Multiple Linked Timelines not working as expected

[SubPlanner]

Hey All,
           I am having trouble with multiple timelines on a single page. I have a Parent Ruler timeline at the top of the page then I insert a Child Ruler timeline underneath it and linkup the child User.visBeginDate to the parent Ruler timeline!User.visBeginDate and end dates. The begining and end dates of the subordinate timeline change to match the parent but the dates inside the subordinate timeline do not change at all.
     Am I missing something here?

[wapperdude]

Well, a couple of things.  First, the if you look at the shapesheet entries, the values are NOT date formatted.  They are calculated values, buried in the supporting code.  So, you cannot enter literal dates.

2nd, when you drop a timeline, there should be a popup menu asking for begin / end dates.  This is the place to enter such info.  You can always right click on the timeline to access this menu and change dates if desired.

Finally, there is the expanded timeline shape which will place control points on the main timeline and allow you to drag to desired start/end dates.

Wapperdude

[SubPlanner]

Thanks for the response. In  this Visio example, I am linked to an external excel workbook that will control multiple milestones along the timelines, so when excel data changes, I want the milestones to move along the timelines. This does work well for stand alone timelines. I was hoping there was a way to get the date data within the child timeline to not just react logically to the begin and end dates of the parent timeline, Can this be done with some sort of VBA?. I guess I am looking for some automation. I provided another example to show the before and after effects.

In the "Before" snapshot, the Parent has an end date of 8/31/2016.
In the "After" snapshot the Parent has an end date of 12/31/2016.
As you can see in the "After" snapshot, the begin and end dates of the child react to the parent but the dates inside the child timeline do not. This is where I am hoping there is some magic VBA or some other voodoo that can offer the automation I am trying to achieve.


I have the Parent's begin and end dates linked to some hidden milestones that change from time to time from data within the linked excel workbook.

[wapperdude]

Might be possible with vba.

Do a simple test, start macro recorder, then right click timeline to access menu to change start/stop dates, make a change, close the menu, stop the recorder, see if there's any code.  If not, you'll have to dig deeper to see if any vba exists for changing Visio timelines.

Wapperdude

[SubPlanner]

Thanks for the help.

As it turns out, the milestones in the child timelines will line up with the master timeline. My workaround was to remove all reference to dates within the child timelines and just let the parent timeline at the top of the page give the perspective of dates.

SubPlanner