The timescale of each diagram spans a range of dates. You can include the entire project or specify the timescale range based on project dates, data date, or custom dates.
You specify the beginning and ending dates for the diagram. The application ends the timescale at the date you specify, adjusting the physical size of the increments to fit the spacing settings identified on the Page Setup tab. For the timescale start and finish dates, you can choose whether to specify the date as a calendar date based on the project start, the project finish, data date, current month, current week, current day, or a custom date that you enter. The date format is determined by the user preferences specified in P6 Professional at the time you log into P6 Visualizer.
You can also create a timescale based on rolling dates. Rolling dates are date values that change automatically as the calendar date moves. For example, if you specify the timescale start as Project Start and Project Start is 01JAN, the timescale will be 01JAN. If the project is delayed to 01MAR, the timescale will automatically move to 01MAR. You can also add time to the start or finish variables. For example, Project Start + 2 months, which changes the project start from 01JAN to 01MAR. Custom and rolling dates are also available when defining filters on the Filters tab of the Layout Options page.
Adding extra time to the timescale start and timescale finish times may prevent the diagram from appearing pressed against its left and right edges. Doing this also prevents some lines from being drawn outside the viewable area, which can also occur. For example, if you want to show the entire project schedule, choose Custom for both the Timescale Start and Timescale Finish lists (rather than choosing Project Start and Project Finish) to enable the corresponding date fields and calendar buttons. Then use those fields or buttons to add some extra time to both start and finish. The amount of time you need to enter depends on the smallest date interval you are showing and the scaling and paper size you set on the Page Setup tab. If you are showing Hours as the smallest interval, adding a day is sufficient; if you are showing Months as the smallest interval, you likely need to add a couple of months. Also, if the timescale appears too compact in the diagram, or if the timescale labels do not fit into the available space, increase the paper size or the number of horizontal pages (using the Page Setup tab on the Layout Options page) or increase the resolution (inches/day), which is also in the Page Setup tab.
For TSLDs, you can display a maximum of three timescale rows at the top and bottom of the diagram: Timescale Rows 1 through 3. For Gantt charts, you can display a maximum of three timescale rows at the top of the diagram. A timescale row shows intervals of time, such as hours, shifts, days, day numbers, weeks, months, quarters, or years. The intervals available for each row depend on your selection of a type for the timescale row. You can select from the following types: calendar or ordinal. You can select the same date interval for multiple timescale rows, which allows you, for example, to display weeks by both calendar and ordinal dates.
Calendar dates show days, weeks, months, and years depending on the available space and the minimum time unit set. Ordinal dates show a sequential number for each time unit specified in the Bar chart.
You can change the begin or end dates by choosing a different timescale row or by changing date intervals. For example, suppose three timescale rows are specified: Row 1 shows years, row 2 shows months, and row 3 shows weeks. However, if you want to show only months and years, you can exclude Timescale Row 3 to create a graphic that shows only months and years.
You can choose to show or hide vertical sight lines for each timescale row. You can customize interval frequency and line style. For example, if a Date Interval of "Month" is selected, an Interval Frequency of "3" means that a sight line will display once every 3 months at the beginning of the month.
You can choose to create zoomed timescale areas inside of the Primary timescale area. You specify the beginning and ending dates for the zoomed timescale area to zoom in on a specific time span. For example, you can set a Primary timescale area with a Date Interval of Year, Month, Week for each line (row), then create a zoomed timescale area with a Date Interval of Month, Week, Day for each line (row) but within a limited date range, such the start and finish of an especially busy week. You can customize the zoomed timescale area just as you can customize the Primary timescale area. Also, you can choose to turn off the zoom area, so that you don't have to delete it, when you don't need to show it for a particular run of the report.