Have you ever needed to share project timelines with your team or external stakeholders for your business? Google Sheets offers a convenient timeline view feature that allows you to create and share timelines easily. In this guide, we’ll show you different ways to create a timeline in Google Sheets, whether you already have a Google Workspace account or not. Let’s dive in!
Quick Overview: How to Use the Timeline View in Google Sheets
To use the timeline view in Google Sheets, simply open your spreadsheet with a Google Workspace-enabled account. Then, navigate to Insert > Timeline and select the range from which you want to create your timeline. It’s that simple!
The New Timeline View in Google Sheets
Introduced in 2022, the interactive timeline view in Google Sheets is a visual layer that displays project information from your spreadsheet. It includes details such as project start and end dates, descriptions, and owner information.
Details
The new timeline view in Google Sheets allows you to interact with the project information and makes managing project timelines, marketing campaigns, team collaboration, and scheduling much easier. You can click on a card within the timeline and view detailed project information in a sidebar. You can also format the timeline based on different time intervals such as year, quarter, month, week, and day.
This feature doesn’t have administrative controls, so end users can easily create timelines by going to Insert > Timeline. From there, they can click on Select data range and use the Configure attributes option. Once the timeline is created, you can view it based on different time intervals and customize its appearance by changing colors, spacing, and other options.
Availability
The interactive timeline feature in Google Sheets is available for users of: Workspace Essentials, Business Plus, Business Standard, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning.
Please note that the interactive timeline view is not available for customers using the Nonprofit, G Suite Basic and Business versions, as well as users with personal Google accounts.
Creating a Timeline without a Google Workspace Account
Unfortunately, if you don’t have a Google Workspace account, you won’t be able to use the new timeline view feature in Google Sheets. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a timeline in Google Sheets at all. Let’s explore how you can do it.
What is a Project Timeline?
A project timeline is a calendar view of your entire project, from planning to execution. It breaks down the project into smaller goals and milestones, each with a specific deadline. With a timeline, your team can easily see project completion dates and the deadlines of specific components.
Why Use a Google Sheets Timeline for Projects?
Here are a few reasons why you should consider using a project timeline in Google Sheets:
Provides a Comprehensive View of the Project
A timeline gives your team a broader perspective, allowing them to step back and observe when specific actions are taking place. It enables team members to understand the context of their individual items and how everything fits together. Before the project starts, you can also actively identify potential obstacles or requirements.
Efficient Resource Management
Your project resources include money, tools, and the time of team members. If everything is available when you need it, projects should be a breeze, but you don’t execute this strategy alone. Knowing when specific tasks are happening enables you to assign and manage project resources more effectively. You can also prepare accordingly if you know that a graphic designer employed by your company won’t be able to help revamp your website before the end of the month.
Keeping the Project on Track
A project timeline offers many benefits, including keeping you on track. If one component is delayed, your entire project runs the risk of falling behind. Identifying gaps or deviations and tracking progress by breaking them down into smaller items is simpler. By understanding who is responsible for a task and when it is due, the timeline also promotes accountability within your team.
Making Overwhelming Projects Manageable
Project timelines make massive projects seem more manageable. You need to break down your project into manageable steps before creating your timeline. This provides you and your team with a strategic plan that you can use to move forward without feeling overwhelmed.
How to Create a Timeline in Google Sheets
You can either use a Google Sheets timeline template or create a project timeline from scratch. Let’s first explore how you can use the provided template by Google.
Creating a Timeline Using the Template Gallery
Here’s how you can use a pre-made template to create a project timeline:
- Go to Google Sheets.
- On the main screen, click on the Template Gallery option in the top-right corner.
- Scroll down to find the Project Timeline by Smartsheet option. Click on it, and the template will load in a new spreadsheet.
- The timeline template allows you to add Project Title, Project Manager, Company Name, and Date.
- The template has multiple columns representing dates, allowing you to add a project and adjust the width of the cell to represent the duration of that specific task. For example, if the project’s charter phase will start from the first week of January until the end of February, select all cells, click on Format in the top bar, then click on Merge cells and select Merge all.
- While the project titles come with assigned colors, you can also add your own titles and change the color of existing ones. Simply select the cell and choose the Fill color or Text color option from the top toolbar.
While this template may be suitable for students or small teams, its static nature means that you’ll have to do everything manually, which can be extremely time-consuming. Now, let’s find out how you can create your own project timeline in Google Sheets.
Creating Your Own Timeline Template
Here’s how you can create a timeline in Google Sheets from scratch:
- Go to sheets.new to open a new spreadsheet.
- The first step is to add important steps and their dates to the spreadsheet. Make sure the steps are concise and easy to read. In this example, the first column contains the step name, the second contains the date, and the third contains its position.
- Once you’ve finished adding the data, click and drag to select the data cells and create a chart. You can do this by clicking on Insert and then Chart.
- Now, to create a timeline in Google Sheets, click on the option under Chart type and scroll down to the Scatter section. Here, select Bubble chart.
- Format the chart to ensure readability. The first thing to do is remove any overlaps. To do this, go to the Customize section of the chart editor. There, click on the Vertical axis option.
- Subtract 1 from the lowest position and enter it in the Min text box. Then, add 1 to the highest position and enter it in the Max text box.
- Let’s say you want to track the progress of your project. You can indicate the status using colors. To do this, go to the Chart editor and click on Add a series.
- Click on the small boxes next to the search box, which will open the Select data range window. Add the cell range there and click the green OK button. Google Sheets will automatically select colors for you, which you can modify by going to the Customize section of the Chart editor.
In Conclusion
The timeline feature in Google Sheets is the easiest way to create a timeline in Google Sheets. Unfortunately, it’s only available for Google Workspace users. However, there are other ways to create timelines in Google Sheets. Explore the methods mentioned above and use the one that suits your business best. If you haven’t signed up for Google Workspace yet, all you need is a professional email address. We recommend signing up for Google Workspace if you don’t have one already.
For more helpful tips and tricks with Google Sheets and other tools, visit Crawlan.com. Happy timeline creation!
