Getting started

Programme Studio plans construction work as activities linked by logic. It works out the dates, the float and the critical path (in red) every time something changes.

  1. New programme or a template from the start screen, or Open a P6 or MS Project file.
  2. Type activities into the table: a name, then a duration such as 5, 5d, 2w or 16h.
  3. Link them: type predecessors such as A1010 or A1010SS+2, or drag from one bar to another.
  4. Press F9 to reschedule (it also happens by itself).

Your work is kept in this browser as you go. Use Save (Ctrl+S) to make a .m2prog file you can keep, share or open elsewhere.

Typing in the table

Click a cell, or move with the arrow keys, and start typing. Enter or F2 edits, Enter saves and Esc cancels.

  • Insert adds an activity after the selected one, linked to it. Ctrl+Insert adds a WBS group.
  • Alt+Shift+→ / ← moves an activity into or out of the WBS above.
  • Durations: 5 or 5d working days, 2w weeks, 16h hours, 0 for a milestone.
  • Start and finish: typing a start date adds a start no earlier than constraint; typing a finish date changes the duration to suit.
  • Copy rows into Excel, or paste a block from Excel: names, durations, IDs and predecessors are matched like an import.

Logic: predecessors and lags

Each link has a type and an optional lag in working days:

  • A1010 or A1010FS finish to start (the default)
  • A1010SS+3 start to start, 3 days after
  • A1010FF-2 finish to finish, 2 days before (a lead)
  • A1010SS+50% start when A1010 is half done

Separate several with commas. You can also drag from the end of one bar to another, or select activities in order and press Ctrl+L.

The Relationships tab in the bottom panel shows each link, its type, lag and whether it is driving.

The critical path and float

Total float is how far an activity can slip before it delays completion. Activities with no float (or less than the limit in Scheduling options) are critical and drawn in red; near-critical ones are amber.

Free float is how far it can slip before it delays the next activity. Negative float means a constraint can't be met.

Select an activity and press Why? to see what drives its dates: the driving predecessor, a constraint, the calendar or progress.

Calendars and bank holidays

New programmes use a Monday to Friday, 8-hour calendar with the bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and a Christmas shutdown.

Open Calendars to add calendars (6-day, 24/7, night work), change working hours, and add shutdowns or non-working days. Give an activity its own calendar in the properties panel.

Files: what opens and saves

Opens: Primavera P6 .xer and P6 XML, MS Project XML and .mpx, Excel .xlsx and CSV, GanttProject .gan, IFC 4.3 schedules, and .m2prog.

MS Project .mpp, Asta, Phoenix and Synchro files are closed binary formats a browser can't read. Open one and Programme Studio offers to convert it on Metre2's server: only if you agree, in memory, and nothing is kept. Or use File > Save As > XML in MS Project and open that.

Saves: .m2prog (everything), CSV, and with Pro P6 XER and XML, MS Project XML, MPX, Excel and IFC. Codes, user fields, calendars, resources, baselines and progress travel with P6 and MS Project files.

Nothing is uploaded: files open and save on this computer.

Views: Gantt, line of balance, chainage, network, calendar

Alt+1 to Alt+5 switch view. The Gantt is the main one; the network view shows the logic as boxes; the calendar shows a month of work or who is on site each day.

With Pro, line of balance draws repeating work (plots, floors) as flow lines by trade, and time-chainage draws linear work (roads, rail, pipelines) against distance, so you can see which crews are where and when.

Colour by colours bars by trade, WBS, location or any activity code.

Activity codes, user fields and filters

Activity codes (trade, location, phase, subcontractor…) group, colour and filter the programme and travel to P6 and MS Project. User fields hold text, numbers or dates such as an order number.

Filter from the WBS panel: by WBS, trade, the critical path, or hide completed work.

Progress, baselines and look-aheads

Update progress walks through a data date: what started, what finished and the remaining duration of work in progress. Save a baseline (up to 11) to show slippage as grey bars, and revisions to compare later.

The Progress tab shows the S-curve and the completion trend; the progress report writes a Word report. Look-aheads filter the next 2 to 6 weeks for site meetings.

These are part of Pro.

Checks and delay analysis

The Schedule checks tab lists logic problems as you work: open ends, loops, constraints, out-of-sequence progress.

With Pro: the 14-point check, the NEC4 clause 31.2 checklist, compare two versions, windows analysis, time impact analysis with a fragnet, what-if and a health score, each with a Word report.

Resources, cost and risk

With Pro: give activities labour, plant and materials with rates, see weekly histograms against site limits and level them; get monthly cash flow and earned value; and run Monte Carlo risk for P50 and P80 dates.

Last Planner, takt and site progress

With Pro: the weekly work plan with PPC and reasons, the constraints log, takt trains through zones, and a phone sheet site managers fill in on site and send back.

Printing

Ctrl+P opens the print preview: paper size, orientation, fit to the width or one page, dates, columns, baseline, links and a title block with revision and checked-by. Download a PDF or PNG.

A4 and A3 are free; A2, A1 and A0 are part of Pro.

Free and Pro

Free: open and view programmes of any size, the critical path, filters, the network and calendar views, A4/A3 printing, and building or editing programmes of up to 50 activities.

Pro adds everything else and has no activity limit: £29.99 a month or £249 a year, with a 7-day free trial on a Metre2 account (no payment details for the trial).

Keyboard shortcuts

On a Mac, Ctrl is ⌘. The same list is in the app under Help > Keyboard shortcuts.

CommandKeys
Open a programme…Ctrl+O
SaveCtrl+S
Save as…Ctrl+Shift+S
UndoCtrl+Z
RedoCtrl+Y
Insert activityInsert
Insert WBSCtrl+Insert
DeleteDelete
Move into the WBS aboveAlt+Shift+→
Move out of its WBSAlt+Shift+←
Link selected activities in order (or from the one above)Ctrl+L
Find a command or activityCtrl+K
FindCtrl+F
Reschedule nowF9
Zoom inCtrl+=
Zoom outCtrl+-
Fit the whole programmeCtrl+0
Dark modeAlt+D
Show the Gantt chart and tableAlt+1
Show the Line of balance (flowline) by locationAlt+2
Show the Time-chainage (time-distance) diagramAlt+3
Show the Network (precedence) diagramAlt+4
Show the Calendar and who's on siteAlt+5
Print or save as PDF…Ctrl+P
HelpF1
Edit the cellEnter or F2
Next cell / previous cellTab / Shift+Tab
Select a range of rowsShift+click
Add to the selectionCtrl+click
Copy, cut, paste rowsCtrl+C / X / V
PrintCtrl+P
HelpF1
Close a dialog or panelEsc

What's new in 1.0

Programme Studio 1.0, November 2026. The first release:

  • The critical path method on each activity's own calendar, with P6's scheduling options: retained logic or progress override, the calendar for lags, finish, start or smallest float, critical by float or the longest path.
  • Opens P6 XER and XML, MS Project XML and .mpx, Excel and CSV, GanttProject and IFC 4.3; .mpp, Asta and other binary formats through an opt-in server conversion.
  • UK calendars with the bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and six templates.
  • Gantt, network and calendar views; schedule checks; "why is it on this date?"; A4 and A3 printing with a title block - all free, with editing up to 50 activities.
  • Pro: progress updates and revisions, 11 baselines, line of balance and time-chainage, time impact, windows and what-if analysis, the 14-point check and NEC4 checklist, resources and levelling, cash flow and earned value, Monte Carlo risk, Last Planner and takt, a phone progress sheet, A2 to A0 printing, and export to P6, MS Project, Excel and IFC.