39+ FREE TIMELINE Templates - Download Now Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word (DOC), Adobe Photoshop (PSD), Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT), Google Docs, Apple (MAC) Pages, Apple (MAC) Keynote This graphical representation of the timeline gives a visual treat and thrill to the audience. Use an Excel timeline template to chart your work plan or try a PowerPoint timeline template to track key dates. A vertical template of a timeline works well to show the history of an era, country or project. If you’re managing a team, try a template of a timeline that assigns tasks. Add visual interest to your schedules with a sticky note.
- Free Timeline Template For Excel
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- Download Excel Timeline Template For Mac Os
- Excel Timeline Template Free Download
- Timeline Of Events Template Excel
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In this article, you’ll learn how to create a timeline in Excel with step-by-step instructions. We’ve also provided a pre-built timeline template in Excel to save you time.
Included on this page, you’ll find a free timeline template for Excel, how to make a timeline in Excel, and how to customize the Excel timeline.
Create Your Timeline
This article will show you how to create a timeline in Excel, using a template in the context of planning a business conference. Hosting a successful business conference can take months of planning and it’s the type of project where a timeline is essential. It involves plenty of moving parts and usually has quite a few stakeholders.
In this scenario, an event planner would start by making a list of tasks. These tasks may include managing a budget, scouting and securing a conference site, hosting speakers, hotel arrangements, conference schedule, and more. With all this information, you can either look at a timeline template in Excel or find a more robust solution to first make a Gantt chart and use that to create a timeline. This tutorial will show you how to do both.
Download A Free Excel Timeline Template
The easiest way to make a timeline in Excel is to use a pre-made template. A Microsoft Excel template is especially useful if you don't have a lot of experience making a project timeline. All you need to do is enter your project information and dates into a table and the Excel timeline will automatically reflect the changes.
When you add your own dates to the table, the Gantt chart will automatically adjust, but the spacing will be off. There may be a lot of extra white space at the beginning of your chart, with dates that you did not enter. The solution is to adjust the spacing between the dates display at the top of your chart.
- Click on a date at the top of your Gantt chart. A box should appear around all the dates.
- Right-click and select Format Axis.
- In the pop-up box, on the left, select Scale.
- Adjust the number in the box labeled Minimum. You will have to add numbers incrementally to the box to adjust the spacing and get it to look the way you would like.
How to Make a Timeline in Excel
First, make a task list to figure out what you want the timeline to show. Maybe you want it to show milestones that are currently in a Gantt chart -- if that’s the case, look for an Excel timeline template that only requires inputting milestone data.
Perhaps you want to show how different parts of a particular project appear on a timeline. Then, look for an Excel project timeline template. This will have more fields for you to customize and displays more information on the timeline, like how long it will take for a certain task to get done.
Choose an Excel Timeline Template
Microsoft also offers a few timeline templates in Excel designed to give you a broad overview of your conference planning timeline. The Excel timelines aren’t tied to Gantt chart data, so you’ll be manually inputting your own data in the pre-defined template fields. These aren’t set in stone; you can change names and add fields as needed.
- To find an Excel timeline template from Microsoft, open Microsoft Excel and type “Timeline” in the search box and click Enter. Note: this template was found using the latest version of Excel on Windows 8.
- Double-click on the Excel Project Timeline template to open the spreadsheet.
Add Your Information to the Timeline in Excel
When the template opens, you will see a pre-formatted Excel spreadsheet with information already filled out in the fields. This content is just a placeholder. At the top of the template is a timeline. Scroll down to see the preformatted chart where you can add conference planning details and due dates. One of the benefits of using an Excel project timeline template is that the formatting is already complete, and all you need to do is customize it.
- Click the Project Timeline field (1C) at the top of the spreadsheet and enter your conference name.
- Scroll down in the spreadsheet and enter a start date.
Since you’re planning a conference, you’ll want to choose the planning kick-off date. Note: There’s already a formula that picks the start date as the day you started using the event planning template. If you don’t want to use that date, click the cell, delete the formula and add your date. You’ll notice that the preformatted dates for Start and End will change.
- Enter the first major task to complete. Add tasks to the Activity column by double-clicking on the field that reads Milestone.
- Click the Tab key to navigate to the corresponding Start field and type in the date that you’ll start researching possible conference venues. Click the Tab key again to enter a date in the End field. This should be the date that you’ll want to have picked the venue.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 to complete the remainder of the chart.
Customize the Excel Timeline
![Download Excel Timeline Template For Mac Download Excel Timeline Template For Mac](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133906391/502186234.jpg)
Once you have entered all the conference milestones in the chart, you can easily change the look of the timeline. You can change the display of the timeline data and make it more colorful.
If the conference planning timeline extends past a month (and it probably will), you can see more data on the timeline by clicking the arrows in the gray bar next to the Start date box. When you do this, you will scroll through the Excel timeline.
- To change the overall chart presentation, click on the chart and gthen click on the box with a paintbrush icon.
- A pop-up box will appear displaying different timeline chart styles. Mouse over the formats to see it appear on the timeline. If you see one you like, click it. The timeline will be updated to reflect that style.
Change the Color Palette of the Excel Timeline
- Click on the chart.
- Click on the paintbrush icon and click Color at the top of the pop-up box.
- Mouse over the timeline color to see it appear on the timeline. If you see one you like, click it and the timeline will be updated to reflect that style.
This timeline template only displays the most basic information. It’s great to share with stakeholders and executives to give them a high-level view of tasks required to put on a conference. However, it doesn’t include things like a budget, nor does it display tasks that are being completed on time or who is responsible for each task. If you want to create a more detailed conference planning timeline, consider creating a Gantt chart in Excel.
Use a Smartsheet Template to Create a Robust Timeline
There are a lot of details that go into planning a conference. It’s essential to find a place to keep all that information in one place, where multiple stakeholders can access it.
Smartsheet has quite a few event timeline templates that can help you get started. You can view your data as a task list or as a Gantt chart, giving you a quick view of progress made. You can also add attachments, import contact data, assign tasks, automatically schedule update requests, and collaborate wherever you are, on any device. There’s even a template for an Event Registration Web Form that can help streamline the registration process.
Select a Project Planning Template in Smartsheet
- To get started with Smartsheet, login to your account and navigate to the '+' tab on the left side navigation bar, or sign up for a free 30-day trial.
- Click Create in the left navigation bar.
- Type “Event” in the Search box and click the magnifying glass icon. You’ll see a few options, but for this example, click on Event Task List with Gantt & Budget and then click on the blue Use Template button in the pop-up window.
- Next, name the template, choose where to save it, and click the OK button.
Add Your Information to the Template
A pre-formatted template will open, complete with sections, sub-tasks, sample attachments, progress tracking, and budget formulas. There will also be some sample content for reference.
- To delete the yellow box at the top of the template, click on the box, right-click, and select Delete Row.
Free Timeline Template For Excel
- Double-click the 'Welcome Event' cell highlight the existing content, and type in your information.
- Double-click the yellow Decorations text, highlight the existing content, and type in your information. This title should be one of the main categories for planning your conference (“Select Venue,” “Recruit Sponsors,” “Registration,” etc).
- Click on a blank cell in the Phase column and type in another category. Highlight the entire row, from the Done column through the Started column, click the paint bucket icon, and click yellow. Repeat for as many category rows needed.
- Click on the cell under the new category created (in this example, it’s “Event Marketing”) and add a sub-sub-task, such as “Social Media.” Next, click the Indent button in the toolbar to turn the new categories you just created into sub-tasks. Repeat for all new categories.
- The Total Budget column will automatically calculate, based on the costs you input into the corresponding columns.
- Enter start and due dates for each task in the Due and Started columns. When a part of the project is completed, double-click on the date cell and click the letter strikethrough button on the left-hand toolbar (the button with the “S” with a line through it).
- For each row, under the Status column, click the cell and choose a symbol that matches the progress in the drop-down menu. This can be a green check, a yellow exclamation point, or a red 'X' mark. This will let you easily view how much of a specific task has been accomplished, or if it is on hold.
- Under the Assigned To column, click a cell and select the assignee from the pop-up menu. You can even add contacts who don’t work for the company.
When you assign tasks to people in Smartsheet, their contact information is automatically linked.
- To view the data you just entered as a Gantt chart, click on the Gantt View button in the toolbar.
You can customize the appearance of your Gantt chart with just a couple clicks. To change the colors of the task bars:
- Right-click on a task bar and select Color Settings.
- A color palette will appear, letting you change the color of the bar.
- If you want to apply the same color to multiple task bars, click the task bars while holding down the Shift button. This will select all the bars. Then, release the Shift button, right-click on any of the selected bars, and click Color Settings.
Turn a Smartsheet Template into a Project Timeline
You’ve already inputted all your information in Smartsheet and with just a couple clicks, you can create a beautiful timeline to highlight your event planning progress.
Smartsheet is integrated with Office Timeline, a graphical add-on tool for PowerPoint, which allows you to create a professional, attractive visual representation of your project plan.
If you don’t have Office Timeline installed in your PowerPoint app, simply download it for a free trial, install, and restart PowerPoint.
If you don’t have Office Timeline installed in your PowerPoint app, simply download it for a free trial, install, and restart PowerPoint.
- Open PowerPoint and create a new slide.
- Click on the Office Timeline Free tab (Note: if you purchased Office Timeline, it will say Office Timeline) and select the drop-down arrow under the New button in the ribbon bar. Highlight Import Data and then click Import from Smartsheet.
Excel Timeline Chart Template
- Follow the prompts to login to your Smartsheet account. Click on the box next to the Smartsheet project you want to import and click the green circle with a checkmark in it.
Once your project timeline is created, you can customize it even further. You can choose which events you want displayed in the timeline, color-code tasks assigned to specific stakeholders, and add your branding and colors to the layout.
Download Excel Timeline Template For Mac Download
![Timeline Timeline](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133906391/386736176.png)
Gain Real-Time Visibility into Timelines and Planning Efforts with Smartsheet
Tracking tasks, documenting deadlines, and staying up-to-date on schedules is important to making sure your day-to-day operations run smoothly. Having the right tool to keep everyone in sync ensures that all projects and processes stay on track and all critical deadlines are met.
One such tool is Smartsheet, an enterprise work execution platform that is fundamentally changing the way businesses and teams work. Over 74,000 brands and millions of information workers trust Smartsheet as the best way to plan, track, automate, and manage key schedules and timelines.
The familiar Smartsheet interface that is designed for how people actually work leads to rapid and broad adoption across your organization. Use self-service reports and dashboards in Smartsheet to provide real-time visibility into resources, status, and performance, so you can rapidly align operations with strategy.
Try Smartsheet to discover how you can increase visibility and maximize your planning efforts, today.
Discover a more collaborative, real-time way to manage timelines.
This step-by-step Numbers timeline tutorial shows how to make professional timelines inside the popular spreadsheet app for Mac.
Mac users who want to create visual plans or chronologies in Apple’s Numbers can do so using the tool’s 2D Bubble Chart feature and some manual formatting to create a basic timeline. However, the resulting graphic may lack the flexibility and precision required for professional presentations such as project reports and client reviews.
Those who need to add more details to their timeline or to regularly update it for important meetings can build comprehensive yet clear visuals using an online timeline maker called Office Timeline. Enabling you to quickly generate your graphic from your browser, the tool also lets you download it as a native PowerPoint slide, which can be easily edited, shared and included in presentations. Below, I will demonstrate how to make a timeline both manually in Numbers and automatically with Office Timeline Online. To learn how to make a Gantt chart in Numbers for Mac, please see our Gantt tutorial here.
Which tutorial would you like to see?
How to make a timeline in Numbers
Download Excel Timeline Template For Mac Os
1. Enter your project’s milestones and dates into a table.
- Create a new Numbers sheet by selecting the Blank type in the Basic section of the template gallery.
- List the key milestones of your project in the first row of the default table displayed in the newly created sheet, as shown in the image below.
- Use the row below to add the due dates for each of the milestones.
- To start building your timeline in Numbers, you will also need to allot plotting numbers to every milestone in the table to define their vertical placement on the graphic. Therefore, use the third row of the table to enter a sequence of numbers such as 1, 2, 3, and 4 as in the example below.
2. Create a basic timeline using the Bubble Chart feature
- Select all the data in your table, click on the Insert tab on the Numbers ribbon and go to Chart.
- Choose 2D Bubble chart from the menu that pops up.A simple bubble chart like the one below will be automatically generated on your Numbers sheet:
3. Format your graphic to optimize legibility and add key data
- Depending on the number of milestones you've entered, the auto-generated bubble chart might look a bit crammed, so you may want to resize it to ensure a better fit. To do this, simply select the chart area and drag its sizing handles to reach the desired height and width.
- Since only your milestone dates and plotting numbers are the ones taken as reference for the two axes of your chart, there is not much information shown on your timeline right now. To provide the audience with more details, you can manually add milestone descriptions to each bubble on the graphic using the Text feature of the app. To do so:i.Click on the small “T” icon on the Numbers top taskbar:ii.Drag and drop the newly inserted text box below or near one of the milestone bubbles.iii.Double-click on the text box to type in your milestone title and use the Style pane that appears on the right to change the text font, size, style and alignment. In my case, I used black, bold Helvetica Neue for the milestone titles.
- I also wanted to remove all the horizontal lines that cut across my timeline as I didn't feel they added any value to the graphic. If you want to make this change:i.Select the chart area and go to the Axis tab of the Format pane on the right.ii.Select Value (Y) in order to apply the change to the horizontal axis.iii.In the Axis Scale section, under Steps, use the up-down controls next to Major to decrease the number to 1.
- While in the Axis section, you may want to add vertical lines to better highlight the relative distance between your milestones. To do this, click on the Value (X) tab and:i.Go to Major Gridlines and set the style, color and width of your vertical lines. In my example, I used a straight, grey line with a width of 1 point.ii.Repeat the action for Minor Gridlines. I kept the same choices as above for these as well.iii.Go to the Axis Scale section above and use the up-down controls to increase the value for Minor Steps. In my example, I increased it to 3.After completing all the steps above, your graphic should look like this:
4. Customize your timeline's milestones
Now that you've formatted your timeline properly, you can apply a few styling choices to the milestones (chart bubbles) to make them stand out more.
- To recolor all your milestones simultaneously, select any of the bubbles and go to the Style tab of the Format pane. Here, click on Fill to choose a new color. In my example below, I went for a dark navy blue.
- If you want to color the chart bubbles individually, you'll need to break down your milestones into separate series or categories. To do so, go to your project data table and:i.Rename the Position row into Color 1 and then add a new line below, which will be called Size. Enter the same number in the Size cell of each milestone to keep all bubbles the same size. In my example below, I used '20' for all.ii.Right beneath, insert a set of two rows for each new color category you wish to create. You can name them Color 2 & Size, Color 3 & Size etc., just like in the image below.iii.Once finished, to move a milestone into a new category, cut its Color 1 (former Position) and Size values and paste them into whichever of the newly added pairs of rows. Don't worry if this seems to mess up your graphic – we'll fix it right away, in step 'iv.'iv.To update the graphic with the different color categories created, select the chart area, click on Edit Data References, and then drag the table select handle to include the new rows as well. Numbers will automatically generate multiple-colored bubbles for your milestones.Note: Looking at my table, you'll notice that I've kept some of my milestones' Color & Size values on the same rows. This means they'll all belong to the same series, and any styling changes made will apply to all of them at once, while the rest of the bubbles can be customized individually.v.To change the default colors generated by Numbers for your new milestone categories, select the bubble (or bubbles) you want to customize and use the Fill options from the Style tab. Here is how I set up the colors for my graphic:
- From the same Style section, you can also apply various effects to your chart bubbles, like adding shadows or strokes. However, it is recommended that you keep these to a minimum to not burden your visual too much. In my example, I selected all the bubbles with Shift + Click and added a simple outline to them using the Stroke feature.
- If you want to have the exact milestone dates displayed on your graphic, select the chart area, go to the Series tab of the Format pane, and, in the Bubble Labels section, check the box in front of Values. You will then need to choose X from the dropdown menu on the right, so that the dates appear inside the chart bubbles. To change the label placement in relation to the bubbles, use the Location feature beneath Value Data Format.
5. Customize your chart area
To personalize your timeline further, you can also make some changes to the chart area using the customization options available in the Format pane’s Chart and Axis tabs of the Format pane. For instance, you can:
- Add a title to your graphic: From the Chart tab, check the box for Title under Chart Options. In my example, I also removed the Legend of my timeline, by unticking its corresponding box.
- Customize fonts: While still in the same tab, you can change the font type, style and size for the entire chart using the options under Chart Fonts. I chose to change the style from Regular to Medium to make the text more easily readable.Note: You can further customize the title or text along the X axis separately by double-clicking on the desired element and then making changes from the pane that appears on the right.
- Remove unnecessary labels. In my example, I also wanted to remove the axis labels ('0' and '4') on the left of the graphic because I felt they could create confusion. If you want to do the same, go to the Axis tab in the Format pane, click on Value (Y), and select 'None' from the Value Labels dropdown.After carrying out all the steps above and trying out several font sizes, my final timeline in Numbers looks like this:
Excel Timeline Template Free Download
Download timeline template for Numbers
How to make a timeline online automatically
Numbers allows Mac users to build a basic timeline, but some may feel they need a bit more flexibility and customization options to create professional visuals and update them easily for recurring communications.
Professionals who want to make eye-catching timelines more quickly can do so using Office Timeline Online . The browser-based tool helps you automatically generate an appealing graphic that you can customize and update with a few clicks. It also lets you download it as a .pptx file or .png image so you can quickly share it with others. To get started, access the free app here and follow the steps below. To be able to include more than 10 items on your graphic, you will need
Timeline Of Events Template Excel
1. Enter your project data in Office Timeline Online
- From the New tab in Office Timeline Online, select Timeline from scratch or choose one of the pre-designed templates provided to start building your timeline. You also have the option to import a schedule from an existing Excel file. In my example, I chose to make a new timeline from scratch.After selecting Timeline from scratch, you'll be directed to the web tool's Data View, which lets you enter and edit your project's details.
- In the Data View section, list your milestones along with their due dates. Your timeline will be generated in real time as you add your data, and a live preview of it will be shown on the right. The Data tab also lets you make a few preliminary styling choices, such as setting the shape and color for each milestone. Once you finish, select the Timeline tab on the ribbon or click the preview image to the right of your data list to go the Timeline View, where you can see your graphic in full size and personalize it further.
2. Customize and update your timeline with ease
- With Office Timeline Online, your newly created visual can be easily customized and updated as often as necessary. From the Timeline View, you can change colors, shapes, sizes and fonts at the click of a button, add details such as Time Elapsed and Today Marker, or move milestones above or below the timeband. In my final timeline below, you can see that I've also added a few more milestones and played with colors, sizes and fonts to draw attention to specific items.
- With a free Office Timeline account, your graphic will be automatically saved in the cloud, so you can access it at any time and update it on the fly whenever necessary. You can add or edit data effortlessly from the Data tab, or drag & drop milestones to update their dates instantly directly from your graphic. When finished, your timeline can be downloaded as an editable PowerPoint so you can easily present it or share it with others.