Adjusting the Timescale

The term “timescale” refers to the tick line which run across the Bar, Flag and Project Timelines. The line is scaled chronologically and provides the user with a valuable reference point with which to judge when events in the timeline took place. The labels on the time scale are chosen to suit the range of time within the data, and will show as much information as space permits, with the smallest increments inside the bar and the largest increments under the tick line in the major scale. The program will automatically choose start and end points for you, or you can adjust them manually. You can also insert a break in the timescale when there are large gaps of time between events. Additional customization options are available for the timescale, including fonts, tick preferences, shape, color, outline and effects. For detailed instructions on customizing the appearance of the timescale, see also: Customizing the Appearance of the Timescale.

In this article

• Setting timescale increments
• Selecting the date range
• Using Expand & Compress
• Inserting a break in the timescale
  

Setting timescale increments

To choose the time increments of the timescale:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Home tab.
2. In the Timescale group, click the down arrow under Change Timescale to and select the desired option (Years, Quarters, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes or Seconds).
   

Tip: Your timescale can be in 12 hour (e.g. 4:00pm) or 24 hour time (e.g. 16:00) format. While viewing your timeline chart, select Home > Timescale > 24 Hour Time. When the box is checked, hours and seconds will be displayed in 24 hour time format.

Note: When an option other than Auto Date is selected, the timeline will expand to include all time increments within the date range. If an option will make the timeline unworkable, an error message will be displayed, and another option with larger time increments will need to be chosen.

Tip: Select Auto Date to have Timeline Maker Pro select the best option for the data entered.

Selecting the date range

By default, timelines will plot all events marked for inclusion on the timescale. However, you can choose to only plot events which occurred between two dates/times. To do this:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Home tab.
2. In the Timescale group, click the Date Range button and select Manual.
3. Enter the Start and End days or days and times in the corresponding fields and click OK.
   

Tip: To revert back to the original timescale, select Auto after clicking the Date Range button.

Using Expand & Compress

You can increase or decrease the timescale on your timeline using the Expand & Compress feature. The smaller the time increments you choose, the more horizontal space your timeline will require. Using Expand/Compress has the effect of making your timeline wider or narrower.

To expand or compress the timescale:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Home tab.
2. In the Timescale group, click the Expand or Compress buttons until you reach the desired increment.
   

OR

1. While viewing the timeline chart, click on the timescale to select it.
2. Using your arrow keys on your keyboard, expand or compress the timescale. Right Arrow expands, Left Arrow compresses.

Inserting a break in the timescale

When there is a large space of time between two events, or if an event spans a long period of time with no other events occurring during its time span, it may be desirable to insert a break in the timescale. This removes the unnecessary timespan and replaces them with a small break indicator, saving valuable space. Breaks can be inserted automatically or manually.

To insert breaks automatically:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Home tab.
2. In the Timescale group, click the Auto Breaks button.
   

To insert breaks manually:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, click on the timescale to select it.
2. Hover you mouse over the timescale. If a break is available, the program will indicate the possible break in black.
   Tip: Breaks are available anywhere there is a space of two or more major ticks on the timescale between events, or on an event that spans more than two major ticks with no other events occurring during its time span.
3. Right-click on the possible break and select Insert Break.