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Appearance Settings - Date Formats

The Date Formats settings control how dates are written on your timeline, in the list below it, and in the date picker you use when editing events.

To reach these settings, click the Appearance button above your timeline and open the Date Format section.

Event Date Format

Preceden will use this format when displaying an event's dates on the timeline, as well as in the list below the timeline.

The default option, Unformatted, shows each date exactly the way you typed it when you set the event's dates. You may prefer something more consistent on the timeline itself. For example, instead of the full date like "May 18, 2021" you may want "May 18" or "5/18".

We recommend choosing an option other than Unformatted so that every date reads the same way, no matter how it was entered.

Don't see the format you need? Email [email protected] and we'll consider adding it.

Date Picker Format

Preceden will use this format for the date picker and when you change an event's dates with drag and drop.

Language

The language you choose here determines the language of the event date picker, as well as the language of the dates shown on the timeline and in the list below it.

When you sign up for an account, Preceden automatically sets this based on your browser's language settings. When you create a new timeline, we'll use the same language you used for the last timeline you worked on.

Approximate Format

Choose whether approximate dates appear on your timeline with a leading Approx. or a leading ~:

  • Approx. March 3, 2021
  • ~March 3, 2021

Week Start

When your timeline uses weeks for the scale, this setting determines whether each week starts on Sunday or Monday.

Quarter Format

When your timeline uses quarters for the scale, this setting determines how each quarter is labeled:

  • Months (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct)
  • Numbers (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
  • Seasons (Winter, Spring, etc)

Fiscal Year Start

This setting determines which month Q1 starts in: January, April, July, or October. For example, the US federal government's fiscal year runs from October 1 of one calendar year through September 30 of the next, so an October start lines your quarters up with it.

It only has an effect when Quarter Format is set to Numbers (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) and the timeline is using quarters for the scale.