This is a great place for you to get an introduction to the xamTimeline™ control, and its key features and functionalities. The topics in this section will give you a better idea of why you would want to use xamTimeline in your applications.
The xamTimeline control is intended for displaying sequential series of events. The control allows for data binding as well as manual data manipulation so you can quickly display information that your end-users will easily be able to visualize and understand.
There are two different types of timelines available:
Numeric - Displays Time values of type Double.
DateTime - Displays Time values of type DateTime.
Each time series is capable of displaying a Title, Time, Duration, and Details for an event point. The Title describes the entry, the Time marks its point in the timeline, the Duration specifies the time span for an event, and the Details displays the full description of the event. The details of an event is shown when the thumb is placed over the event point.
The following are some of the features available for xamTimeline:
Data Display - Display chronological and sequential data as data points on an interactive axis. Each data point displays its title if there is enough room or the point is colored yellow if zooming is required to see the information.
Interactivity – Each timeline is interactive, allowing your end-users to select and find the information that they need. Each event point in xamTimeline can be clicked, moving the thumb to that point and displaying the detailed information.
Timeline Comparison – You may have multiple sequences of events on one single control, allowing you to compare events in multiple timelines.
Full Customization – Every element of xamTimeline can be styled, allowing you to create every timeline with a unique look and feel.
The xamTimeline control supports Anti-Collision Event Titles using the control’s EventTitleLayoutSettings property. This feature causes the event titles to be arranged in the available space so that the maximum number of titles is positioned in a manner so they do not overlap. The titles that cannot fit in the timeline area are removed and their event points/spans on the axis are rendered with different fill rendering (hollow by default). For more information on how to use Event Title Layout Settings refer to Change Event Title Layout for Time Series.
The Series is the part of xamTimeline that determines what kind of data (numeric or time values) will be displayed on the timeline. There are two types of Series: NumericTimeSeries and DateTimeSeries. Each one corresponds to their respective axis type and to their respective collection type of entries. For more information refer to the Date Time Series topic.
The xamTimeline control can be styled in a number of ways, starting from changing the control background all the way through styling of individual event titles or event points. You can also create custom styles for all elements of the series collection, timeline axis, and timeline legend objects.