Timelines in ArcGIS Pro Layouts

362
1
04-30-2023 08:24 AM
Status: Open
Labels (1)
MichaelBalson
New Contributor II

I am a big fan of the Timelines function in ArcGIS Pro Intelligence (hoping it makes its way into the standard ArcGIS Pro set-up in the near future). The timeline tool could definitely do with a few additional functionalities in terms of analysis. but the main drawback is that it doesn't integrate with the ArcGIS Pro Layouts.

The export function on the Timeline is only capable of exporting the timeline as displayed into a low-res PNG, whereas ideally I would like to integrate the timeline into the Layout view, and to be able to perform a variety of cosmetic adjustments, such as moving labels, and offsetting coincident points in order to present a visually appealing version of the timeline on a graphic, without having to compromise the temporal integrity of the timeline structure.

At present, if i wanted to incorporate a timeline onto a map-product, i would likely just build it in Layout view manually using graphic elements, and then rely on the ruler markings to ensure everything is spaced according to the correct temporal separation. Therefore even just allowing a ruler setting which is based on equivalent time interval, rather than cm or inches, would be useful

1 Comment
MichaelBalson

Having been playing with the Timelines further, I feel there are also a few other elements of functionality that would really enhance their usefulness:

  • The ability to be able to better control the order of the lanes - at present they seem to be based on default ordering rules which cant easily be manipulated.

  • The ability to add sub-lanes for different sub-categories of data.
  • The ability to be able to add mark-ups and annotations to the timeline (similar to the guide ropes on graphs, but also with greater use of other layout elements such as text and shapes)