Event Timelines Share Share via LinkedIn Reddit Email Copy Link Print On This Page Tip: Interface patterns give you an opportunity to explore different interface designs. Be sure to check out How to Adapt a Pattern for Your Application. Goal Use the event timeline pattern to display a dated list of events and actions in chronological order. This pattern uses a combination of cards, rich text, and user images to show an easy to navigate list of dated events. This page explains how you can use this pattern in your interface, and walks through the design structure in detail. Design structure This page will break down the event timeline and event timeline (detailed) pattern expressions so you can better understand how to adapt these patterns to your own data so that it works to best suit your needs. Event timeline The main components in this pattern are columns layouts, card layouts, side by side layouts, user images, and rich text. The image below displays how the pattern looks on a blank interface with callouts for the main components. You can examine the entire expression or jump down to the subsections below with referenced line numbers to see a detailed breakdown of the main components. Pattern expression When you drag and drop the event timeline pattern onto your interface, 109 lines of expressions will be added to the section where you dragged it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 { a!localVariables( local!eventTimeline: { a!map( date: today(), events: { a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:40 PM"), a!map(user: "Anthony Wu", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "11:03 AM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "10:25 AM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "08:19 AM") } ), a!map( date: today() - 1, events: { a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "05:49 PM"), a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:44 AM"), a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:10 PM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "12:52 AM"), a!map(user: "Anthony Wu", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "09:33 AM") } ) }, { a!forEach( items: local!eventTimeline, expression: a!columnsLayout( columns: { a!columnLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: day(fv!item.date), size: "LARGE" ), char(10), upper(text(fv!item.date, "MMM")) }, align: "CENTER" ) }, width: "EXTRA_NARROW" ), a!columnLayout( contents: { a!forEach( items: fv!item.events, expression: a!cardLayout( contents: { a!sideBySideLayout( items: { a!sideBySideItem( item: a!imageField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", images: a!userImage(), size: "SMALL", style: "AVATAR" ), width: "MINIMIZE" ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.user, link: a!userRecordLink(), linkStyle: "STANDALONE", size: "MEDIUM", style: "STRONG" ), a!richTextItem( text: " " & fv!item.event, size: "MEDIUM" ) } ) ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.time, color: "SECONDARY", size: "MEDIUM" ) } ), width: "MINIMIZE" ) }, alignvertical: "MIDDLE" ) }, marginBelow: "STANDARD" ) ) } ) }, marginbelow: "NONE" ) ) } ) } [Line 1-23] Define local variables and mappings The local variables at the top of the expression are used to define the data that will be displayed for each event in the timeline, as well as map together the user information, time of the event, and description of the event. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 { a!localVariables( local!eventTimeline: { a!map( date: today(), events: { a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:40 PM"), a!map(user: "Anthony Wu", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "11:03 AM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "10:25 AM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "08:19 AM") } ), a!map( date: today() - 1, events: { a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "05:49 PM"), a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:44 AM"), a!map(user: "Bree Mercer", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "02:10 PM"), a!map(user: "John Smith", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "12:52 AM"), a!map(user: "Anthony Wu", event: "edited the customer record for Acme Corporation", time: "09:33 AM") } ) }, [Line 24-45] Format the month and day display This section opens up the a!forEach() expression and columns layout which define the timeline's structure. Using a!forEach(), we can define the expression for an event one time and have the function iterate through that same expression for each event instance. This section also contains the expression which displays the day and month that each event takes place. The dates are made up of rich text in a column layout with a few functions to configure how the dates are displayed. On line 35, the day() function is used to convert the date and time value defined in the local variable into a single number(integer) value. On line 39, the text() function is used to convert the date and time value defined in the local variable into a text value. The MMM format in this expression formats the month into a three letter abbreviation:dec. The text() function is wrapped in the upper() function, which converts text values to uppercase: DEC. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 { a!forEach( items: local!eventTimeline, expression: a!columnsLayout( columns: { a!columnLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: day(fv!item.date), size: "LARGE" ), char(10), upper(text(fv!item.date, "MMM")) }, align: "CENTER" ) }, width: "EXTRA_NARROW" ), [Line 46-109] Configure the event display This section defines the expression that will be iterated through for each event in the timeline. The events are made up of a user image in the "AVATAR" style, the user's name and a link to their user record, a description of the event, and the time of the event. The user name, event description, and the time of the event are all displayed in rich text. The rich text and user image are all in a side by side layout contained within a card. 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 a!columnLayout( contents: { a!forEach( items: fv!item.events, expression: a!cardLayout( contents: { a!sideBySideLayout( items: { a!sideBySideItem( item: a!imageField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", images: a!userImage(), size: "SMALL", style: "AVATAR" ), width: "MINIMIZE" ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.user, link: a!userRecordLink(), linkStyle: "STANDALONE", size: "MEDIUM", style: "STRONG" ), a!richTextItem( text: " " & fv!item.event, size: "MEDIUM" ) } ) ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.time, color: "SECONDARY", size: "MEDIUM" ) } ), width: "MINIMIZE" ) }, alignvertical: "MIDDLE" ) }, marginBelow: "STANDARD" ) ) } ) }, marginbelow: "NONE" ) ) } ) } Event timeline (detailed) This pattern is a more detailed version of the Event timeline pattern. Pattern expression When you drag and drop the Event timeline (detailed) pattern onto your interface, 270 lines of expressions will be added to the section where you dragged it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 { a!localVariables( local!historyDetails: { a!map( updatedBy: "Karen Anderson", updatedDate: today()-1, updatedTime: time(15, 38), caseId: 12345, fields: { a!map(name: "Status", oldValue: "Active", newValue: "Closed"), a!map(name: "Closed On", oldValue: null, newValue: today()-1) } ), a!map( updatedBy: "Joel Guzman", updatedDate: today()-1, updatedTime: time(14, 4), caseId: 12344, fields: { a!map(name: "Description", oldValue: "Issue with joint savings account", newValue: "Unable to create joint savings account"), a!map(name: "Account", oldValue: "Checking", newValue: "Savings") } ), a!map( updatedBy: "Karen Anderson", updatedDate: today()-1, updatedTime: time(11, 19), caseId: 12343, fields: { a!map(name: "Title", oldValue: "Set up individual checking account", newValue: "Set up new joint savings account"), a!map(name: "Status", oldValue: "Pending", newValue: "Active"), } ), a!map( updatedBy: "Joel Guzman", updatedDate: today()-2, updatedTime: time(15, 38), caseId: 12345, fields: { a!map(name: "Description", oldValue: "Issue with checking account", newValue: "Issue with joint savings account"), a!map(name: "Contact", oldValue: "Priti Jagodara", newValue: "Joel Guzman") } ), a!map( updatedBy: "Tracy Zimmerman", updatedDate: today()-2, updatedTime: time(14, 4), caseId: 12344, fields: { a!map(name: "Assignee", oldValue: null, newValue: "Karen Anderson"), a!map(name: "Status", oldValue: "New", newValue: "Pending"), } ), a!map( updatedBy: "Tracy Zimmerman", updatedDate: today()-2, updatedTime: time(11, 19), caseId: 12343, fields: { a!map(name: "Title", oldValue: "Checking account", newValue: "Set up individual checking account"), a!map(name: "Contact", oldValue: null, newValue: "Priti Jagodara") } ) }, /* Get unique event date values */ local!eventDates: union(local!historyDetails.updatedDate, local!historyDetails.updatedDate), a!columnsLayout( columns: { a!columnLayout( contents: { a!forEach( items: local!eventDates, expression: a!columnsLayout( columns: { a!columnLayout( contents: { a!cardLayout( contents: { a!cardLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: text(fv!item, "MMM"), align: "CENTER" ) }, style: "ACCENT", padding: "EVEN_LESS", showBorder: false ), a!cardLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: day(fv!item), size: "MEDIUM_PLUS", style: "STRONG" ) }, align: "CENTER" ) }, padding: "EVEN_LESS", showBorder: false ) }, padding: "NONE", marginBelow: "STANDARD" ) }, width: "EXTRA_NARROW" ), a!columnLayout( contents: { a!forEach( items: index( local!historyDetails, wherecontains( fv!item, local!historyDetails.updatedDate ) ), expression: a!columnsLayout( columns: { a!columnLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: fv!item.updatedTime, align: "RIGHT" ), a!richTextDisplayField(labelPosition: "COLLAPSED") } ), a!columnLayout( contents: { a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.updatedBy, color: "ACCENT", style: "STRONG" ), " ", "edited record", " ", a!richTextItem( text: "Case" & " " & fv!item.caseId, color: "ACCENT" ) } ), a!sideBySideLayout( items: { a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: upper("Field"), color: "SECONDARY" ) } ) ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: upper("Old Value"), color: "SECONDARY" ) } ), width: "2X" ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: upper("New Value"), color: "SECONDARY" ) } ), width: "2X" ) }, marginBelow: "NONE" ), a!forEach( items: index(fv!item, "fields", {}), expression: a!sideBySideLayout( items: { a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: fv!item.name, style: "STRONG" ) }, preventWrapping: true ) ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: if( a!isNullOrEmpty(fv!item.oldValue), char(8211), fv!item.oldValue ) ) }, preventWrapping: true ), width: "2X" ), a!sideBySideItem( item: a!richTextDisplayField( labelPosition: "COLLAPSED", value: { a!richTextItem( text: if( a!isNullOrEmpty(fv!item.newValue), char(8211), fv!item.newValue ) ) }, preventWrapping: true ), width: "2X" ) }, marginBelow: "EVEN_LESS" ) ), a!richTextDisplayField(marginAbove: "EVEN_LESS", marginBelow: "STANDARD") }, width: "MEDIUM_PLUS" ) }, marginBelow: "NONE", spacing: "SPARSE", showDividers: true ) ) } ) }, marginBelow: "NONE" ) ) }, width: "WIDE" ) } ) ) } Feedback Was this page helpful? 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