Timeline & navigation
This page covers how the timeline is scaled and how people move around the chart: zoom levels, the starting view, the Today line, search, and the top bar. All of these live in the Format pane (the paint-roller icon) unless noted.
📷 Screenshot: The top bar of the visual showing the search box on the left and the zoom controls on the right.
Zoom
The timeline can be viewed at six scales. Report viewers can change the zoom live using the controls in the top bar; you set the level the report opens at in the Format pane.
Available scales: Auto Fit · Day · Week · Month · Quarter · Year.
- Auto Fit sizes the timeline so the whole project fits the visual's width.
- The other scales set a fixed density (e.g. Day shows every day; Quarter compresses to quarters).
Set the default zoom
Format → Zoom and scroll → Default zoom preset
Choose the scale applied when the report loads. Default: Auto Fit.
📷 Screenshot: The "Zoom and scroll" card in the Format pane with the "Default zoom preset" dropdown open.
Default scroll position
Format → Zoom and scroll → Default scroll position
When the timeline is wider than the visual, this sets where it's scrolled to on load:
- Start — the beginning of the schedule (default).
- Today — centered on the current date.
- End — the end of the schedule.
Pair Default scroll position → Today with a Week or Month zoom to open reports right at the current point in the project.
Today line
Format → Today line
A vertical line marking the current date, so viewers can instantly see what's overdue and what's upcoming.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show | Turns the Today line on or off. | On |
| Color | The line's color. | #D64550 (red) |
| Style | Solid, Dashed, or Dotted. | Solid |
📷 Screenshot: A timeline with the Today line visible, and the Today line card open in the Format pane.
The top bar (search & zoom controls)
Format → Appearance → Top bar
The top bar holds the search box and the zoom controls. You can hide the whole bar or just the search box.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show top bar | Shows or hides the entire top bar (search and zoom controls). | On |
| Show search bar | Shows or hides just the search box. | On |
Hiding the top bar also hides the on-chart zoom controls. Viewers can still see the chart at your Default zoom preset, but they won't be able to change the zoom interactively.
Searching
When the search box is visible, viewers can type to find and highlight tasks by name — handy for large projects. Search is a viewing aid; it doesn't filter the underlying data.
📷 Screenshot: The search box with a query typed in, and matching tasks highlighted in the task list/timeline.
Related
- Change bar sizes and grid lines → Progress, colors & appearance
- Full list of settings → Formatting reference