Track project progress with a timeline.
Timelines help you plan for and chart the progress of your projects. Creating a timeline in Word enables you to not only establish milestones and task assignments, but also update or modify these items as well. Making a basic chart and saving it as a Microsoft Word template can also save you time on future projects, as you will have a timeline document into which you can input specific details for each project.
Instructions
1. Start Word and open a new document. Change the page orientation so that the timeline fits onto the page better by clicking the "Page Layout" tab, then clicking "Orientation" in the Setup group and choosing "Landscape."
2. Click on the "Insert" tab and select "SmartArt" in the Illustrations group. Click "Process" in the left pane of the Choose a SmartArt Graphic window. Click on an option to preview it, then click "OK" to open the graphic you want to use.
3. Position the timeline where you want it on the page. Click on the SmartArt graphic, then click the "Format" tab under SmartArt tools. Click "Position" in the Arrange group and choose the option you want to use, such as "Position in Middle Center with Square Text Wrapping."
4. Add other basic details, such as your name in the header or footer of the page. Click the "Insert" tab and select "Header" or "Footer" to add a custom header or footer. You can also change the appearance of the graphic by clicking the timeline to select it, clicking the "Design" tab under SmartArt Tools, then choosing the design options you wish to apply, such as colors, layouts or 3-D effects.
5. Click the "File" tab, select "Save As," enter a name for the template in the "File Name" box, then choose "Word Template (.dotx)" in the "Save as Type" box.
6. Click the arrow to the left of "Microsoft Word" at the top of the left pane in the Save As window, select "Templates," then click "Save" to create your custom timeline template.
