How to Make a Timeline in Google Sheets
A timeline can help you efficiently display the project process and plan to your team members or partners. Using Google Sheets to make a timeline and your team can access to this timeline easily. This tutorial will tell you how to create a project timeline in Google Sheets with step-by-step instructions.
How to Make a Timeline in Google Sheets
Step 1 Select a Timeline Template
Enable Google Sheets on the browser, you will see the interface like below:
If you don’t find it on the first page, you can click on the opposite arrows to open Template gallery and seek it under the Project Management category.
Step 2 Open the Timeline Template
Click on the thumbnail of Project Timeline to open this template. When you open the template on the worksheet, you will see the project timeline display on there.
Step 3 Edit Text on the Timeline
As you can see in the template, you can type the project title, the name of the project manager, the company name and the date of filing.
In the chart, there are different columns that represent project phases, task details, start date and finish date respectively. You need to type or paste your task or project information into the chart, and record the start date and finish date of each task in the corresponding cells.
Then you can merge the cells between the start date and the finish date to create the duration bar, and the length of the bar shows how long it takes to complete the task.
Step 4 Customize the Timeline
To make the duration bars become eye-catching, you can change the fill color as you like.
Select a duration bar at first, click on the icon of Fill color on the toolbar, pick a suitable color for the selected bar on the drop-down menu.
How to Make a Timeline in EdrawMax
Step 1: Select a Timeline Template
Enable EdrawMax, select Timeline under the category of “Business”, then you will see many delicate and wonderful timeline templates. You can choose one of these templates to make your own timeline.
If you want to see more free timeline templates, you can visit Edraw Template and find your favorite template.
Step 2: Make Your Own Timeline
Double-click on the thumbnail of the timeline template in the Home page of EdrawMax, then you can enter into the main interface and start to make your own timeline on the basis of the selected template.
Here is the template that I selected and I decide to use this template to make a timeline of the brief car history.
When you open the template, the symbols and shapes of timelines will show up on the left Library pane. So, you can use them to make new timelines or modify the current one.
Double-click on the textboxes and type text in them.
Step 3: Format Your Timeline
Since I made a timeline of the car history, I also want to add some icons about the car.
To insert icons on the page, you can click on the icon of Symbol Library and open the Library window. Then select Icons under the General category and click OK.
The symbols and shapes of Icons will appear on the Library pane. When I find the icons of cars, I just need to drag and drop them on the right place. How easy it is to add icons in EdrawMax!
To change the fill color of the shapes, for example, the colors of the cars, you can:
- Select one of the cars;
- Click on the Style icon to open the Fill/Line/Shadow pane;
- Open the color menu and pick the desired one;
- Click on the selected color and the color of the car will be changed at once.
To insert a watermark on the background of the timeline, you need to:
- Go to the Page pane and click Watermark button to open the Insert Watermark dialog box;
- Choose Text Watermark, type the text, select the font style, font size, color style, orientation.
- Click OK.
How to Save an EdrawMax Timeline as Excel File
When you finish making a timeline in Google Sheets, the application will automatically save the file for you. You are also allowed to download the timeline you have made in some common file types. Here you can see the supported file formats in the below picture.
At the same time, when you have created your own timeline in EdrawMax, you can save the document by pressing Ctrl + S or clicking the Save button on the upper right corner of the main interface.
Moreover, you could export the timeline as an Excel file (.xlsx) or other files of common formats. Go to File tab, click Export > Export to Excel, and then EdrawMax will automatically export and save your timeline in your computer as an Excel file..
Therefore, it will be much easier and more convenient for you to share and transfer your timelines with anyone else, even if he or she hasn’t used EdrawMax before. Besides, EdrawMax supports users to insert watermarks on their diagrams or charts, which will protect their creation and designs made by EdrawMax.
