After experimenting with several shape and size options, my MS Word timeline looks like this: Apart from being time-consuming, manually creating a timeline in Word may also get frustrating if you want to apply custom changes or need to update the visuals regularly for important presentations. 3. Pacific Time (PST). The templates come with free special features that contain fonts, graphic images, layouts, and backgrounds. In my example, I applied the Intense Effect style, which made the milestone shapes more prominent. There are a lot of blank templates online and feel free to choose one that best relates to your project. There’s a template for timelines for month-long, year-long, and longer projects, as well as timeline templates that visually map major project milestones. Next, you can use Drag & Drop to decrease the width of the arrow shape and move the circles a little higher or lower on the timeline to position them closer to their corresponding descriptions. Enter your milestone dates and descriptions inside the Text Pane - the graphic will be automatically updated. To show a milestone’s date below or above its description, you can insert a line break using Shift + Enter. Note: Since Word is not able to automatically calculate time intervals between milestone dates, your milestones will be placed at equal distances on the timeline regardless of the number of days between them. The free marketing timeline template was designed for business professionals who need to present their plans and strategies in an impressive way. | Privacy Policy Open a new Word document and change the page orientation from Portrait to Landscape, which will make room for more items to be placed on the timeline. This should make it easier for your audience to follow the succession of milestones. Timeline charts may vary into many types, make sure to choose the specific timeline … Note: Manually increasing the text size for improved readability may ruin the entire layout of your timeline. The free project plan template was designed for professionals who need to make important project presentations to clients and execs. However, since the tool is designed mainly for editing copy, it may lack the flexibility that one needs to create more impressive visuals and update them easily. The more events you add, the more the text size will shrink. You will be taken to a gallery where you can choose from a variety of styles and templates that you can use for your timeline. Below, I will demonstrate how to automatically create and update your graphic using a simple add-in for PowerPoint called Office Timeline. These free timeline templates are visually appealing and feature a variety of styles, colors, formats, illustrations and infographics. All trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. In the Data Entry window, you can either manually enter your milestones and set their dates, or you can copy and paste them from an existing Excel file. For instance, you can change the color, position and date format of any milestone or add new ones on the fly as your plans change, or you can insert tasks as well to create a Gantt chart. A Microsoft timeline template can help. To get started, you first need to install Learn to make a Gantt chart manually in Word or automatically in PowerPoint, How to make a timeline in Microsoft Excel, How to make a timeline in Microsoft Project, How to make a Gantt chart in Microsoft Excel, How to make a Gantt chart in Microsoft Word, How to make a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project, See our free timeline template collection. Microsoft Word allows users to build a basic timeline that they can manually customize to adjust to their project’s requirements. Once you finish, click the Create button. using Office Timeline. One of the key elements of any project management is the project timeline. Depending on your template choice and the customizations you make, your timeline can look similar to this: Once you’ve built your timeline, you can easily Those who need to constantly create and update project visuals for presentations to clients or executives may find it easier to build their timelines using PowerPoint. The Gantt chart template was designed for professionals who need to make important project presentations to clients and execs. Go to the Office Timeline Plus tab you’ll see on the PowerPoint ribbon and click on New. Now that your basic timeline is outlined, you can customize its overall look by changing its primary color theme from the Change Colors dropdown menu or by selecting a different style from the SmartArt Styles section. Choose a timeline chart template that is compatible with Microsoft Word. The Medical Devices Timeline is a free PowerPoint template created to help you implement the new MDR and IVDR requirements. You’ll find that it makes it much easier to update the default graphic than entering your data directly in the input fields on the timeline. Select the Insert tab and click on the SmartArt button in the Illustrations section. Download these 28 Free Project Timeline Templates created using MS Word, MS Excel and in MS PowerPoint to quickly assist you in your own Timelines.