Timelines in Excel

A timeline can be a useful way to visualize changes or events that occur over periods of time. Although there are probably much better ways of creating timelines, Excel can be a handy tool, particularly when you want to perform date calculations, or take advantage of the drawing tools within Excel.

On this page you will find example spreadsheets and other references for creating timelines in Excel.

Common Uses for Timelines

Chronologically arrange past events.
- Innovations in science between 1800 and 2000 - World history -
Represent a person's life history.
- Depiction of life events along with historical time periods or local events -
Map historic events and time periods.
- History of the universe - Theory of evolution - Geologic time -
Create a project schedule.
- Deliverable dates - Task completion -

Example Timeline Spreadsheets

Example 1:

At Microsoft.com, you can get many free Office templates. Among them is an example of a timeline created in Excel. You can use the search form below to find the templates:

Search for an timelines at Microsoft

Example 2: - Time Period Comparisons

In geneological (family history) research, timelines are particularly useful for comparing events and people's life spans. This example spreadsheet uses stacked bar charts to compare a few different people living before and during the civil war.

Download the Spreadsheet (.xls format)
For Excel 97 or Later

Download Instructions: Depending on your browser and operating system, you may need to "right-click" on the above link and select "Save Target As...".

Note: This file does not contain any macros.

Click Here to Enlarge

Example 3: - Project Schedule

Gantt charts are typically used in business and engineering to plan and schedule projects. However, if you need a special project timeline to include in a PowerPoint presentation or some other document, you might want to try creating it using the drawing tools in Excel. The spreadsheet below contains two example project schedules. They are not intended to be used as automated templates, but they might give you an idea or two. (Feel free to copy the autoshapes and formats if you think that will save you some time.)

Download the Example Project Timelines (.xls format)
For Excel 97 or Later

Download Instructions: Depending on your browser and operating system, you may need to "right-click" on the above link and select "Save Target As...".

Note: This file does not contain any macros.

Click Here to Enlarge

Example 4: A True Timeline Template

I discovered a new way to create a timeline in Excel using an XY chart with error bars for the leader lines. I wrote up a separate article on this, which includes a downloadable timeline template. See "How to Create a Timeline in Excel".

Some References:

Create a Timeline in Microsoft Excel - Microsoft.com

This is a good "How-To" article for explaining how to create chronological event timelines.

Excel Timelines in Education - http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/kadkins/timeline.htm

Timelines are frequently used as teaching aids or student activities. In addition to showing how to use Excel for timelines, this site contains other uses for Excel in educational curriculum.

Using Excel to Create a Timeline - http://faculty.musowls.org/RutledgeJ

Another online tutorial for creating chronogical event timelines.

Using stacked bar charts for timelines - MrExcel.com

A tip from MrExcel.com

Create Timelines Easily With SmartDraw!