What is a Timeline?

The Timeline shows campaigns as color-coded bars across weeks—overlap, durations, and date moves—without listing every communication. Open Timeline in the sidebar (desktop). Full guide: Timeline. Use the Calendar for channel-level scheduling.

Plan: Viewing, filters, View, and Quick Add Campaign on Essentials and Plus. Drag/resize campaign bars needs Plus.

Roles: Owners, Admins, Managers, Editors. Viewers don’t get Timeline in the sidebar. See User Permissions and Roles.

Why Does Timeline Matter for Church Communications?

It shows how campaigns stack across seasons so you can spot overlaps, gaps, and duration changes before you dig into every communication.

How Does Timeline Work in Communicate?

Layout: Eight weeks (56 days). Week bands + day letters. Week start from User settings → Profile → Start of Week (Sunday / Monday). Overlapping bars stack. Drafts can show a Draft pill when View → Drafts is on.

Interactions

1. Quick Add Campaign (Essentials + Plus) — Date row hint Quick Add Campaign (click & drag) → New Campaign → Create; stay on Timeline.
2. Move / extend / shorten (Plus) — Drag bar or edges; Date Changes modal → Confirm / Cancel. Shorten may offer Unscheduled or Delete for out-of-range communications.
3. Click — Opens the campaign page.

Also: Filter (Categories, Campaigns); View (Global/Campus when multi-campus applies, Drafts); nav step 1 week / jump 7 weeks / Today. Global campaigns may be locked for drag in a campus workspace (multi-campus Plus).

When Should You Use Timeline?

Strategic campaign layout, Quick Add date ranges, and (Plus) shifting campaign windows. Use Calendar for day/channel detail.

Related Terms

• Campaign · Calendar · Category
• Draft Status · Communication Schedule

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Timeline vs Calendar?
A: Timeline = campaign bars and durations. Calendar = communications by channel and date.

Q: See communications on Timeline?
A: No—open the campaign or use Calendar / Communication Schedule.

Q: Shorten and communications fall outside the range?
A: Date Changes offers set out-of-range items to Unscheduled (dates cleared, draft to reschedule) or Delete. Confirm to apply.

Q: Filters?
A: Filter by Categories and Campaigns (not channels). Non-matches fade but stay interactive.

Q: How far can I scroll?
A: No hard limit—step or jump weeks indefinitely.

Q: Week start?
A: Same as Calendar—User settings → Profile → Start of Week (not a separate “Calendar Preferences”).

Q: Create from Timeline?
A: Quick Add on the date row → fill New Campaign → Create.