TimelinePlot
TimelinePlot[{date1,date2,…}]
makes a timeline plot with dates date1, date2, ….
TimelinePlot[{event1,event2,…}]
makes a timeline plot with events event1, event2, ….
TimelinePlot[{data1,data2,…}]
makes a timeline plot from multiple event datasets datai.
Details and Options




- TimelinePlot shows when events occur relative to each other.
- Possible forms of datei include:
-
DateObject[…],TimeObject[…] date or time object "string" DateString specification {y,m,d,h,m,s} DateList specification {y}, {y,m}, {y,m,d}, … shortened date list t absolute time given as a single number - In shortened date lists, omitted elements are taken to have default values {y,1,1,0,0,0}.
- The eventi can have the forms:
-
date1 a single date or time DateInterval[{date1,date2}] a start date date1 and end date date2 Entity[…] an entity with dates according to the property "Date" Entity[…]prop an entity with dates according to the property prop - Datasets datai can be given in the following forms:
-
{event1,event2,…} dates, times, intervals, entities, etc. TimeSeries[…] interval with start and end dates EventSeries[…] treat each time as an event {Entity[…],…}prop entities with dates according to the property prop EntityClass[…] entities with dates according to the property "Date" EntityClass[…]prop entities with dates according to the property prop <k1event1,k2event2,… > association of keys and events wi[formi,…] a date or event with value formi and wrapper wi - Possible symbolic wrappers are the same as for BarChart, and include Style, Labeled, Legended, etc.
- TimelinePlot has the same options as Graphics with the following additions and changes:
-
AspectRatio Automatic overall ratio of width to height Axes True whether to draw a time axis AxesOrigin Automatic where to draw a time axis DateFunction Automatic how to convert dates to standard form DateTicksFormat Automatic format for date tick labels Filling Automatic filling to insert under each event FillingStyle Automatic style for filling LabelingFunction Automatic how to label elements LegendAppearance Automatic overall appearance of legends PerformanceGoal $PerformanceGoal aspects of performance to try to optimize PlotLayout Automatic overall layout to use PlotLegends None legends for datasets PlotMarkers None markers to use to indicate each event PlotStyle Automatic style for events PlotTheme $PlotTheme overall theme for the plot Spacings Automatic spacing between datasets and axis TimeZone $TimeZone time zone to use for the plot - Possible settings for AxesOrigin include: Left, Right, Bottom, Top, and Center.
- Possible settings for Filling include:
-
Axis fill to the axis None no filling Bottom fill to the bottom of the plot Top fill to the top of the plot Above fill to the row above Below fill to the row below - TimelinePlot will place events in different rows. The overall placement in different rows can be affected using PlotLayout and the spacing between rows can controlled using Spacings.
- Possible settings for PlotLayout include:
-
"Grouped" each dataset uses a minimum number of rows "Overlapped" each dataset uses a single row "Packed" use minimum number of rows for all events "Stacked" each event has a separate row "Vertical","VerticalGrouped",… vertical forms of layouts "Reverse","ReverseVertical",… reversed forms of layouts - Possible settings for Spacings include:
-
Automatic space rows evenly apart None no space between rows, but space to axis {s1,s2,…} use space s1 from axis to first row, then space s2, etc. - Style and other specifications from options and other constructs in TimelinePlot are effectively applied in the order PlotStyle, then Style and other wrappers, with later specifications overriding earlier ones.
Examples
open allclose allBasic Examples (4)
Scope (33)
Data (14)
Plot a timeline using DateObject:
Using TimeObject:
Using DateString specifications:
Plot the "Date" property from a list of entities:
Use a specific property for a list of entities:
Use a specific property for a class of entities:
Using DateList specifications:
Use DateFunction to prepend a year to {month,day} lists:
Using AbsoluteTime specifications:
TimeSeries shows the overall range of dates:
EventSeries shows the discrete event dates:
Keys in an Association are used as labels:
Wrappers (4)
Use wrappers on individual data, datasets, or collections of datasets:
Use PopupWindow to provide additional drilldown information:
Use Legended to add an additional legend:
Layouts (4)
Pack the events in each dataset:
Use a single row for all events in each dataset:
Use a single row for each event:
Plot time increasing from the right:
Plot time increasing from the bottom:
Place all events in the same row:
Place all events along the axis:
Presentation (5)
Use a theme with a bold color scheme:
Use unique markers for each dataset:
Use PlotStyle to change styles of events:
Use Filling to fill the events:
Change the FillingStyle:
Labeling and Legending (6)
Use Labeled to add bubble labels:
Specify locations for the labels:
Entity and EntityClass automatically create bubble labels when possible:
Create automatic placeholder legends for each dataset:
Use Legended to highlight a specific event:
PlotLegends->"Expressions" automatically picks up labels:
Options (41)
AspectRatio (1)
AxesOrigin (2)
The axis is below the events by default:
Change the axis position along with PlotLayout:
FillingStyle (4)
FillingStyle follows PlotStyle by default:
LabelingFunction (4)
Events automatically get a tooltip with the date or date range:
Entities are automatically labeled with a bubble:
Do not add tooltips or any other labels:
Write a custom label format to put in a Tooltip:
PerformanceGoal (3)
PlotLayout (3)
PlotLegends (2)
PlotMarkers (3)
Use unique PlotMarkers to distinguish sets of events:
PlotRange (2)
PlotStyle (4)
Spacings (4)
TimeZone (2)
Text
Wolfram Research (2015), TimelinePlot, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TimelinePlot.html (updated 2020).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2015. "TimelinePlot." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2020. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TimelinePlot.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2015). TimelinePlot. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TimelinePlot.html