Follow

Timeline won't load...

Just says "Building Dates." I made sure the doc is public and published. I also don't have any empty rows. Help! Here's my spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmPU3dHkrso5dHRqQVJVYXJVelJ4OXVXWGQta3RxZmc&usp=sharing

Was this article helpful?
0 out of 1 found this helpful
Have more questions? Submit a request

47 Comments

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ditton Webmaster

    I also have this problem as posted in my thread here;

    https://knightlab.zendesk.com/entries/30403463-TimelineJS-Not-Working-at-All-to-embed

     

    I get either 'Building dates' or waiting for google docs.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Laura D'Alessandro

    Hi Ditton, yes it is the same problem. Sorry, I didn't notice your thread. Hopefully someone can troubleshoot for us.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ditton Webmaster

    I hope so too, I posted it yesterday but so far no response, it appears to be a common problem, I've tried it on multiple devices & browsers, same problem keeps cropping up!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Laura D'Alessandro

    Ditton, did you ever get any help with yours or figure it out?

  • 0
    Avatar
    Nick Marino

    Anyone figure this out? I just started timeline and I have the same issue, I have double checked everything several times.

     

  • 0
    Avatar
    Laura D'Alessandro

    Oh, I'm sorry guys! I should have posted the solution, which I got by emailing support. It is specific to my timeline, but perhaps it will help!

    Ryan wrote:

    "My hunch is that including "era" in the Type column is causing some trouble. While there is some history in Timeline of using an "era" tag or type, I haven't seen it used in a meaningful way. The only Type of slide that the vast majority of users should worry about is "title," which should always be at the beginning of your timeline. I think the quickest fix for you is to put "title" in the first cell of the Type column and leaving all other cells in that column blank. Also, because you are using single years as the date, be sure that the cells containing the dates are formatted as plain text."

  • 0
    Avatar
    Angela Neff

    When I try to add a  title in row 2 it does not let me. I also cannot edit the Title in tor 1. ISn't the whole point of this field to give the timeline a title?

     

  • 0
    Avatar
    Keven L. Ates

    Here is a JSONP example for using eras--yes, you can have multiple eras:

            "era": [

                {

                    "startDate":"2012,1,1",

                    "endDate":"2012,4,15",

                    "headline":"My Date Era",

                    "tag":"Date"

                },

                {

                    "startDate":"2012,4,30",

                    "endDate":"2012,6,15",

                    "headline":"My Optional Era",

                    "tag":"Optional"

                },

            ],

    When you use them, the headline shows up on the bottom timeline at the start date.  Each era is color coded and the background is colorized for the era's time period.  If a tag is used, only that tag line is colorized.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Axl Zeckai

    Hi there,

    I was really euphoric as I have seen the demo-timeline the first time - now I am much more then disappointed. I have read nearly 3 hours in forums but there is no real help concerning the "Building Dates" - issue. I have 4 dates - nothing special. I wanted to embed it on my wordpress-site. First without plug-in . . . no go . . . . then with plugin . . . same result . . . I published the sheet, I embeded it, I got the code, and I got paralyzed by staring at "BUILDING DATES" . . . . .

     

    Oh and I ONLY got "title" . . . . so is there any help out there? PLEASE!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Joe Germuska

    When your Timeline isn't working, the best step to ask for help is to provide a link to the spreadsheet you're using. Most times the problem is an error in the spreadsheet, so if we can look at it, we might be able to help you find it.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Axl Zeckai

    Dear Joe,

    I solved the problem -  I got too many "titles" in the row. I deletetd them and now everything is fine. :)

     

  • 0
    Avatar
    Samina Ghory

    I tried and face the same issue. building dates.  it doesn't work what so ever. here is the URL i am using in the URL paste area, 

     

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsXnZDysGWaRdFdPbHRwdTREbVVaZWhMbnJoVVdrTWc&usp=drive_web#gid=0 

  • 0
    Avatar
    Angelo

    Hi all,

     

    I'm having a similar problem with loading the timeline. Here's the link to the spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E6oxDR8CcROoszEfOcH4vtMuPc4pocLpLCcK5e0cmAI/edit?usp=sharing

    I'll be grateful for a quick response, because this is very urgent.

     

    Cheers!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ruth Bubis

    Hi all,

    Joe Germuska I wonder if you could tell me what I'm doing wrong?

    My timeline is also stuck on 'building dates'.

    I have removed all of my tites/ eras, except the first Title.

    Here is a link, many thanks:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AmiYFTGgx4podFJXcnMxdU9lT0hJcDc1LXVBNFpWSEE&output=html

  • 0
    Avatar
    Anthony Seminara

    Hi all,

    I'm attempting to use this for the first time and can't even get the sample spreadsheet to display. It is at the following URL:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gJwV_Xr1vQp5U8NKWsNf-prGedN4Q8A1_We_AJgQqY8/edit#gid=0

    Attaching the error code which says I have no 'events':

    The website says to no longer use File/Publish to the web... so I'm pasting the browser window URL into Step 3 (|Generate Your Timeline).

    I'm guessing I'm doing something obviously wrong but any advice appreciated.

    Edited by Anthony Seminara
  • 0
    Avatar
    Brooke Saundercook

    I keep trying to "preview" my presentation and this keeps popping up....

    "INVALID DATE: month, day and year must be numbers [year=Early1900s]"

    However, I have indicated years. 

    Any help is SO appreciated.

     

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQICLgJifpOnMHhpIv_Qpk7wg2iVSf7bKKQXknvpmnWKkqOdKSFeqZX7NLok7Fsiw76L2R2gmgqpqNR/pubhtml 

  • 0
    Avatar
    Brooke Saundercook

    I keep trying to "preview" my presentation and this keeps popping up....

    "INVALID DATE: month, day and year must be numbers [year=Early1900s]"

    However, I have indicated years. 

    Any help is SO appreciated.

     

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQICLgJifpOnMHhpIv_Qpk7wg2iVSf7bKKQXknvpmnWKkqOdKSFeqZX7NLok7Fsiw76L2R2gmgqpqNR/pubhtml 

  • 0
    Avatar
    Treyes

    HI,

     

    Im also having the same problem with Anthony Seminara. 

    any body can help us regarding this? 

  • 0
    Avatar
    Nikki Zeichner

    I'm having trouble loading content from my entire spreadsheet as well. I have content from 1962 - 1990 and it only displays through 1967. Thanks in advance!

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TIlFtlIroP7bO5Cl-ZJBvQiafe9ysXObpy1mPS9eWIA/edit#gid=0

  • 0
    Avatar
    Rene Suhle

    A bit late. @Treyes and @Anthony:

    You have to go the way to publish your spreadsheet. The provided URL is not used but you need the function to publish you spreadsheet to TimelineJS.

    So publish your sheet and than use the URL in your browser not in the "publish sheet" window.

    I hope this helps.

  • 1
    Avatar
    Sharad Crosby

    Hi 

    I've created a Timeline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M1_6UmvexWALLHzJvHJdyfS5xNeFH6TaPfB_BGfbwmw/edit#gid=0

    However, I receive an "Error:invalid_hour_err[82]" whenever I try to load/preview it. As Joe Germuska mentioned above, the problem could be an error with the sheet. But, I'm clueless at this point, I could really use some assistance.

    Thank You!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Assembleia de Minas Gerais

    Hi,

    We've created a timeline, and it was working a couple of days ago. Since last tuesday (March 12th) it is no longer charging the data. Message: "No data entries found. Timeline has no events".
    What can we do? 
    Link to the timeline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CFFb5MA6aej1n-wAhrNdgaMoeW0tDsl8mgV1dGP0JCU/edit?usp=sharing

    Thank you!

    Edited by Assembleia de Minas Gerais
  • 0
    Avatar
    Chris Bijalba

    I have the same problem, the timeline stopped working after working fine for a year just recently.

    tested this with the default "example" sheet provided at the timeline website and it also has the same error.

    Edited by Chris Bijalba
  • 0
    Avatar
    Nicki

    Same problem here. Everything was working great and suddenly it stopped working and throws the Syntax Error. Even tested with the default example to make sure and the error is the same.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Sara Moreira

    Hi,

     

    I am having the same problem as above...

    My timeline was working well at least until a couple of days ago and suddenly, without any changes, it stopped working.

    When I try to preview via timeline website it shows the following message:

    ERROR: an unexpected error occured trying to read your spreadsheet data [SyntaxError]. Timeline configuration has no events.

    Can you please help?

    Thanks in advance!

    Best regards,

    Sara

     

  • 0
    Avatar
    Sara Moreira

    Hello again everyone,

    I've just noticed this message from the team somewhere else in the website, so I thought I'd share it with you all in case you hadn't seen in yet:

    Attention: Because of an unexpected error in Google's spreadsheet access service, most timelines are currently not working. We are aware of this situation, and we are unable to do anything to fix it. We will make an announcement on our Twitter account when we learn that the issue has been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience.

    Best regards,

    Sara

  • 0
    Avatar
    Chris Bijalba

    Hello - that message is the same that I received directly when contacting support.

    What's odd is that I was able to remedy the issue temporarily and the slideshow started working again, but have no idea how, and then a few minutes later it was back to malfunctioning. Caching?

     

    The longer term fix was to use inline JSON instead of the google sheet, and using either remote or local CSS/JS files.

    I opted for the local CSS/JS so that no dependencies are needed. It works, but now I have to figure out how to make the modifications that I had done via the embed options (starting scale, height, marker min height, etc), it isn't quite the same.

     

     

    Edited by Chris Bijalba
  • 0
    Avatar
    Andrew Davis

    I'm attempting to do the same fix as Chris, which is to switch from G-docs to JSON, but even when I switch the source to JSON I'm getting the same error message. I tested with the demo JSON file to see if it was a problem with my data, but got the same result, "Timeline configuration has no events." Anyone know how to remedy this?

    Edited by Andrew Davis
  • 0
    Avatar
    Chris Bijalba

    Hi Andrew -

     

    https://github.com/NUKnightLab/TimelineJS3/blob/master/website/templates/examples/houston/timeline3.json has an example of what the JSON might look like.

    The reference is at https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/json-format.html

     

    Here is what I embedded in the page:

     

    <link title="timeline-styles" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/css/timeline.css">

    <script src="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/js/timeline.js"></script>

    <div id='timeline-embed' style="width: 100%; height: 600px"></div>

    <script type="text/javascript">

    var timeline_json = {
    "title": {
    "background": {
    "url": "whatever image URL"
    },
    "text": {
    "headline": "Your headline",
    "text": "Your text."
    }
    },
    "events": {
    "media": {
    "url": "image url",
    "thumbnail": "thumbnail url"
    },
    "start_date": {
    "year": "1868"
    },
    "end_date": {
    "year": "1868"
    },
    "text": {
    "headline": "headline",
    "text": "text."
    },
    "group": "if you want to group items",
    "display_date": "1868"
    }
    };

    window.timeline = new TL.Timeline('timeline-embed', timeline_json);
    </script>

     

    You can use https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/instantiate-a-timeline.html to download the JS and CSS and in those top two lines refer to your own server so you're not relying on any external resources (as far as I can tell).

     

    You can confirm the JSON is good by using a delinter like https://jsonlint.com/ that will point out any issues, but when this is the issue your timeline will just appear blank and never get any error since broken JSON means your page is not going to parse at all.

     

     

    Edited by Chris Bijalba
  • 0
    Avatar
    Central Montessori

    If it says Error, years,months,days must be a number, it means you can't write something like this:

    Year            Month   Day

    2016 AD       July      14

    You have to write

    2016              7         14

    Or for 2016 BC, you have to write -2016. You can't write any letters

Please sign in to leave a comment.
Powered by Zendesk