Project Plaaning Tool For The Mac

Statistics show that MacOS is just about 10 percent of the global computer operating systems market. However, the ability of the well-designed Mac computer models to operate web-based applications has now made it a familiar business work desktop for project management.

How to Remove Project Planning Pro 2.7.2 in Mac OS X This article is teaching you how to correctly remove Project Planning Pro 2.7.2 in Mac OS X. Before performing the removal, let’s get to know more about Mac OS X, so that we will be able to safely, completely remove Project Planning Pro 2.7.2. Project Management for Mac OS X. Create a project plan in no time by entering tasks, duration and start dates. Use the interactive Gantt chart to edit and update the tasks. ** Supports Microsoft Project 2016 Plan Import/Export ** ***Project Planning Pro- The No 1 Project Management app on iPad is now on Mac*** Note: Supports MS Project XML Files only.

Web designers, creatives, and developers who are also Mac users see the value and benefits of using a project management tool, especially web-based apps. Online PM tools are usually cross-platform functional, so it works on different environment like MacOS, iOS, Windows, Android, etc. PM tools have two major benefits:

It organizes their work, clients, resources, schedules, etc.
It enables them to plan and breakdown projects into clear manageable tasks

The Top 10

Project professionals who prefer working on a Mac and looking for decent project management software can check the brief reviews below for the following PM tools. Most have core project management features, but a few also go beyond project planning and task management.

#1 Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a web-based project management and collaboration tool in a simple and familiar spreadsheet interface. It is easy to use and very flexible, but is also a business-grade application that has increased team productivity in tens of thousands of companies and organizations around the globe.

Smartsheet Software Features

Multiple views: Team availability, timelines, Gantt chart, calendar, card view
Automated tools: Alerts, email reminders, and web forms
Familiar interface: Spreadsheet-like UI does not have steep learning curve
Easy to start: Pre-built templates help jump-start different types of projects

Advantages of Smartsheet

Project Planning Tool For Mac

A familiar interface will not require time for employee training, but allows them to hit the ground running.
SaaS pricing model is not capital intensive, and easy to scale when growing in company size.
Online collaboration and integration makes it easy to communicate and partner with others.
Free email support and priority phone support for enterprise customers.
Free 30-day trial period.

#2 Wrike

Wrike is an online project management software that helps users manage their projects from initial request to reporting end results. It is an end-to-end solution, providing managers the ability to create and assign tasks, create workflows, visibly track progress, coordinate resources, and generate reports. Team members also get a clear view of priorities, access all tasks, documents and work information, edit, upload and share documents, and track time.

Wrike Software Features

Task, Project and People Management: Create projects from tasks, assign resources from tasks, and receive instant and direct communication with collaboration tools such as @mentions.
Email Integration, Custom Workflows: Users can work and participate from their email inbox, and sync all updates. They can add custom fields and configure dashboards for customized views.
Native Mobile Apps, Third-party Integrations: Wrike has native iOS and Android apps for working away from office. It integrates with other apps to enable teams extend functionality and get all types of work done with multiple tools, including an API.

Advantages of Wrike

Helps project teams quickly set priorities and align teams with tools like Gantt chart with critical path, workload views, and real-time status updates.
Automated forms, proofing and approval help people across the organization to coordinate smoothly and reduce rework.
User roles and share permissions ensure data integrity while reducing duplication and redundancy.
Web-based application provides real-time visibility for all users just by accessing a central site. The centralized system also ensures clarity and accountability.

#3 Mavenlink

Mavenlink is a project management software built by a privately held California, USA company. It is also web-based, and works with popular browsers such as Safari. The software for teams start at $19 per month on an annual contract for the first 5 users.

Mavenlink Software Features

Project Management and Accounting: Enables users to track not only tasks but also project fees, costs, and expenses.
Interactive Gantt chart: The chart shows tasks, dependencies and critical path.
Resource Management and Collaboration: Users can see a complete view of the business with project dashboards, reports, centralized conversations, and file management.
Business Intelligence and Operations Expertise: Mavenlink provides pre-built and custom reports. MavenOps is a service offered to clients to take advantage of industry know-how and consultations.

Advantages of Mavenlink

User-driven design makes it easy and painless for onboarding new team members.
Integrations with Salesforce, Jira, Google Apps, Quickbooks, and others. It also has API for custom integration.
Web-based application requires no download or installation, but provides automatic updates for the latest features.
HTML5 technology enables different device access and compatibility.
Supports different types of authentication from identity providers, such as secure SSO.
A free plan is available also upon registration.

#4 Microsoft Project Online

MS Project was developed by Microsoft in 1984 and the tool has evolved over the last 3 decades. The latest version is Project 2016.

MS Project Software Features
Improved Interface: Navigation and use of the project management tool has been made easy.
Auto Complete: Filling up of repetitive data has become effortless.
Timeline View: Users can easily view the project schedule and progress in graphical form.
Filters: New filters can be applied for quick data mining.

Advantages of MS Project

All sorts of charts and graphs have been included over the years.
Reliable online support is available.
No internet connection is required.
Can be easily integrated with other MS programs.
Caters to a wide range of project managers and is ideal for large organizations.

#5 Merlin

Merlin is one of the leading project management tools for Mac OS X. The software has been developed by Project Wizards and is renowned for its collaboration options. Merlin is divided into 4 products, namely, Project, Go, Server, and Project Express.

Merlin Software Features

Project management: Projects can be planned and managed to the very last detail. All projects are outlined in the form of a hierarchy, and each aspect of the project has its own place on the hierarchy. It is now also ready for agile project management with Kanban boards. The tool is priced at $149 per year. Merlin Project version 5 has been released. In fact, v5.0.3 is the latest version as of July 12, 2018. New features include grouping, new styles, and more.

Resource Management: All the workload assigned to each member of the team, along with all the allocated resources, are calculated and represented in the form of bar graphs. The new Resource Pool feature allows users to monitor the utilization level of projects.

Other features of Merlin include:

Full 30 days free trial
To do list, Kanban, Grouping, Resource pool
Graphs, charts, New Style Editor
Network friendliness, clean modern design

Advantages of Merlin

Merlin Project can import and export project data, integrates with many applications, and also connect with other apps through AppleScript.
Projects can be planned and managed to the very last detail.
The software shows utilization of resources so that resource and work allocation becomes easy.
Tutorials are available for each feature, and the features are easy to use for users of all levels.
Project Wizard also offers workshops, for users to get familiar with all the features on Merlin.

#6 OmniPlan

OmniPlan is a popular project management application developed by The Omni Group. It is available for $149.99 for the Mac, and $74.99 for iOS from the App Store. OmniPlan 3 is ready for iOS 11.

Omniplan Software Features

Omniplan has pretty much all the standard features of project management applications. It supports all sorts of charts and graphs, and can generate reports in various formats. Projects can be planned from scratch and managed until completion simply by using this software solution. Some of the newly introduced features include support for drag and drop, Touch Bar, dark mode, catch up, and keyboard support. It also has Applock for iOS, filtering, violation resolution, leveling, split tasks, critical path, multiple baselines, network diagrams, and export feature.

Advantages of OmniPlan

Support MS Project files. Files can be exported to and imported from MS Project.
Projects can be exported into a variety of formats.
Comes with a tutorial. Tutorials are also available in PDF and video formats.
Can be used to plan and manage small scale projects such as parties as well as large scale business projects.
Highly customizable and easy to use.
Online customer support is easily available.

#7 FastTrack Schedule

Develop by AEC Software; FastTrack Schedule is one of the most highly recommended project management tools in the market today. The software is especially effective when it comes to large projects with a great number of resources and a large team. Version 10.2 is the latest release.

FastTrack Schedule Software Features

Version 10.2 offers a new and intuitive Mac interface. It has Base calendars, work calendars, effort-driven scheduling, image columns, assignment contouring, and work usage inspector. It also has new bar styles and gradients, a Getting Started screen, address book integration, enhanced resource form, and an iMedia browser. FastTrack offers software that is available for both Mac OS X and Windows. Other features include local storage of preferences, communication tools, and sharing tools.

Advantages of FastTrack Schedule

Assembling your resources is very easy with the resource overview.
A variety of tools is available along with multiple formats of reports.
Small details and the larger pictures are equally covered,
Tutorials, guides, and customer support are easily available.
Integrates some of the features of the host operating system.

#8 Projector

Projector is a professional services automation software (PSA). It was built to solve a real business problem of its company. In 2003, the company Projector PSA was born to offer its own solution to other companies facing the same challenge. It is a highly modular system with its own project management module.

Projector Software Features

Projector integrates its project management module seamlessly with its project accounting, resource scheduling, and advanced analytics modules. Users are provided the framework and tools to plan, track and deliver projects successfully. It has advanced task planning and tracking, flexible, detailed budgeting, and project workspaces.

Advantages of Projector

Data can be input and retrieved very easily.
Images can be assigned with valuable pieces of information.
Every aspect of the project is covered including human and material resources, deadlines, milestones etc.
Easy to use, the interface has been designed in such a way that it doesn’t take an expert to use it.
Online support is easily available at the official website.

#9 RationalPlan

RationalPlan is available either as a cloud service or an on-premise solution. For on-premise project management, it offers the Single Project, Multi Project, and Project Server packages. It also offers Project Viewer which is free to download and completes the project management package.

RationPlan Software Features
Some of the major RationalPlan features include:

Project reports
Undo/Redo Actions
Project Management for single and multi project
Collaboration and communication tools
Task management
Gantt Charts
Scheduling
Timelines
Milestones

Project Planning Tool For The Mac

Advantages of RationalPlan

Caters to teams and project managers alike.
Caters to a wide range of industries including software, construction, and engineering.
Data at any level of the project can be edited. New reports are generated based on the new data. The feature is called “what if” feature.
Available on all major platforms including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Step by step tutorial is available for beginners.

#10 Curio

Curio by Zengobi is suitable for thinkers trying to come up with new ideas. The latest version Curio 11 is ready for MacOS High Sierra. An ideal product for brainstorming, exploration of ideas and gathering information,

Curio Software Features

Freeform Idea Spaces: supports images, PDF files, Google Docs, and live web views.
Styles and Templates (Bundled, Personal & Network): Several idea space templates and project templates are available in this feature along with stencils to create your own styles.
Meta Data and Task Management: You can prioritize your tasks and search across meta data through this feature.
Organizational Features: Ideas can be grouped and categorized in the hierarchical form through organizational features.
Importing: Anything can be searched for and dragged into your idea cloud through importing.
Exporting: files can be saved and exported in HTML, PDF, JPG and several other formats.
Helpers: The helper features are available for standard and professional versions and allow for screen capture, audio and video recording and mini and full screen modes along with many others.

Advantages of Curio

It focuses on mind mapping, i.e. use of charts, lists and clusters to organize your thoughts.
It is easy to use, the tools and features are easy to understand.
There is a walkthrough template which introduces you to all the features.
Caters to thinkers, helps them put their thoughts in order.
Curio is all about ideas and their feasibility, it helps determine their validity and effectiveness.

Conclusion

Project management tools are essential in business, to make sure work is properly organized, tracked, and completed. Web-based PM tools offer many advantages, and these include a centralized real-time information for all members across functions, locations and timezones, thereby providing an accurate, up-to-date picture of a project’s overall progress. Whether web-based or desktop installed, more users are collaborating on their projects. And as shown in this list, Mac users have several options to choose from for their personal and team project management and collaboration software.

When your to-do list becomes a monster, and an item next to a checkbox will actually take a long time and multiple people to complete, you need more than a checklist to keep track of it. What you really have is a project, and you need a tool designed to manage them. This week, we're going to look at five of the best personal project management tools, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week, we asked you for the best personal project management tools to keep track of all of the moving parts in your home renovation, family reunion, birthday party, vacation plan, or other pet project you need to keep track of.

What's The Best Personal Project Management Tool?

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Speaking as someone who used to be a full-time project manager, the available tools for businesses are really robust and packed with features, but when you need to organize something on your own or for a small time, sometimes lighter and more specific is better (not to mention more affordable). We collected your nominations, and picked out the top five. Here's what you said:

Asana

Asana is a hybrid task and project manager. We covered the service when it launched back in 2011, and since then it's updated several times, spawned iOS and Android apps, and boosted its collaboration features for both individuals and organizations. Adding multiple projects is simple, and you can keep track of them from the left sidebar. You can structure your individual project goals and milestones as a simple checklist from start to finish, order them by date or when they need to be done, or make them dependencies so one thing can't be complete until its sub-tasks are finished. You can add more detail to any task or item, like notes, links, tags, and comments, and if you're working with others, you can see changes they've made as well. Upload attachments, set due dates—it's all there. Plus, Asana packs tons of keyboard shortcuts that make using it fast.

Asana Is a Free Project Management and Collaboration Tool for People with Multiple Projects

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Asana is free for most people (you only need to pay once you get up to 15 or more people working on the same projects), and it's just as good a corporate project or task manager as it is a to-do manager for your own pet projects or ideas. Best of all, they don't pare down features in the free tier—all of the functional features are the same, with paid users only getting things like priority support and 'guest' users. Companies like Dropbox, Pinterest, and Uber use Asana to organize their projects, and—full disclosure—so do I. It's worth checking out if you don't have an account.

Trello

If you're a fan of Personal Kanban, or you like to use cards or post-it notes arranged in categories to orgaanize your thoughts and your tasks, Trello will appeal to you. we covered it when it launched, too, and even shared a method to shoehorn it into GTD. Trello is fast, flexible, and even fun to use, and in minutes you'll organize all of the components for your projects into columns and cards that are easy to drag around, add supporting details to, comment on, and assign from person to person on your team. You can create different boards for different projects, set due dates or times for each card or set of cards, and more. Trello is even available on iOS and Android, and its drag-and-drop interface (usually) works well on mobile devices.

Trello Makes Project Collaboration Simple and Kind of Enjoyable

Just-launched webapp Trello is a simple yet powerful project management tool. We know,…

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Trello is free to use, but Trello Gold, the company's premium plan, offers larger file attachments and some visual upgrades like emoji, stickers, and custom backgrounds. More importantly, Gold is a way to support Trello if you love it, but all of the features are available for free. Trello is the project management tool of choice by teams at The Verge, The New York Times, Tumblr, and others, and it doesn't hurt that it's free and simple to get started with.

Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is more than just a great note-taking tool (although it definitely excels at that). It can also be an excellent personal planner, and depending on how you use it, it can be a pretty solid personal project manager. We shared some of our favorite OneNote tips in our guide to being productive with what you have at the office. Among more than a fewproject management-focused designs to help you organize complex projects with lots of to-dos and moving parts. Using OneNote as a project management tool can be tricky, since it's not especially good at giving you a quick, top-down view of everything that's going on at once, but there's no reason you can't build that yourself using the tools available. Plus, once you power up OneNote with plugins like OneTastic, or keep your files in SkyDrive (where you can get to them and your projects using the OneNote apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android), you'll find OneNote can be a remarkably powerful tool.

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The only downside to OneNote is the price. It's part of Microsoft Office, but you don't have to buy it along with Office. A stand-alone version will set you back $70. If you do want it as part of Office, you'll have to shell out some cash to get a licensed copy, either with a copy of Office for yourself, or a subscription to Microsoft's cloud-based office suite, Office 365. How much depends on your situation. If you have access to it at work or through a student discount, take advantage of it.

Evernote

Evernote is another killer note-taking tool, but when it comes to the incredible things you can do with it, the sky's the limit. We've shared some of our favorite uses for it and our thoughts on why it's so popular, but its power is clear once you start using it. Adding simple notes is a snap, creating notebooks for multiple projects or parts of your life you want to organize is simple, and searching across everything you've entered is easy too. Don't be afraid to create tons of notes and notebooks either—it may sound counterproductive to getting organized, but one of the best things about Evernote is that it can quickly make sense out of a lot of information and present it to you so you see what you need to see. You can even use Evernote to digitize your pen and paper notes, documents, and other files so you can toss them into the relevant project notebook you want to save them in. Evernote has a massive ecosystem of apps that feed into it and support it, not to mention its web clipper and its iOS and Android apps.

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Evernote is free, but $5/mo or $45/yr will get you Evernote Premium, which offers compelling features like offline access to your notebooks, collaboration tools, more storage space, and improved search. Once you start using it, you'll want to get premium pretty quickly. If you're looking for a tool to organize your life, Evernote is a great one to look at, but it's just as good at organizing your kitchen remodel (imagine a notebook with all of your ideas, receipts, links and clipped pages of fixtures or appliances you want to buy, contact information for contractors, bills, notes, and a project plan, neatly organized) or your family vacation (picture a notebook with clippings of the destinations you're considering, your detailed travel budget, ticket and booking receipts, and more inside), too.

Azendoo

Azendoo is another hybrid task and project management tool, and while there's a strong focus on teams and collaboration, it's just as easy to use it to manage your own pet projects and personal workload. Plus, Azendoo plugs into other popular services, like Evernote, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box for storage. You do get some free storage with the service so you can upload files directly to your projects, and you can easily assign to-dos to other people, check on their status, make comments on individual tasks, track changes, and see how a project is going from a top-down view. Plus, it does it all in a simple interface that's easy to get used to and simple to use. Azendoo is a webapp, but you can take your projects on the go thanks to its iOS and Android apps.

Azendoo is free, and while there are premium plans, the free version is likely enough for most people. It comes with 10GB of storage and the option to connect to all of Azendoo's supported third-party apps. Azendoo is the project management tool of choice for teams at Evernote (ironically), Cisco, Toyota, Nike, and MIT to name a few. If you've tried some of the big names above and want something different, maybe a little simpler, give it a shot.

That's all there is to it! Now it's time to put the top five to a vote to determine the community favorite:

The honorable mention this week goes out to OmniFocus, which earned praise from many of you for it's elegant interface, powerful tools, and useful views that let you focus on the tasks at hand, or forecast how well the project is going overall (and whether you'll hit your target dates or not). Once you get under the hood, you'll find that OmniFocus is extremely powerful, and can consume your time just organizing your tasks, events, due dates, and timelines. However, it's designed exclusively for Apple users, and has individual iPhone, iPad, and OS X apps that you'll have to buy individually (at $20, $40, and $80 each) in order to use them all.

These are just the tip of the iceberg though. We got so many suggestions this week that it's really worth going back to the original post to check out some of the ones that didn't make the top five. There's likely a tool in there for everyone, even if it didn't get enough votes to join the ones above.

Vote: OmnifocusWhy: I've tried so many others, but nothing else allows you to organize your…

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Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com.

Title photo by FAKEGRIMLOCK.