How to Use a Timeline Template
A timeline is a special diagram. So, you can use one of the diagram types as a template to quickly insert a timeline in a Google Slide.
In the slide where you want to place the timeline, select Insert > Diagram from the Google Slides toolbar. On the right sidebar, choose the Timeline template to open a gallery with different timeline designs. Use the Dates and the Colour dropdowns to set up the timeline. The different timeline template designs update to reflect your chosen dates and colors. Select the template design you want to insert into the slide. Base the choice of the template on the data you want to preset, as each template has its variation of the date and text placeholder used for the milestones. The timeline template has placeholders for different timeline events (the milestones). Click any of them to edit the event within the textbox with your data. You can customize each textbox by changing the size or the location. You can also place the main timeline anywhere on the slide. The elements on the timeline are shapes. Select any element or text and format it from the options available on the toolbar. For instance, use Fill color for different shades for each event.
How to Create a Timeline From Scratch
The default timeline designs in Google Slides are limited to four, five, or six milestones. So, creating a timeline from scratch would be best when you need to present more data points. You can make simple or complicated timelines with the help of the Shape, Line, and Text box options on the Slides toolbar.
Let’s make a simple timeline with a straight central axis and simple shapes to represent the different events.
Open the Google Slides presentation and select the slide for the timeline. For a simple central axis for the timeline, draw a straight line. Select Line > Line on the toolbar. Draw the line on the slide (press Shift while drawing for a horizontal or vertical line). Select Line weight and Line color to customize the thickness and color for the central axis of the timeline. You can also choose Format options from the toolbar to add a drop shadow or reflection to the line. Alternatively, select Format options from the context menu with a right-click on the line. To add the events, select Shape. The dropdown has Shapes, Arrows, Call outs and Equation as possible selections. For this example, select the Rounded Rectangle shape. Add the first shape (Oval). Then, resize it and use the Fill color, Border color, Border weight, and Border dash menus to customize the look of the shape. Select the shape and press Ctrl + D (on Windows, Command + D on Macs) to copy and align the shapes along the line. Create as many shapes as the number of events on the timeline. Tip: Use the visual guides in blue to align the shape precisely at equal distances on the line or drag them further away to mimic the difference in the time between events. Google Slides provides Snap to Guides and Snap to Grid to help align objects on a slide automatically. You can insert text boxes with these shapes or create callouts for describing the events. Select Shape > Callouts. The default callout has its tip to one side. Drag the orange anchor point to change the position of the callout tip and the blue anchor points to resize the shape. Select the Fill color, Border color, Border weight, and Border dash menus to customize the look of the callout. To customize all the callouts or move them as a group, select them all. Then, choose Arrange > Group. Double-click a callout and enter the text to describe the milestone event. Highlight the text and go to the Align options on the toolbar to position the text within the callout. Resize and style your text with the different text options in the toolbar.
This is a basic timeline created from scratch. Like any other graphic, your style choices and visual skills will decide the look of the timeline. Google Slides has all the options to help you create aesthetic timelines that look consistent for your presentation.
