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Users of Microsoft PowerPoint can make a simple timeline that they can manually modify and restyle to suit their requirements. The end result is a straightforward graphic suitable for client or executive presentations, but it isn’t quite adaptable enough for those who need to display more precise information or frequently update the timeline. Using a PowerPoint timeline maker that automates the process would be a quick and easy solution if you frequently need to create and update timeline slides for high-level presentations.
A timeline is a list of events that are arranged chronologically. It can be applied to historical research, paleontology, and any other subject where displaying sequential events is necessary. A typical timeline resembles a horizontal line with time periods moving from left to right. Timelines are used to effectively share information with others and keep teams and stakeholders on the same page.
Although you can use timelines for your own understanding and personal clarity, many people use them to visualize events or significant milestones and deadlines within a project. It follows that it makes sense for you to want to include your project timeline in a PowerPoint presentation. But even if you can put something together, good luck sharing that timeline elsewhere. PowerPoint wasn’t made to allow users to create professional-quality visuals. It lacks the necessary shapes and SmartArt.
Ways to create a timeline in PowerPoint
Create a Simple Timeline
Add your data
The Simple timeline by default displays 3 milestones and text placeholders. Use the text pane or click in the milestone’s [Text]. In order to insert a line break, press Shift + Enter. More milestones can be easily entered when using the text pane. You will see another bullet point after pressing Enter. Depending on the quantity of events and text you enter, PowerPoint will adjust the font size automatically. As you can see, each milestone is spaced the same distance apart on the horizontal axis. no matter the dates you entered.
Customize your timeline
You have a lot of styling options in PowerPoint for your timeline. The perception of your timeline will change depending on how you set the font, color, and other properties. It is possible to manually change a client’s brand colors and font type with a few clicks.
Before we demonstrate how to alter a timeline, you should be aware that SmartArt provides you with a variety of templates that alter the timeline’s overall appearance. Select the SmartArt Design tab from the menu bar, then click the SmartArt Styles menu to view the available options.
Adjust the font properties of your Events
Using Rich Text Formatting, PowerPoint lets you alter the font weight, family, and color, among other things. Use the Rich Text Editor that appears after selecting the text you wish to modify. You can utilize the menu bar similarly to how you would in Microsoft Word.
Change the color of your Milestones
Right-click on any milestone to select it. This will reveal a menu where you can modify the milestone’s fill, outline, and many other aspects.
Change the color and width of the timeline axis
By performing a right-click on the arrow and using the menu that appears, you can alter the color of the axis in the same way that you alter the color of milestones. You can alter the axis’ width in addition to the color, which will help the milestones stand out more and better convey the timeline’s message.
Change the position of the milestones
A milestone’s position can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally using drag and drop. It will be simpler for readers of your graphic to make the proper connection between circle and text if the milestones are placed closer to the text that describes them.
What is Microsoft PowerPoint
Dennis Austin and Thomas Rudkin of Forethought Inc. created PowerPoint. It was originally going to be called Presenter, but trademark concerns prevented that from happening. In 1987, the name was changed to PowerPoint at Robert Gaskins’ suggestion. Microsoft acquired Forethought in August 1987 for $14 million, converting it into its graphics business unit where it continued to create the software. In 1990, the first version debuted alongside Windows 3.0. It only permitted forward slide progression, and there was not a lot of customization available.
PowerPoint quickly rose to fame as one of the most recognizable brands despite initially being designed exclusively for Macintosh computers. It was also Microsoft’s first significant acquisition. It still commands up to 95% of the market for presentation software today. Users of PowerPoint are able to create multimedia-rich presentations made up of numerous slides. The user can import content from Word or Excel as well as other media like images, audio files, and video clips into PowerPoint because it is fully integrated with the other Microsoft Office tools.
A number of templates are used to create slides and offer the user pre-defined layouts for various uses. This slide is saved as the “master slide” once the presentation’s theme has been established by specifying a typical font, background color, and layout. The user has two options: edit the master slide to propagate the change to all the other slides uniformly, or edit each individual slide in accordance. The pace of a PowerPoint presentation can be freely chosen by the presenter by manually controlling the flow or by setting slide swapping intervals that can vary for each slide. After a specific command is given, specific elements on a slide, like bullet points or videos, may also appear.
Final Words
Using a PowerPoint timeline is one of the best ways to create event sequences and graphically represent them. You can create an event sequence representation for your own milestones or the events of a project using a PowerPoint timeline template. You can make additional improvements after the timeline PPT has loaded, such as using multiple styles, altering the color or layout, or even moving or adding more dates. Actually, using SmartArt in PowerPoint to create a timeline is not difficult. We hope our article on “How to create a timeline in PowerPoint” will surely help you to do so. If you can download Microsoft PowerPoint, then visit the official website.