Obvious/Help Center

Timeline / Gantt Views

Published February 27, 2026 · Last updated March 7, 2026 · 3 min read

A timeline turns any sheet with start and end dates into a Gantt-style chart — horizontal bars stretched across a calendar. If you've used project timelines in tools like Asana or Monday, this works the same way, except it's connected directly to your sheet data.

Create a Timeline

The quickest way: ask the agent.

Show my project plan as a timeline

The agent creates the timeline, picks your date and title fields automatically, and opens it. You can adjust the field mapping from there.

To create one manually:

  1. Click + in the project sidebar, then select Timeline.

  2. Choose the sheet you want to visualize. Pick one that has at least one date field — ideally two (a start date and an end date).

  3. Obvious creates the timeline and maps your fields automatically. Each record becomes a bar on the chart.

Tip: Timelines work best with sheets that have separate start and end date fields. If your sheet uses a single date-range field, Obvious reads both dates from that one column.

How Date Fields Map

Obvious automatically detects start, end, title, and content fields from your sheet to map to the timeline bars. If the automatic mapping isn't quite right, you can easily reassign these fields using the Configure Timeline sidebar.

Drag to Resize and Move Bars

Bars aren't just for looking at — you can drag them to change dates directly. You can move a bar to shift both its start and end dates, or resize it by dragging its edges to adjust either the start or end date. Single-day events appear as diamond markers that can also be dragged.

Every drag updates the underlying sheet record instantly. Move a bar from March to April, and the date fields in your sheet change to match.

The timeline shows months along the top and days below. You can scroll horizontally to move through time, and a vertical line marks the current date.

Color-Code Your Bars

Bars can be colored by any enum or select field in your sheet, such as status or priority. Open the Configure Timeline sidebar and set the Color by field dropdown to apply colors, with a legend appearing below the toolbar.

Add and Edit Records

Double-click any bar to open the record editor, or click the '+' button in the sidebar to add a new record, with changes updating immediately on the chart.

Timeline vs. Calendar

Both views show dates, but they solve different problems:

  • Timeline — Best when records have a start and end date. Project plans, roadmaps, sprint schedules, anything with duration. You see how long things take and where they overlap.
  • Calendar — Best when records have a single date. Events, deadlines, meetings, milestones. You see what's happening on a given day.

How It Connects to Your Sheet

A timeline is a view, not a copy. It reads from the same sheet data and writes back to it:

  • One sheet, many views. Create timelines, boards, and calendars from the same sheet without duplicating data.
  • Changes go both ways. Edits in the sheet move bars on the timeline, and dragging bars updates the sheet.
  • Bars need dates. Records without valid start or end dates won't appear; fill in dates to show them.

Next Steps

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