How to Attach a Vertical Line to a Milestone in Microsoft Project 2010

Looks like we the deadline is met!

A big bold vertical line is a great indicator for a deadline/do-not-pass-or-else date in a schedule. The problem with drawing them in is that they second the timescale is changed or the project is zoomed the line is far off of where it needs to be. With the method below a line can be attached to a milestone and will move and scale with that milestone no matter the scale or zoom level.

Start a new line object by going to the Format section on the Ribbon and selecting line from the Drawing dropdown.

Left click and drag in the general area that you want your final line to be in, exactness is not key here only general limits.

• Double Left Click the line to bring up the Format Drawing box and Left Click the Size & Position tab. 
• Left click the Attach to task radio and enter the task ID into the box. The Task ID is the number to the far left of the desired task. In this example mine is 18. 
• Click Ok.

Your line suddenly jumps, stay calm.

Straighten things up. 

• Drag the line back to the general area you desire, it will stay from now on now that it is attached to a task. 
• Double left click the line again and enter -0.10 in the Horizontal box. This will center the line on the milestone. 
• Enter 0.00 in the Width box. This will ensure the line is straight. 
• Click Ok.

The line should snap into the correct place. The height of the line was more or less defined when you originally drew it loosely. Feel free to adjust, and if you make the line crooked simply double left click the line and re-enter 0 in the Width box.

Make the line big, bold, and red (or whatever you choose it to be) by clicking the Line & Fill section of the Format Drawing box. Select your desired color and Line thickness. Click Ok.

That’s it! It is graphically pleasing and easy to understand for those VPs or clients that may not understand the importance of an upcoming deadline. Persuade them even more by adding a secondary scenario where if a desired action is not taken place it pushes the project past that imposing bold red line. Go get em.

UH OH we have crossed the RED LINE