Timeline from start and end date columns

How can we create a column that takes 2 date columns (start and end) and converting them to a timeline field? Didnt think this was necessary but the gantt widgets and calendar only work with timelines otherwise they are unable to display properly.

hi @lebmelvin

There is an app for that in the marketplace called “Start + End = Timeline”

@basdebruin
Will it actually be a timeline column in Monday? If not a Gantt Chart will not population correctly.

hi @dralph

Yes, the app read two dates columns and syncs it to a real monday.com Timeline column.

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Hey @basdebruin - And your app will also work with the new Timeline & Numbers combo (timeline and duration combo columns)? Or no?
~ Deb

hi @PolishedGeek , Deb

Yes, it does work with the new combo (timeline connected to numbers). In fact, since today you can configure bidirectional synching (Dates>Timeline and Timeline>Dates) as the app recognizes infinite loops and breaks the loop after the first sync is done.

With the combo: a timeline change because of the duration change will updates the start and end dates. Changing the dates will update the timeline AND the duration (numbers column).

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I would love to be able to set the timeline for a task and have the end date of the timeline automatically populated the due date for that task. Is this possible?

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Hi @Caleb_Christensen! At the moment, there’s not a way to set an end date on the timeline but we are looking to add this capability. I’d love to understand your use case in more depth so we can understand how to best implement this in the future! Cheers!

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I would also be interested in this feature, we are managing using the timeline mostly but it would be ideal for the due date to automatically populate based on the end of the timeline period - which i turn is moved out but the dependencies.

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We love how timeline columns can be set to deadline mode and sync up with status – great way to plan out workloads over the week. I was bummed to see that the “due date” automations are unavailable to this method of working. Shouldn’t it be that due “due date” = End day of Timeline, for those that are set to deadline mode?

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I have a similar need! We use the timeline more as a reference and sync our final due date to status. I would love for the timeline to automatically calculate with the date the item was created as the start and final due date as end. This way, if the final due date changes, the timeline will change with it.

Ex: Today I input a request for a flyer due March 5th. The timeline would populate from Feb 25-March 5. I then change the due date to March 20, and the timeline automatically updates to reflect that final due date without changing the start date.

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I have a similar need without automation that can be associated with the timeline, the Due Date has to be used. Without some sort of logic you find yourself adding these in 1 by 1.

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Hi Monday fans,

I have imported a long list of budget breakdown (1588 pulses) with a column “Start date” and a column “End date”. I would like to use these two columns as inputs for a new timeline column. Any idea on how to do that?

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Hi @maleroy , Matthieu,

I suggest to use Integromat for this. It is a bit of a learning curve, but I am confident this can be done by iterating through all the items of the board / group and then use the two dates to create a timeline out of it.

I agree that automation of the timeline, or using it as a reference point for dashboards/views would be great. Currently it’s quite annoying to have to select the start/end date of a timeline to add a few days to the end.
Ideally there would be an automation that could pull data from a Date field and auto-populate/update the timeline column with this information.

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Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all of this great input.

While the automations aren’t able to automatically input dates within the timeline at this time, there are a few functions I do want to mention that may be helpful in a few of the scenarios you’ve described:

  • Any automation including “set date” can be set up to automatically input dates into your Date columns. You can find these by searching “set date” in the automation center!
  • We have a few dependency automations that would enable you to adjust existing dates in a timeline or a date column based on changes made in another timeline or date column of the same item. You can find these under the Dependency category in the automation center.

I know these functions will not fit for some cases, and I definitely see the value in being able to automatically set dates within the Timeline column. This is a request that our team is aware of, and we’ll be sure to share updates as we have more information!

I have the same request. I’ve imported a list from Excel originally generated from MS Planner with 2 columns one for start and one for end date. As I understand, I need to convert these to timelines to be able to see it in a Gantt Chart. I won’t do it manually - 1,000+ lines across 10+ boards, and it seems silly to have to use a 3rd party to perform this basic task in a PM software. Any other way of doing this?

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Hi @cgrynberg, @maleroy

I have an app with a feature that uses this configuration sentence:


It is still in development (expect to release it in a few days).

Can you let me know what column types you are using to hold the start and end-dates? Are these monday Date columns or text columns holding a date in a specific format. The feature is currently using monday Data columns but i case you use a specific format please let me know how that format looks like. I can try to incorporate other date formats in this app.

As the conversion is triggered by a status changing to a value (e.g. “Convert”) it can easily be used to change large number of rows in one go as you can multi select the items where you want the conversion to take place.

Hi @cgrynberg, @maleroy

The automation feature is now adde to the app, see Monday app with automations released - #3 by basdebruin
Hope it helps you migrating and converting, have fun!