Generating a timeline

Creating a line and adding ticks, date values, and annotations is straightforward using essential TikZ functions.

Using the timeline library, we’ll explore an alternative and colorful pre-designed approach in this recipe.

Getting ready

Until the timeline library becomes an official part of TikZ or becomes available on CTAN, you can download the tikzlibrarytimeline.code.tex file from the author’s repository at https://github.com/cfiandra/timeline. You can install it in the TeX tree like any other package, but the easiest way is to put it into the same folder as your main TeX document.

How to do it...

The timeline library builds on TikZ but provides its own high-level commands. Follow these steps:

1. Start with a document class with a paper size that is big enough:

   \documentclass[a3paper]{article}

2. Load the geometry package with the landscape option, since our diagram will be more wide than high:

   \usepackage[landscape]{geometry...