Identifying when events take place

The time bar is a visual aid to help you identify when events take place on your chart. It shows the passage of time from left to right across your chart, and provides an overview of when events occur in time in relation to each other.

About this task

The time bar comprises three main bands:
Band Description
Interval The interval band shows the intervals in which the time bar is displayed. For example, hours, days, or months.
Tick The tick band consists of major and minor ticks. Major ticks represent, for example, days or hours, and depend on the rate of time flow. Minor ticks show times between major ticks. Minor ticks do not have labels. When you move your mouse pointer over a minor tick, hover help is displayed that shows the date and time of the chart at that position.
Marker The marker band contains marker symbols that indicate controlling items on the chart. Controlling items are ordered and have both a date and time.

Procedure

To edit the time bar:
  1. Click File > Chart Properties > Options > Time Bar > Display.
  2. Select the interval band:
    1. Optional: Select Show in the Interval Band area, and select a color from the Line Color list.
    2. Optional: Select Show in the Tick Band area, and select a color from the Line Color list.
    3. Optional: Select Show in the Marker Band area, and select a color from the Line Color list.
  3. Choose the interval label and tick label alignment.
  4. In the General area, select the border and background color.
  5. To change the style of the text in the time bar, modify the settings on the Interval Font page and the Tick Font page.
  6. Click OK to close the Chart Properties window.