All of these instructions can be found on the website, so please visit it!

  1. Go to http://timeline.knightlab.com/ and click “Make a timeline now”
  2. You will first need to create a spreadsheet using google docs. A link to this spreadsheet will appear as soon as you click “make a timeline now.” In order to make this spreadsheet you will need a google account. The spreadsheet is easy and is already formatted for you. Here’s what the Timeline JS website says about creating the spreadsheet:

Create your spreadsheet

Build a new Google Spreadsheet using our template. Drop dates, text and links to media into the appropriate columns. Note: Don’t change the column headers, don’t remove any columns, and don’t leave any blank rows in your spreadsheet.

Click “google spreadsheet timeline” to make your timeline.

  1. Once you’re in the spreadsheet you’ll see columns titled “Start Date,” “End Date,” “Headline,” “Text,” “Media,” “Media Credit,” “Media Caption,” Media Thumbnail,” “Type,” “Tag.” In my experience, the last three columns don’t matter (thumbnail, type, tag) and you can leave them blank. The others should be self-explanatory, and you should play around with the timeline to see where each column actually ends up in the visual timeline. (That is to say, on the most basic level, each column corresponds to a component of the timeline itself.)
  1. Explanations of Each Column:

*“Start Date” and “End Date” indicate the beginning and end of the event you’re creating. 

*“Headline” will be the headline of that particular event.

* “Text” – the main text that accompanies this moment on your timeline.

*”Media” can include any image/video clip/song that you find.

* “Media credit” –tell us where your image/video/song came from!

* “Media caption” – what text do you want to accompany your media (if any)? Put it here.

  1. Google spreadsheet has included in their own sample text for each column / row. You need to delete their info and put in your own.
  2. At any point in the process you can “publish to the web” and see what your timeline looks like. You can toggle between the preview and the spreadsheet in order to keep modifying the timeline and seeing what those modifications look like. In other words, clicking “publish to the web” is not permanent!
  3. In order to “publish,” go to the File menu at the top of the spreadsheet and click “publish to the web. In the next window, check “automatically republish when changes are made.” Uncheck all other boxes. Click “start publishing.” This will give you the URL.
  4. At timeline.knightlab.com so go “step 3” and copy and paste your spreadsheet URL in the box provided. You can “preview” it there.
  5. Once you are done and ready to submit, click “link to preview.” This will take you to a separate link for your timeline. Make sure you have saved your spreadsheet (accessible under “google docs”)!!