverable or end of a phase. Checkpoint tasks have no relationship with PSA milestones.. Also, if you are replicating a sequence using only the end date, tasks can end on non-working days.
Use only start dates to replicate a sequence of tasks and ensure that the task end dates will not fall on a non-working day.