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After you enter tasks in the task list, organize and add structure to your project by applying outlining, which you can use to hide or show tasks, or show the relationship between tasks. Keep the following in mind when you create an outline:

• Create your outline by indenting (indenting: Moving a task to a lower outline level [to the right] in the Task Name field. When you indent a task, it becomes a subtask of the nearest preceding task at a higher outline level.) tasks that share characteristics or that will be completed in the same time frame under a summary task (summary task: A task that is made up of subtasks and summarizes those subtasks. Use outlining to create summary tasks. Project automatically determines summary task information [such as duration and cost] by using information from the subtasks.). You can use summary tasks to show the major phases and subphases in the project. Summary tasks summarize the data of their subtasks (subtask: A task that is part of a summary task. The subtask information is consolidated into the summary task. You can designate subtasks by using the Project outlining feature.), which are the tasks grouped beneath them. You can indent tasks as many levels as you need to reflect the organization of your project.
• Not all summary task (summary task: A task that is made up of subtasks and summarizes those subtasks. Use outlining to create summary tasks. Project automatically determines summary task information [such as duration and cost] by using information from the subtasks.) values show the combined total of your subtask (subtask: A task that is part of a summary task. The subtask information is consolidated into the summary task. You can designate subtasks by using the Project outlining feature.) values. While some summary task values (such as cost (cost: The total scheduled cost for a task, resource, or assignment, or for an entire project. This is sometimes referred to as the current cost. In Project, baseline costs are usually referred to as "budget.") and work (work: For tasks, the total labor required to complete a task. For assignments, the amount of work to which a resource is assigned. For resources, the total amount of work to which a resource is assigned for all tasks. Work is different from task duration.)) represent the total subtask values, others (such as duration (duration: The total span of active working time that is required to complete a task. This is generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the project and resource calendar.) and baseline (baseline plan: The original project plans [up to 11 per project] used to track progress on a project. The baseline plan is a snapshot of your schedule at the time that you save the baseline and includes information about tasks, resources, and assignments.)) do not. For example, Microsoft Office Project calculates the duration of a summary task as the total work time between the earliest start date and latest finish date of its subtasks.

  Because Project calculates summary task values, most of them cannot be edited. If you need to change a summary task's values, such as duration, update the individual subtasks. Summary task values are then recalculated.

Create your outline by indenting (indenting: Moving a task to a lower outline level [to the right] in the Task Name field. When you indent a task, it becomes a subtask of the nearest preceding task at a higher outline level.) tasks that share characteristics or that will be completed in the same time frame under a summary task (summary task: A task that is made up of subtasks and summarizes those subtasks. Use outlining to create summary tasks. Project automatically determines summary task information [such as duration and cost] by using information from the subtasks.). You can use summary tasks to show the major phases and subphases in the project. Summary tasks summarize the data of their subtasks (subtask: A task that is part of a summary task. The subtask information is consolidated into the summary task. You can designate subtasks by using the Project outlining feature.), which are the tasks grouped beneath them. You can indent tasks as many levels as you need to reflect the organization of your project.

This summary task information summarizes the period between the earliest start and latest finish date of all the included subtasks. It does not show the sum of all the subtask durations (duration: The total span of active working time that is required to complete a task. This is generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the project and resource calendar.).

Outline tasks

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
2. In the Task Name field, click the task you want to indent (move to a lower level in the hierarchy) or outdent (move to a higher level in the hierarchy).
3. Click Indent to indent the task.

   Click Outdent to outdent the task.

By default, summary tasks are bold and outdented (outdenting: Moving a task to a higher outline level [to the left] in the Task Name field.) and subtasks are indented (indenting: Moving a task to a lower outline level [to the right] in the Task Name field. When you indent a task, it becomes a subtask of the nearest preceding task at a higher outline level.) beneath them.

 Notes 

• Placing tasks in a hierarchical order does not automatically create task dependencies (task dependencies: A relationship between two linked tasks; linked by a dependency between their finish and start dates. There are four kinds of task dependencies: Finish-to-start [FS], Start-to-start [SS], Finish-to-finish [FF], and Start-to-finish [SF].). To create task dependencies, the tasks must be linked (linking: In a project, establishing a dependency between tasks. Linking tasks defines a dependency between their start and finish dates. In OLE, establishing a connection between programs so that data in one document is updated when it changes in another.).
• To undo outlining, outdent all your subtasks (subtask: A task that is part of a summary task. The subtask information is consolidated into the summary task. You can designate subtasks by using the Project outlining feature.) and lower-level summary tasks until all your tasks are at the same outline level.
• After rearranging linked tasks in your outlined schedule, the task dependencies you set previously may no longer be relevant and you may need to update them.
• You can indent or outdent a task quickly with the mouse. Point to the first letter of the task name. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag right to indent the task or drag left to outdent the task.