FLOW User Guide
1. What FLOW does
FLOW is a Windows app for building project schedules as Gantt charts, with dependencies, the critical path and manager-ready reports on a single screen.<br><br>Your data stays on this PC (%LOCALAPPDATA%\FLOW\flow_data.json) and is never sent anywhere unless you use sharing.
2. Free vs Pro
The free version is for home and personal (non-commercial) use only; a Pro license is required for work use. The free version still covers the Gantt chart, dependencies and the critical path, automatic reports, AI integration (MCP), HTML tag export and printing (up to 3 projects). Free outputs (HTML tags and prints) include a small "Made with FLOW Free · non-commercial use only" credit.<br><br>Pro is a one-time purchase of 10,000 yen (about US$70) and removes the credit, lifts the project limit (the free version allows 3), adds team sharing and covers business use. You can buy a key at desktop-utility.net/store/flow; it arrives by email after payment. Paste it into Settings > License to activate.
3. Create projects and tasks
Switch projects with the tabs at the top. Add a project with "+", and a task with Ctrl+N.<br><br>Enter the name, owner, start and end dates and progress in a task row, and a bar appears in the Gantt chart. You can also drag bars to move dates.
4. Link dependencies and see the critical path
Press "Link dependencies" (shortcut L), then click the predecessor's bar followed by the successor's bar. When a predecessor grows longer, its successors shift automatically (can be turned off in settings).<br><br>Press "Critical path" to outline in red the tasks whose delay would delay the whole project.
5. See all projects at once
The "Summary" tab shows the milestones and tasks of every project in one Gantt chart.
6. Make a report for your manager
Choose a period and projects under "Make report" to get a report with overall progress, new, completed and delayed tasks, and upcoming milestones. Paste it as is, or use "Polish with AI".
7. Paste the Gantt chart as an HTML tag
Press "HTML tag" to turn the Gantt chart into an HTML tag for a blog, intranet portal or web page. Choose the projects, whether to show owners and progress, highlight the critical path or include internal (Int) tasks, then "Copy tag" and paste. It uses no external files or scripts, so it works almost anywhere.
8. Let an AI build the schedule (AI import)
Copy the request under "AI", paste it into ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or similar, and describe your plan. Paste the JSON it returns and press "Check and import" to add the tasks and dependencies. You can undo the import in one click.
9. Let an AI edit directly (MCP)
Under Settings > AI integration (MCP), register FLOW with your AI (Claude Code / Claude Desktop / Cursor / Antigravity). Then just ask "plan next month" or "write this week's report" and the AI reads and writes this schedule.<br><br>Changes made by the AI are merged into the open FLOW window within seconds. The AI cannot delete anything, and the state before each write is kept as a backup. Requires Node.js.
10. Change the language
Use "Language" in the settings menu to switch between 日本語, English, 中文, 한국어 and Español. Your choice is remembered. "User guide" opens this guide.
11. Share with your team
Press "Start sharing" under Settings > Share to create a share code. Only people who know the code can join the same schedule. No account is needed, and only schedule data is sent.