Build and use timelines

Use a timeline for dated milestones, recurring duties, triggered events, and ongoing work. You need access to the project; creating or editing a timeline requires contributor access and the required workspace licenses. Readers can inspect the available timeline views.

Create a timeline and its first eventCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the Projects Hub, select the project, and choose New artifact, then Timeline.
2. Enter Artifact name (required). Add a reference code and description if useful, then choose Create timeline.
3. In the timeline workspace, create the first category. Enter Category name, check the automatically suggested Identifier, and choose Create category.
4. Enter the first event's title, category, timing, and description. Supply a start date for fixed timing, then choose Add event.

Categories form the timeline's lanes. If navigation does not finish after creation, use Open created timeline rather than creating another artifact. If creation fails, read the message, correct the fields, and try again.

Add dates, timing details, and sourcesCopy Anchor Link

Choose Add event and fill in Event title, Category, Timing, and Description. A fixed event needs a start date. Recurring, triggered, and ongoing events can be saved without one; use Timing details to explain the recurrence or trigger. Add an end date when the event covers a period, and correct any date validation message before saving.

Turn on Milestone for a key moment. Open References, source, applicability, and import key to add a Legal reference, Source URL, optional External key for an imported event, and geographic scope. Leaving geography empty keeps applicability unspecified. Choose Add event to save. These details help someone check why the event belongs on the timeline.

Select an existing event in any view to open Event details. Read its timing, category, description, geography, and source. Follow or copy its source link when available. Choose Edit event to revise it and Save event to keep the changes. Changing Category moves the event to another lane.

Manage categories and timeline detailsCopy Anchor Link

Choose Categories to add a category or edit an existing one. Under Advanced ordering, set Display order to a whole number of zero or greater; lower numbers appear first. Choose Save category after editing.

Use Edit timeline details beside the title to change Timeline title or the optional Export filename, then choose Save details. The title is shown inside the timeline; the artifact name entered during creation identifies it in project lists.

Find events and change viewsCopy Anchor Link

Switch between Timeline, Heatmap, Map, and Events. Use the timeline for chronological lanes, the heatmap for concentrations of events, the map for geographic coverage, and Events for a readable list. Select an event to inspect it; on smaller screens, its details open in a panel.

Narrow the view with All, Upcoming, or Past, the milestone-only control, category buttons, and Search events and articles. Use zoom controls to adjust the timeline scale. Geographic filters narrow the events to the selected scope; remove individual geography chips or clear the geography filters to broaden the results.

If events seem to be missing, clear the search, category, timing, milestone, and geography filters. Events without a fixed date remain available in the event list and the timeline's undated area rather than at a position on the date axis.

Ask Copilot or inspect linked risksCopy Anchor Link

Choose Copilot to open a conversation with the timeline as context. An event's details can also offer Copilot for that event. Check dates, timing rules, and sources before relying on generated changes.

Choose Review risks when available to open the risk register filtered to the timeline or selected event. Return to the timeline after checking the linked risks. These controls depend on your access and on the source from which you opened the timeline.

Export the viewCopy Anchor Link

Choose PNG for an image of the selected view or JSON for timeline data. Set the view and filters first, and wait for geographic results to finish loading before exporting. Exports use the configured export filename when one is set.

If an image export is unsupported on your device, try it on a desktop. If filtered data fails to load, retry or clear the filter before exporting so you can check what the copy contains.

Delete events or categoriesCopy Anchor Link

To remove one event, open its details, choose the delete action, and confirm Delete event. The event is removed from the timeline and cannot be recovered through an undo action.

Deleting a category also permanently deletes all its events. Open Categories, choose Delete beside the category, inspect the confirmation, and choose Delete category and events only when the entire lane should be removed. If any event is linked to a risk or risk evidence, deletion is blocked and nothing is deleted. Review those links before trying again. Move events you need to keep into another category before deleting their old category.