Adjusting the Timescale

The term “timescale” in this context refers to a line that looks similar to a ruler and runs left to right across the Bar, Flag and Project/Gantt charts. The line is scaled chronologically and provides the user with a valuable reference point with which to judge when events in the timeline chart took place. The labels on the timescale 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.

In the Vertical Chart, the timescale is a vertical bar in the horizontal middle of the chart. While it does show the start date (and the end date if there is room on the chart), it is not scaled incrementally and does not include tick marks. Instead, it acts as an anchor for events to be placed chronologically on either side of the bar. Due to this difference in functionality, not all customization options listed below are applicable to the Vertical Chart.

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
• Timescale date and time display
• Selecting the date range
• Using Expand & Compress
• Inserting a break in the timescale
• Removing the bottom timescale in the Bar Chart
  

Setting timescale increments

To choose the time increments of the timescale:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Timescale tab.
2. In the Scale group, click the Timescale button and select the desired option (Auto Scale, Years, Quarters, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes or Seconds).
   

Once selected, your timeline chart will be adjusted to reflect the new option and the Timescale button will show the increment in use.

Tip: Select Auto Scale to have Timeline Maker Pro select the best calendar-based option for the data entered.

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

Note: this customization feature is not applicable to the Vertical Chart.

Timescale date and time display

You can choose to have your timescale display calendar dates or numeric labels, with the first event starting the timescale at 1. You can also customize the time format (12 hour or 24 hour clock) of your timescale. Note: this customization feature is not applicable to the Vertical Chart.

To choose how the timescale displays dates:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Timescale tab.
2. In the Scale group, click the Timescale button and select Options.
3. Click the down arrow beside “using” to select Calendar Dates or Numeric Labels

To choose how the timescale displays time:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Chart tab.
2. In the Date Display group, click the Date Format button.
3. Select the desired display style in the Time section of the drop down menu.

Selecting the date range

By default, timeline charts 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 Timescale tab.
2. In the Scale group, click the Timescale button and select Options.
3. Click the down arrow beside “START the timeline on”, select This Date and then enter the desired date.
4. Click the down arrow beside “and finish it on”, select This Date and then enter the desired date.
   

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

Using Expand & Compress

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

To expand or compress the timescale:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Timescale tab.
2. In the Scale 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.

OR

1. While viewing the timeline chart, click on the timescale to select it.
2. Using your mouse, left click on the black square and drag the timescale to the desired length.

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. Note: this customization feature is not applicable to the Vertical Chart.

To insert breaks automatically:

1. While viewing the timeline chart, select the Timescale tab.
2. In the Scale group, click the Insert 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.
   

Removing the bottom timescale in the Bar Chart

You can choose to show only the top timescale in the Bar Chart by removing the bottom timescale from the chart.

To remove the bottom timescale from the Bar Chart:

1. While viewing your Bar Chart, select the Chart tab
2. In the Chart group, check the box next to Bottom Timescale. An empty checkbox indicates that the bottom timescale will not be displayed.