{"id":1232862,"date":"2021-05-20T03:00:20","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T10:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1232862"},"modified":"2023-03-10T14:36:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T22:36:12","slug":"storymaps-timeline-block","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/constituent-engagement\/storymaps-timeline-block","title":{"rendered":"A timely new block in ArcGIS StoryMaps"},"author":32401,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37131],"tags":[398132,706371,27881,760432],"industry":[],"product":[36611,380802],"class_list":["post-1232862","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-constituent-engagement","tag-arcgis-storymaps","tag-storymaps","tag-storytelling","tag-timeline","product-story-maps","product-arcgis-storymaps"],"acf":{"short_description":"Learn about ArcGIS StoryMaps' timeline block and some creative ways to use it. ","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

This post was ghostwritten by Lee Bock, an application programmer on Esri’s StoryMaps team.<\/em><\/p>\n

_______________<\/p>\n

Has this ever happened to you?<\/h2>\n

So, there you are\u2026burning the midnight oil to knock out a story about the Battle of New Orleans. You\u2019ve got some great maps and a killer portrait of British Major General Sir Edward Pakenham. Your copy is coming together quite nicely as well. To pull the whole thing together, though, what you really<\/em> need is a good way to lay out the battle\u2019s chronology.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1234622,"id":1234622,"title":"pakenham","filename":"pakenham.jpg","filesize":24045,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/constituent-engagement\/storymaps-timeline-block\/pakenham","alt":"Early 19th century British Major General Edward Pakenham","author":"32401","description":"","caption":"Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, who led the British at the Battle of New Orleans","name":"pakenham","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1232862,"date":"2021-05-17 23:35:22","modified":"2021-05-17 23:36:30","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":284,"height":348,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","medium-width":213,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","medium_large-width":284,"medium_large-height":348,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","large-width":284,"large-height":348,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","1536x1536-width":284,"1536x1536-height":348,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","2048x2048-width":284,"2048x2048-height":348,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","card_image-width":284,"card_image-height":348,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pakenham.jpg","wide_image-width":284,"wide_image-height":348}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

Sure, you could<\/em> enumerate the major plot points in a paragraph or two, but your readers will be cranky. Whose brain can be bothered to scan and parse text to construct a sequence of events? You\u2019ll be booed off the stage at the next history club meeting!<\/p>\n

A bulleted list, then? Come on\u2026where\u2019s your sense of style? More like the Battle of New Snore<\/em>leans (snort).<\/p>\n

You might spend a few hours using a graphics program to create a slick timeline image\u2014if you have the know-how. But even that option, though visually appealing, still leaves a lot to be desired: How will the image look on mobile devices?\u00a0 And what about accessibility? Screen readers can\u2019t make much sense of a png\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A new block, just in time<\/h2>\n

Enter the new ArcGIS StoryMaps timeline block! This block provides a fun and intuitive way to add chronological visualizations to your story in a more flexible and dynamic presentation than static images or purely text-based lists can offer.<\/p>\n

Storytellers can enter up to 20 “events” in a vertical chain, and can accompany each event with an image, if desired. You can also add a spacer in between events if you want to indicate that a particular lapse in time is longer relative to others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1234632,"id":1234632,"title":"tl_screenshot1","filename":"tl_screenshot1.png","filesize":38209,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/constituent-engagement\/storymaps-timeline-block\/tl_screenshot1","alt":"A screenshot of a sample timeline block in ArcGIS StoryMaps, with annotations showing that images and spacers can be added to the block","author":"32401","description":"","caption":"","name":"tl_screenshot1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1232862,"date":"2021-05-17 23:47:15","modified":"2021-05-17 23:48:06","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":348,"height":374,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","medium-width":243,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","medium_large-width":348,"medium_large-height":374,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","large-width":348,"large-height":374,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","1536x1536-width":348,"1536x1536-height":374,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","2048x2048-width":348,"2048x2048-height":374,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","card_image-width":348,"card_image-height":374,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tl_screenshot1.png","wide_image-width":348,"wide_image-height":374}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

Note that images added to a timeline block are set to fill the allotted space, meaning that they may be cropped, depending on their aspect ratio. You can always change the focal point<\/a> of the image in the image options<\/strong> (little gear button) to ensure that the most important part of the image will be visible.<\/p>\n

Think of the possibilities!<\/h2>\n

Sure, epic historical sagas are all the rage. But there are so many other ways to apply the timeline block as a storytelling device.<\/p>\n