Timeline Templates are very useful for Project Management, Event Planning or simply to generate great timeseries view.
![Timeline View - Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/3.png)
While there are freely available quality templates already provided by Google Sheets, you can also create one yourself.
In this tutorial we will go through a step by step process of creating a timeline chart from scratch.
So let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
Creating a Horizontal Timeline Chart
Below is a sample horizontal timeline chart which we will be creating. We’ll be using basic tools like Scatter Chart combined with a bit of improvisation to get this output.
Follow the below steps to create a timeline template in Google Sheets:
- Create a base table of Event Dates, Event Label and Position
- Select the Base Data and insert a Scatter Plot
- Format the Scatter plot to :
- Add Labels
- Adjust Margins
- Remove Gridlines
- Add Leaderlines
- Finally, apply the necessary color/font formatting as required.
Now let’s have a look at these steps in more detail.
Creating a Base Table
List down the timeseries event data in the following format.
![Data Table in Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-1024x337.png)
- Date is the Event Date
- Event Name is the Event Description
- Vertical position is the height of the event from the x-axis. Position is a randomly allocated number which will eventually help us in formatting our timeline view.
- Leaderline is simply the negative conversion of Vertical Position. This too will play an essential role in chart formatting.
Add A Scatter Plot
1. Select the Base Table
![Select Table in Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif1.gif)
2. Goto Menu Options -> Insert -> Chart.
![Insert Chart in Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif2.gif)
3. As you would notice Default Chart Type is Column Chart. Time to change this.
![Column Chart in Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-1-1024x481.png)
4. Double click on the chart to open Chart Editor Panel on the right. Select Chart Type Dropdown and Select Scatter Plot.
![Change Chart Type in Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif3.gif)
Editing the Scatter Plot
1. Add Event Labels: Goto Customize – > Series -> Select Vertical Position -> Check Mark Data Label -> Type Dropdown -> Custom
![](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif4.gif)
2. Add Error bars to Leaderline: Customize – > Series -> Select Leaderline -> Check Error Bars -> Type Dropdown -> Percentage & Value = 200
![Editing Scatter Plot](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif5.gif)
3. Resetting Vertical Axis to Start at 0:
![Editing Scatter Plot](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ggif6.gif)
4. Removing Vertical and Horizontal Gridlines (& Retaining Major Tick)
![Removing Gridlines in Scatter Plot](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif7.gif)
5. Hiding Vertical Axis Units by Coloring then White.
![Editing Scatter Plot](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif8-2.gif)
6.Removing Legend from the top.
![Removing Legend in Chart - Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif8-1.gif)
7. Adding Chart Title and Making it Center Aligned
![Adding Chart Title Google Sheet](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gif10.gif)
This completes our Timeline Chart View Creation.
Formatting the Chart
You can further customize upon Font Size, Font Color etc to create a more formal looking chart. Like Below.
![](http://sheetsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-2.png)
Not listing down the steps for this as it’s more of a personal choice.
Free Resources
Before we leave, feel free to grab a copy of the templates discussed in this tutorial in your personal Google Drive.
*Create a copy instead of requesting access
That’s it on this topic. If you still have any questions, then drop a comment below. Keep browsing SheetsInfo for more such useful information 🙂