Preceden has been such a helpful tool for learning about history. The layers and color options allow me to see the historical context of an event at a glance. The collaboration feature makes it even more powerful because I can build complex timelines with my fellow students.
Create Timelines for Free
Our free plan lets you create unlimited timelines, whether the subject is ancient Rome, the history of computers, or the major events of World War II.
Improve Your Historical Knowledge
A Preceden timeline shows the relationships between historical events at a glance, which makes it a far more effective learning tool than a long list of dates.
Make Your Timeline in Minutes
Preceden's interface is simple and intuitive, so a stunning timeline visualization takes only a few minutes to put together.
Share With Ease
When your timeline is finished, share it as a link, a PDF, an image, a CSV, or a PowerPoint file, or present it in our built-in presentation mode.
Everything You Need to Create a History Timeline
Here's what students can do with Preceden.
Drag and Drop
Reposition events in seconds to adjust how your timeline is organized.
Zoom
View all events at once or zoom in to focus on a specific historical era.
Connections
Draw connecting lines between related events to show how they fit together.
Bulk Editor
Add and edit many historical events at once in a spreadsheet-like grid, instead of one at a time.
Time Support
Specify the exact times events started and ended to build more granular timelines.
Privacy Controls
Control who can see your timeline by making it private, password-protected, or accessible via a secret URL.
Images
Upload images or search the web for Creative Commons photos to display on your timelines.
Themes
Apply one of our built-in themes to change how a timeline looks.
Approximate Dates
Mark event dates as approximate to signal to viewers that the exact date is unknown.
Search & Filter
Search a crowded history timeline to show only the events you care about.
Optional End Dates
Events with an end date appear as a bar; events without one appear as a single icon.
Icons
Choose from over 4,600 icons to better convey what events represent.
Notes
Attach notes to an event, a layer, or the timeline as a whole to record extra detail.
BC Dates
Chart events from thousands of years ago using BC dates.
Date Picker
Pick a date from the calendar, or type it in when you want control over the format.
What Students and Teachers Are Saying About Preceden
I have my AP World History students create a timeline for each period where they include the major events, the cause and the effect of the event, and why they chose that event. My students love Preceden because it is so easy to use and helps to visually see what we talk about in class.
Preceden has proven an extremely useful tool for both organizing and displaying data for my dissertation research. The simple-to-use interface offers the exact functionality that I need without distractions.
I am also a homeschooling parent and was looking for an app to use for history studies. My main criteria were for the app to be online and simple to use. I evaluated at least five different downloadable apps and several online versions. The downloadable apps were way too complicated to use, and the online apps were mostly meant for social sharing. Preceden is extremely easy to use and it lets me focus on my studies and not on the mechanics of organizing my notes.
I use Preceden to create an embedded 12-week schedule for my students so they can get an overview of what's coming next. Also, to create a weekly timeline for classes, tasks and assignments as well as a visualization of the various potential learning paths available for my prospective students. I love the simple, clean design and the detailed data that appears in the event list below the visualization. There are also multiple color and layout options available to customize the look and feel of your timelines.
FAQs about Preceden
How do I make a timeline with Preceden?
After you sign up, you'll pick a starting layout and color theme, then name the timeline. As you add events, Preceden updates the timeline visualization automatically. New timelines are private until you choose to share them.
Why choose Preceden?
Students choose Preceden for its straightforward interface and visualization features, which make history timelines quick to create and share. There is no fumbling with pencil and paper, and no hours spent learning another tool.
Can I create a timeline for free?
Yes, you can sign up and create unlimited history timelines with up to 10 events each for free. We have paid plans that let you add unlimited events and also provide more advanced functionality.
What if I have more questions?
Browse our support docs for answers, or drop us a note anytime and we'll get back to you shortly: [email protected]
Preceden for Other Kinds of Timelines
Preceden is built for more than one kind of timeline. Here's what else people use it for.
- Project Management Plan and communicate project schedules.
- Legal Cases Build case chronologies attorneys can share.
- Research Map out historical and academic research.
- Fiction Writing Track characters, plots, and fictional histories.
- Timeline Templates Start from a ready-made layout instead of a blank page.