WPF Timeline Control

A Timeline control for WPF, available for personal or commercial use under the MIT license.

Simple to use, robust and customisable.

Works well .NET Framework 4.6.2+ & .NET 6+

Using the control

1. Install the NuGet package or download the source add add it to your Solution.
2. In your Window or UserControl, add the XAML namespace:

xmlns:tim="clr-namespace:WpfTimelineControl;assembly=WpfTimelineControl"

3. Add the Timeline control:

<Grid>
    <tim:Timeline x:Name="myTimeline" />
</Grid>

4. Through a Data Binding or code-behind, set the Timeline's DataContext:

List<TimelineEntry> entries = new List<TimelineEntry>
{
    new TimelineBar("Event 1", DateTime.Now, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(92), 0),
    new TimelinePoint("Event 2", DateTime.Now, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(17), 1),
};

var timelineBuilder = TimelineBuilderFactory.Create();

var viewModel = timelineBuilder.BuildViewModel(entries.ToArray());

myTimeline.DataContext = viewModel;

Customisation

See the Demo Apps for a demonstration of all the customisation options.

Dependency Properties

• To customise the colours of the timeline entries, set TimelineEntryBrushes:

  <tim:Timeline TimelineEntryBrushes="{StaticResource TimelineItemColors}" />
  
  <Application.Resources>
      <SolidColorBrush x:Key="CorporateColor" Color="#2397D3" />
      <x:Array Type="SolidColorBrush" x:Key="TimelineItemColors">
          <SolidColorBrush Color="{Binding Color,Source={StaticResource CorporateColor1}}" />
          <SolidColorBrush Color="#E9C43B" />
      </x:Array>
  </Application.Resources>
  

  Type: Brush[] Default: { Brushes.Red, Brushes.Green, Brushes.Blue, Brushes.Yellow, Brushes.Magenta }

• To change the colour used for the 'Labels exceed bars' setting, set LabelsExceedBarsSettingColorIndex:

  <tim:Timeline LabelsExceedBarsSettingColorIndex="2" />
  

  Type: int Default: 0

• To choose whether the events' name labels are coloured, set ColoredEntryNameLabels:

  <tim:Timeline ColoredEntryNameLabels="True" />
  

  Type: Boolean Default: True

• The 3 strings used in the control can be translated using NameLabel, StartLabel and EndLabel

  <tim:Timeline NameLabel="{lex:Loc Key=LBL_Name}"
                StartLabel="{lex:Loc Key=LBL_Start}"
                EndLabel="{lex:Loc Key=LBL_End}" />
  

  Type: string Default: "Name", "Start", "End"

• With the top bar hidden, you can fix the LabelsExceedBars setting:

  <tim:Timeline LabelsExceedBars="False" />
  

  Type: Boolean Default: True

ViewModel Properties

• Add a title to the timeline by setting Title:

  viewModel.Title = "Events Today"
  

  Type: string Default: NULL

• Hide the settings controls on the top bar by setting ShowControls:

  viewModel.ShowControls = false
  

  Type: Boolean Default: true

• Hide the longer date interval markers by setting ShowDateMarkers:

  viewModel.ShowDateMarkers = false
  

  Type: Boolean Default: true

• With the top bar hidden, you can fix the PixelsPerInterval setting, which affects the width of each interval and therefore of the timeline control:

  viewModel.PixelsPerInterval = 160;
  

  Type: int Default: 320

• With the top bar hidden, you can fix the MajorIntervalSeconds setting, which sets the timescale represented by each interval:

  viewModel.MajorIntervalSeconds = TimelineConstants.IntervalOptions[3];
  

  Type: int Default: [calculated based on the events]

Static Variables

The TimelineConstants class contains two static variables that control the behaviour of the timeline control.

The TimelineBuilder uses these values, which I have set based on my experience using this control at my previous company, but you may need to tweak them based on your data.

The timeline is always linear; each interval represents the same amount of time. The builder chooses one of the values from the IntervalOptions array, from 10 seconds up to 60 minutes.

The builder calculates the total duration of the events (from the beginning of the first to the end of the last) then divides this by the TimelineScalingFactor and finds the closest value from the options array.

Contributing

Build + Test

I wanted the control to be as widely usable as possible, which means supporting .NET Framework. So it is best to work in Visual Studio 2022.

However, all projects except DemoAppNetFramework can be built with the .NET CLI:

git clone https://github.com/llane12/wpf-timeline.git
cd wpf-timeline
cd WpfTimelineControl
dotnet build

The unit tests can also be run with the .NET CLI:

cd Tests
dotnet test

To build the whole Solution or Publish the control, use Visual Studio.

Submit a pull request

If you would like to contribute, please fork the repository and open a pull request to the develop branch.

Request a customisation

If you would like to see a customisation option added, please open an Issue.