Timeline automations (assign beginning and end date)

Feature requests
,
1

Description

Timeline automations (assign beginning and end date)

While I realize this can be done with integrations, I do try to keep things less complicated, and I prefer to use native tools when posssible.

What are you trying to achieve

I’d liek to be able to use a timeline without manually setting dates.

2

Sandy, could you explain a bit more about what you mean by “without automations” and also without manually setting the timeline?

A timeline column needs a start date and an end date, so if neither an automation nor a manual entry is setting those, it would help to understand what you expect to drive the dates.

For example, are you hoping the timeline would be calculated from something like:

  • a duration column (number of days)

  • dependencies between tasks

  • another date column

  • some kind of status change

Without some source or trigger, the system still needs a way to determine where the start and end dates come from.

One approach some teams use without automations is combining:

  • a Timeline column

  • a Duration (days) column

  • Dependencies

In that setup you typically set the first task’s timeline, define how long tasks should take, and then dependencies shift the downstream timelines automatically when something moves.

This article explains how dependencies behave and how timelines can shift when predecessor items change:
https://support.monday.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007402599-Dependencies-on-monday-com

If you can clarify what you mean by not using automations and not setting the dates manually, it will help the community suggest a practical way to approach it.

3

Hi @sandy459333
This isn’t currently possible using native automations alone, monday.com does not yet support automatically setting both start and end dates of a Timeline column based on logic (like duration, triggers, or other dates) without manual input.

However, you can fully automate this using Make Automation

How it would work

A Make scenario can run when an item is created or updated and then:

  • Calculate the start date (e.g., today, another date column, or a trigger event)

  • Calculate the end date (e.g., start date + duration, deadline − X days, etc.)

  • Write both values directly into the Timeline column

    As a complimentary, here is our magic link to get 1 Month Pro plan free (10,000 operations)
    https://www.make.com/en/register?pc=msquare

    If you need any implementation support kindly contact us

    MSquare Support
    Visit us here
    Youtube Channel