The timeline is the tool that lets you create, edit and share your schedule using the available blocks. The timeline is also the app’s central point, where you can move between different blocks and access the entire production.
Your production schedule can be viewed as a timeline, a calendar (feature coming in 2021) or a Gantt chart (feature coming in 2021). Editing is always done as a timeline. Once it has been saved, the schedule can be viewed in different ways. To make changes, click the ‘Expand’ button on the timeline. This will make the timeline fill the screen, opening the edit page. At the top right, click on the icon to select a viewing mode: Timeline, Graph or Calendar.
Blocks make up the production stages. They can be selected from library of blocks, available from the timeline in Edit mode.
There are two types of block: Customisable blocks and preset blocks.
There are five customisable blocks – one for each type of content: video, audio, text, image and file.
A preset block is a block with default settings for a given production stage. For example, the Editing block is a customisable video block that has been named ‘Editing’.
To create a production stage from the timeline, first expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the block that you want to use (customisable or preset), then press and hold the mouse button to drag it to the desired location in the timeline. Then, release the mouse button to drop the block into place.
Change the length of a production stage
To change the length of a production stage, first expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the left or right edge of the stage you want to edit, then press and hold the mouse button to drag it to the desired date. When you release the mouse button, the stage will start and end at the set date.
Change the date of a production stage
To change the date of a production stage, first expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the stage you want to edit, then press and hold the mouse button to drag it to the desired date. Then, release the button to place the stage at the desired date.
Change the duration/date of a production stage from the menu
To change the duration or date of a production stage from the menu, first expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the block that you want to edit, and click the three-dot options menu that appears. Clicking ‘Edit’ from that menu will display a pop-up window. From there, you can type the dates into the ‘Start date’ and ‘End date’ boxes or select them from the calendar. Once the changes have been made, click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom right of the window. Your production stage has now been set to the desired dates.
Rename a production stage
To rename a production stage, first expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the block that you want to edit, and click the three-dot options menu that appears. Clicking ‘Edit’ from that menu will display a pop-up window. From there, you can edit the ‘Stage name’ text box. Click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom right of the window. Your production stage has now been renamed.
Expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the block that you want to edit, and click the three-dot options menu that appears. Click ‘Delete’ from that menu. Your production stage has now been deleted.
To add an approval stage to a block, you need to add an approval extension to it. First expand the timeline by clicking the ‘Expand’ button at the top left of the timeline. Then, click ‘Edit’ at the top right of the screen. Hover the mouse over the block and click the three-dot options menu that appears. Click ‘Create approval stage’ from that menu. Finally, you can adjust its length in the same way as a regular block.
To request approval of a stage from a client, click the stage’s approval extension on the timeline. Then, click the ‘Request approval’ button. An email notification will be sent to each client so that one of them can approve the stage. You can request approval as many times as you like.
To delete an entire track, all the production stages on the track need to be deleted first. Once this has been done, a bin icon will be shown to the left of the track when you hover over it. Click the bin icon to delete the track.
