Timeline Maker
Timeline Maker is a free tool that turns dates and events pasted from Excel or Google Sheets into a clean horizontal or vertical timeline. It reads years, full dates, ranges and BC/AD dates, spaces events to scale or evenly, colors them by category and marks milestones. Download an SVG, a PNG with an optional transparent background, or a PDF, with no watermark. It runs in your browser and your events are saved only in your browser.
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Paste dates and events from Excel or Google Sheets, or type them in, and get a clean timeline right away. Space events by real time or evenly, color them by category, mark milestones, and use BC and AD dates for history class. Download an SVG, a PNG (with a transparent background if you like) or a PDF, free and without a watermark.
Columns: Date, Title, Note, Category. A header row is optional. Start a title with * to make it a milestone.
Events
| Date | Title | Note | Category | Milestone | Remove |
|---|
Your timeline is saved in this browser automatically. Use Save file to keep a copy or move it to another device.
How to Make a Timeline
Step by step
- Copy your rows from Excel or Google Sheets (Date, Title, Note, Category) and paste them into the box, or pick a sample and edit it.
- Check the events table. Fix any date marked in red, add notes, and tick Milestone for the big moments.
- Choose a layout: horizontal or vertical, spaced by real time or evenly, and an image size like a 16:9 slide.
- Download a PNG for slides and documents, an SVG to edit or scale, or a PDF to print.
Is this timeline maker really free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no watermark, and high-resolution and transparent downloads are free too. The timeline is drawn in your browser, and your events are never uploaded. They are saved in your browser's local storage on this device so you can come back to them. See our Privacy Policy.
What date formats can I use?
Years (1776), months (July 1776, 2026-03), full dates (July 4, 1776, 7/4/1776 or 1776-07-04), decades (1960s), centuries (5th century), quarters (Q3 2027) and BC or AD dates (44 BC, AD 79, 300 BCE). Add "c." or "circa" for approximate dates. Write a range like "1939-1945" or "Jan 2027 - Mar 2027" to show a period. Slash dates are read the U.S. way, month first. The date shows on the timeline exactly as you typed it.
How do BC dates work?
Type BC, BCE, AD or CE before or after the year, or use a minus sign (-500 means 500 BC). Events are placed in true order with no year zero, so 1 BC is followed by AD 1, and the axis labels count down through the BC years.
Should I space events by real time or evenly?
"By real time" puts events at their true distance apart, which shows gaps and busy periods, and is best for history and project schedules. "Evenly spaced" gives every event the same room, which works well for story outlines and lists of events with very uneven dates.
Can I make a timeline for a story or a novel?
Yes. Use real or made-up years for your story's events, put the character or plot line in the Category column to color-code them, and mark turning points as milestones. Evenly spaced works best when a few events are far apart.
How do I put the timeline in PowerPoint or Google Slides?
Choose the 16:9 slide size and download the PNG, then insert it as a picture. Turn on the transparent background to place it on a colored slide. For a sharp image you can resize, download the SVG; recent versions of PowerPoint and Keynote can insert SVG files directly.