Document history with Timeline

There are lots of timeline tools on the web but they are almost all either hard on the eyes or hard to use. Create timelines that are at the same time beautiful and intuitive for users

Timeline is great for pulling in media from different sources. Just throw in a link from Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, Google Maps or SoundCloud and Timeline will format it to fit perfectly. More media types will be supported in the future.

Creating one is as easy as filling in a Google spreadsheet or as detailed as JSON.

Add it to your site

Step 1

Include these lines in the <head> of your site.

        <!-- CSS -->

        <link href="timeline.css" rel="stylesheet">

        

        <!-- JavaScript -->

        <script type="text/javascript" src="jquery-min.js"></script>

        <script type="text/javascript" src="timeline-min.js"></script>

Step 2

Add a <div> with an id called “timeline” in the <body> of your site.

<div id="timeline"></div>

Step 3

Initialize the data source in either the <head> or the <body>

<script>

                $(document).ready(function() {

                        timeline = new VMM.Timeline();

                        timeline.init("your_data.json");                        

                });

</script>

File Formats

JSON:

JSON is the native data format of Timeline. It is easy to work with and even people non-coders can create timelines with this method.

JSON is picky though. Pay special attention to the small details. A misplaced comma or quotation mark can prevent the timeline from loading properly.

Instructions on actually using the JSON file are included in the example data.JSON file.

A few hints about working with JSON files.

  1. JSON works in pairs. In the file you will notice “parameters”:”specific attributes”
  1. The part you will want to change goes in the specific attributes section.
  1. Pay special attention to the formatting notes in the json-guide/data.json file.

Google Docs:

If you don’t want to mess with JSON, grab a spreadsheet in Google Docs to build your timeline. It’s as simple as dropping a date, text, and links into the appropriate columns in Timeline’s template.

You can find the template here: https://docs.google.com/a/digitalartwork.net/previewtemplate?id=0AppSVxABhnltdEhzQjQ4MlpOaldjTmZLclQxQWFTOUE&mode=public

There are only four things you need to know in order to create a timeline using Google Docs:

  1. Make the spreadsheet public:
    Google Docs are automatically set to private but the spreadsheet must be public.

    Click the blue “Share” button on the top right-hand corner. In the “Share settings” window, you’ll see the private setting of the spreadsheet: click “Change...”. In the Visibility options window, choose “Public on the Web” and save.

  1. Publish to the Web
    Under the File menu, select “Publish to the Web.”

    In the next window, check the box next to “    Automatically republish when changes are made.” Uncheck all other boxes. Click “start publishing.” This will give you the URL to embed in your HTML file.

  1. Copy/paste the Web URL into your Timeline HTML file
    After you publish the spreadsheet, Google Docs will generate a link to the file. Copy the link for the Web Page option (as opposed to PDF, HTML, XLS, etc.), then paste it into the timeline’s HTML file:

    timeline.init(“URL goes here”)

  1. Designate the “start” slide
    This indicates which event is the title slide, the one that begins the timeline.

    Only one should be labeled "start" (generally, the first one). The title slide must have a start date, headline and text to appear properly.

Getting Timeline onto the web

The zipped folder contains all of the files that you need in order to get Timeline working on your site. Upload the entire folder to your server and then you can play with the example timelines.

To create a new timeline, decide which file format you would like to use. Check out the examples folder of your chosen format.

For a google spreadsheet:

  1. Start by dropping in a placeholder, like “Timeline title goes here.”
  1. Save, make the spreadsheet public and publish it.
  1. To publish: File > Publish to the Web
  2. Copy/paste the link into HTML page
  3. Save, upload to server
  1. After making changes in the spreadsheet, reload the page in the browser to make sure everything is working well.

Media

Included in the zip file is a kitchen sink example. This timeline shows how to incorporate the different media types from different services like Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo.

Twitter: Just copy and paste the address of the tweet from the browser bar into the media parameter. Timeline will auto-magically pull in the tweet and format it so that it looks beautiful.

For Flickr, Google Maps, SoundCloud, YouTube and Vimeo, just copy the URL and paste it into the media parameter.

Best practices

Tips and tricks to best utilize Timeline

  1. Timelines look best when they flow well and maintain a good pace. Some ideas to keep in mind:
  1. Keep it light - don’t get bogged down by text or other elements
  2. Include compelling media that help
  1. Chronology
  1. The best timeline stories have a strong chronological flow to the story. It does not  work well for stories that do not have a strong timeline element or that need to jump around in the timeline.
  2. Chronological order is inherent in a timeline, but we’re human: Sometimes we forget a date. Luckily, Timeline will sort events by date regardless of what order they are in on the spreadsheet.
  1. Include more than just the major events
  1. It is generally a more compelling story to include important smaller events that lead up to major events than just showing the major events.