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This free timelinetemplate collection was created for professionals who need outstanding timeline presentations that will thrill clients and impress management. These timeline chart templates were designed to be powerful, customizable and easy to present in important meetings. You can edit each template manually or automatically with the free timeline maker from Office Timeline. It plugs right into PowerPoint and makes it incredibly easy to add your own data, change template colors and styles, and update timelines instantly as things change.
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Timelines are the most effective way to visualize business roadmaps, project plans, event schedules or workflows and to ensure important deadlines are hit. This page offers you a series of project timeline templates for PowerPoint that you can easily download, customize and use to set your project up for success.
Frequently asked questions about timeline templates
What is a project timeline template?
A project timeline template is a pre-made model of a timeline that you can customize with your own data to chronologically display events and activities involved in a project.
Timelines help you keep track of your project's progress by showing info on the sequence of activities, the duration of each activity, and the dependencies between activities, so you can easily see how much work has been completed and how much is still left to do.
Building a project timeline can be rather difficult and time consuming. Templates help you save time and energy, providing you with a predefined structure for your tasks and milestones. A project timeline template will simplify the work of creating a clear schedule of your project, needing only minor data editing.
For inspiration, browse our collection of free timeline templates. You can download them and easily make customizations with the free, professional tool Office Timeline, an automatic timeline maker that plugs right into PowerPoint. Here is an example of a project timeline template that you can generate with Office Timeline:
Does Office have a timeline template?
Yes, Microsoft Office does offer several basic timeline templates within its suite of programs (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint). However, you might find these timeline templates very limited or unsuitable for bigger, more complex projects.
If you want to learn how to make a timeline using Microsoft Office tools, we’ve put together a whole collection of free tutorials to help you get started.
Is there a timeline template for PowerPoint?
As part of the MS Office suite of programs, PowerPoint provides a few simple types of graphics and charts that users can manually format and adjust to create a very basic timeline. To find them, go to File > New and type “timeline” in the search box.
However, manually building timelines or customizing templates in PowerPoint is not only time-consuming, but also frustrating when it comes to updating the visual. To help you save time and effort, we’ve created a collection of free PowerPoint timeline templates that you can see above, download and easily customize for your specific purposes.
You can modify any of these project timeline templates manually or automatically, after you install the free timeline makeradd-in for PowerPoint from Office Timeline. The add-in will automate the entire process of creating, updating and customizing a timeline chart. You also get access to dozens of professionally designed project timeline templates.
Is there a timeline template in Excel?
Yes, there are some timeline templates available in Excel. To find them, open an Excel file and go to File > New and type “timeline” in the search box. Scroll down the list and choose one that you like.
With the pre-designed templates in Excel, it’s easier and faster to create a visual representation of events. However, your options are limited, the templates can only be used for basic timelines, and you’ll still need to invest a lot of time in customization to make your timelines look professional.
Alternatively, you can look at using an automated timeline maker, such as Office Timeline, to generate timelines instantly. This tool allows for Excel data use by import or copy-paste. With just a few clicks, your timeline is ready, and you can use it in your Excel file as an image or as an embedded PowerPoint slide, easy to update as soon as the original slide changes. Office Timeline offers a free trial that comes with a set of built-in templates. Here is a quick preview of a part of the templates it includes:
Learn more on making timelines in PowerPoint using Excel data in our tutorial on how to automatically make a great looking timeline from Excel.
Does Google Docs have a timeline template?
No, Google Docs does not have any pre-designed timeline templates. You can find some timeline templates in other tools on Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), such as Google Slides and Google Sheets. Alternatively, use a free online professional tool such as Office Timeline Online, and take advantage of its rich library of easily customizable templates. Just pick the one that you like, customize it with a few clicks, and get a head start on your project.
Are there templates in Google Sheets?
There are a couple of timeline templates available in Google Sheets. To find them, click on Template gallery at the top right. There aren’t a lot of options to choose from, and the design is simplistic, with only a few functionalities.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for complex templates that you can turn into unique timelines, you might want to try Office Timeline Online, a professional, easy-to use timeline maker with a free version. Just pick one of the customizable templates and get a head start on your project. For example:
Does Google Slides have a timeline template?
Google Slides offers several timeline templates that can be used for different purposes. There are timelines for history, project management, and even personal use. To find them, go to Insert > Diagram > Timeline.
Choose a timeline from the templates collection that opens on the right. The templates are easy to use and can be customized to fit your needs, but your options are limited to just a few items per timeline and a short range of colors.
Alternatively, you can use a free, professional timeline maker for imaginative, multipurpose templates, ease of use and improved functionality. Go to Office Timeline Online and pick one of the dozens of templates in the tool’s template library, insert your data, and your timeline is ready to use.
The timelines created with Office Timeline Online can be downloaded as images (.png files) or PowerPoint slides (.pptx files). You can then import the slides into your Google Slides presentation or copy-paste your images directly into the target Google document.
Find more detailed info on using this tool in our support article Office Timeline Online Quick-Start.
Does Word have timeline templates?
No, Microsoft Word does not include timeline templates as part of its built-in templates. However, there are many timeline templates available online that can be downloaded and used as images in your Word document. An easy solution is to use an automated professional timeline maker such asOffice Timelineto generate the timeline that you need with just a few clicks. Try the premium edition of this tool for free and take advantage of its rich template collection.
Ideally, you would make your presentation in PowerPoint to benefit from the specific features of this complex presentation software. With Office Timeline, you get presentation-ready timelines with just a few clicks. However, should you need to use your timeline in a Microsoft Word document, you can do so easily by including it as an image or an embedded object that can be updated whenever the PowerPoint file changes.
How do I add a timeline template to PowerPoint?
To add a timeline template to your PowerPoint presentation, open a new PowerPoint file, go to File > New and search for "timeline" in the search bar. This will bring up the available timeline templates that you can choose from, based on your needs and the purpose of your presentation. The limitations here might be the lack of variety and functionality and the average looks of the timelines that are suggested in the built-in templates collection.
If you want an easy solution that yields excellent results with minimum effort, you can use an automated, professional timeline maker such as Office Timeline. You can try Office Timeline for free for 14 days. It comes with an extensive template collection that makes timeline creation simple and friendly. You just pick a template, insert your data (manually, by importing or copy-pasting) and then automatically generate great-looking timelines that are easy to make and easy to understand by any audience, tech-savvy or not.
For more design ideas and a variety of use suggestions, browse our collection of timeline templates. You can download them for free, easily customize them and update the information to create your own timeline.
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Updating your template is simple and fast.
Use the Office Timeline PowerPoint add-in to quickly update any of these timeline templates or create your own project visuals. Easily change the texts, dates, colors, shapes and styles of your timeline, right from inside PowerPoint.
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Or try our online timeline maker.