What is Timeline Maker?

Timeline Maker lets you create visual timelines for projects, historical events, or personal milestones. Add events with dates, descriptions, and colors, then export as a PNG image or SVG file.

Events take a start date and an optional end date, a title, optional description, colour swatch, and category tag. Single-date events render as nodes; events with an end date render as duration bars so a six-month build phase shows up as a real span on the line. Start from a blank canvas, paste a CSV, or load a starter template — Project Roadmap, Historical, Wedding Planner, Career, Academic Year, or Product Launch. The horizontal layout works for project plans and product roadmaps; the vertical layout suits CVs and personal histories. Zoom adjusts the date spacing so a six-month plan and a 200-year history both stay readable. Undo and redo step back through every change. Export to PNG for slide decks, SVG for web embedding, or a single-page PDF for reports.

How to use

1. Add events by entering a date, title, and optional description. Choose a color to categorize each event.
2. Drag to reorder events, adjust the timeline scale, and toggle between horizontal and vertical layouts.
3. Export the finished timeline as a PNG image, an SVG file, or a one-page PDF for use in reports, documents, and presentations.

When to use

• Building a product roadmap with milestones colour-coded by team or workstream.
• Visualising the chapters of a CV or biography as a vertical career timeline.
• Teaching history — building a timeline of dynasties, wars, or scientific discoveries.

Result

A project manager creates a product launch timeline with 15 milestones from kickoff to release, color-coded by team (design in blue, engineering in orange, marketing in green), and exports it as a PNG for the stakeholder deck.

FAQ

How many events can I fit on one timeline?

There's no hard cap, but anything past 30–40 events on a horizontal layout starts overlapping at standard zoom. For dense timelines, switch to vertical layout or split into multiple linked timelines (e.g. per decade or per phase).

Can I import events from a CSV or spreadsheet?

Yes — open the Import CSV panel below the form, then paste or upload a CSV with columns for title, date, description, and category. An optional end-date column turns rows into span events that render as duration bars. The parser auto-detects header rows and accepts ISO dates as well as m/d/yyyy.

Does the timeline support BCE dates or years before 1900?

Yes. The date input accepts any ISO date down to year 0001. For BCE dates, use a workaround: write the title as "500 BCE — Event name" and pick any positive date for sorting. A full BCE mode is planned.

What's the difference between PNG and SVG export?

PNG is a flat image, fine for slides or social media. SVG is vector — it scales to any size without blur and can be edited in Figma, Illustrator, or Inkscape. Use SVG if you'll restyle the timeline later.

Can I change the order without retyping the dates?

The timeline always sorts events by date. To reorder, change the date itself. If you want a manual order independent of date, use sequential placeholder dates (Jan 1, Jan 2, Jan 3) and put the real dates in the description.

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