A critical path in a Gantt chart refers to the phenomenon in which any individual task causes a delay in the related sequence of tasks, thus pushing back a project’s overall end date. You can easily determine if a particular task is on the critical path of your project by calculating whether the task delays the overall duration of the project.

The Gantt Chart view will likely be your most used view for showing the critical path. Choose View > Gantt Chart. Choose Format, and then select the Critical Tasks check box. Tasks on the critical path now have red Gantt bars. You can see the critical path in any task view by highlighting it. On the View tab, pick a view from the Task Views group.