How to Make a Timeline in Word (With Examples and Alternatives)
Udn Webber
Writer
Do you want to learn simple tweaks to take a basic timeline in Microsoft Word from dull to stunning?
The good news is, you don’t need to be an expert in graphic design or contribute extra hours to get the professional timelines you want! With these small changes, you’ll create an eye-catching, custom timeline from scratch that’ll have your coworkers begging for your timeline template!
We’ll walk through not one but two tutorials: creating a basic timeline with SmartArt and with tables. (Because we have to have options!)
Let’s do this!
What Is a Timeline?
One of the most recognized project management tools is the timeline: a chart to help people visualize deadlines, statistics, events, or milestones in chronological order. Timelines can be simple or packed with details to demonstrate a time period for a given project.
There’s no correct answer to the question of what should or shouldn’t be on a timeline—every company, every industry is different. So instead, ask yourself: What is the most critical information my audience should take away from this timeline?
👉 If you’re curious about exploring the elements of a project timeline further, check out this how-to guide .
While you’ve most likely built a timeline in Microsoft Word back in your early career days, there’s a good chance you’ve had to plug your way through a heap of unnecessary functions. 😮💨
We know this feeling all too well. Thankfully, there’s an excellent project management tool that not only creates timelines but skyrockets productivity and planning. We’ll get to that later. 🤓
How to Create a Basic Timeline in Microsoft Word With a SmartArt Graphic
SmartArt Graphics are a diverse set of timeline layouts (or illustrations) available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, providing different ways to display concepts or data. Since we need a SmartArt graphic to represent sequential information, we’ll use the Process timeline layout (steps in a process or timeline).
With a few simple tweaks, your timeline will:
Go from this…
… to this 🤩
Note: In this tutorial, we use Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.54. The steps and features may look different if you’re on another platform or version .
1️⃣ Open a new blank document
2️⃣ Insert the SmartArt timeline layout
3. Use the SmartArt Text Pane dialog box to add your key information. Press the key to add more text fields for key information and to create a bullet point for details underneath the key information
Tip : If you can’t see the SmartArt Text Pane , go to the toolbar, and under the SmartArt Design tab, select Text Pane
4. Change the font by selecting the entire table, then go to the Home tab and change your Font Type and Font Size . In this example, we’re using the Franklin Gothic Book font and size 16
At this point, you have a standard timeline that could be considered “done,” but it’s screaming for color. 🎨
3️⃣ Customize your timeline
Here is a palette we created just for you to design cohesive and professional visual charts and graphs. Remember, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to create gorgeous patterns… you just need to know someone who knows someone . 😉
Below is an actual designer-approved color palette you can save to your desktop! ⬇️
So how do we use this color palette?
3. Repeat this step for the other Key Events and bulleted lists
Optional : For consistency, change the font color of the bulleted list from Black to White to match the Key Events text color.
Now for the final touch: emojis! 🎉🎉🎉
Emojis add a fun personality to non-verbal communication. If you don’t have any images or icons to add that extra oomph to your timeline document, use emojis! Here’s how:
Are your boxes out of alignment? Here’s another tip: hold the key and click to select the text boxes. Then, under the Shape Format tab > Arrange > Align > Align Middle > use the arrow keys to move all the newly aligned boxes towards your desired location.
Friend, you did it! 🎊💃
Save this as a timeline template for Future You:
How to Create a Basic Timeline in Microsoft Word With Tables
It’s a complicated relationship with tables: Everything can go right until a slight miscommunication ruins everything.
Using tables is another option to create a timeline in Word, but it doesn’t have to be complicated—or boring! With a few simple tweaks, your timeline will:
Go from this…
… to this 😍
Note: In this tutorial, we use Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.54. The steps and features may look different if you’re on another platform or version .
1️⃣ Open a new Word document
2️⃣ Insert and format the table
Depending on how many Key Events and the number of project days are needed, here’s a math guide to decide how many Columns and Rows are required for the timeline:
Columns: Number of days + five columns = total number of columns
What’s the “five” for? We’re going to merge five cells to create space for text.
Rows: Number of Key Events = total number of rows
From this point on, there’s no more math involved. 🤝
6. Highlight the first row and change the font size to 9
7. Highlight the first column and change the font size to 12
3️⃣ Add the deliverables/events
2. Begin from the second row and add all the Key Events text in the first column
3. Add dates 1-31 to the first row in the table (remember to skip the first column)
Tip: decrease the font size to fit the numbers on the same line or expand the table width
4. Align the Key Events text in the cells by highlighting the first column, and under the Layout tab, click the Align Center icon
5. Repeat step 4 for the dates in the first row
4️⃣ Customize your timeline table
You could stop here and call it a day, but there’s a simple tweak we can make to the table to make the chart look a little less harsh: adjusting the table borders.
3. Highlight the entire table and under the Table Design tab, select a dotted line in Border Style > Borders > All Borders
4. To add a line thicker for the outside border, highlight all the cells except the first row and first column. Under the Table Design tab, select the solid line in Border Style > Borders > Outside Borders
You’re all set! 🎉🕺
Save this as a timeline template for Future You:
👉 Other related Microsoft tutorials:
Free Word Timeline Templates
Did you know Microsoft has an online template library ? In addition to accessing templates directly from the Microsoft applications, you can browse the online store for free and premium templates. Here are a few free timeline templates you can download right away:
4 Major Drawbacks of Using Microsoft Word to Create Timelines
Although we had fun creating custom timelines with SmartArt Graphics and tables, did that feel a little bit… lengthy?
Even performing the most basic actions to create a simple table took many clicks and careful navigation to complete our Microsoft Word timeline build. Microsoft Word is one of the most popular software available, but it is limited to the demands and changes of a modern workforce.
Here’s what you should know before investing time, energy, and resources in Microsoft Word:
The Big Picture: Creating Timelines in UDN Task Manager
Whether you’ve never heard of UDN Task Manager or have been considering UDN Task Manager as your project management tool, consider this your sign to start today!
UDN Task Manager is the ultimate productivity platform allowing teams to manage projects, collaborate smarter, and bring all work under one tool. Whether you’re new to productivity apps or an expert project manager, UDN Task Manager ’s customization can stretch to any team size for consistent collaboration.
Let UDN Task Manager do all the work to create timelines so you can spend more time making decisions that move the needle in your projects.
Things you can do in the Timeline view :
Are you working on multiple projects at one time? UDN Task Manager ’s Gantt view will help you manage project Milestones , priorities, and dependencies in a few clicks.
Things you can do in the Gantt view :
Fewer Clicks, More Impact
Your visualization tools are important project assets that shouldn’t take more than an hour out of your week to create. To keep up with project plan changes managers and businesses experience daily, they need the best software— UDN Task Manager !
Create a free account in UDN Task Manager today and say goodbye to finite Word documents! 👋
