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The timeline shows the history of progress updates, comments, and files added to a plan item. If you ever need more information about the history of a plan item, take a look at the timeline.
There are several different types of timeline entries, each corresponding to a specific change made to a plan item. By default, these timeline entries are sorted from newest to oldest, top to bottom. You can flip the sort order by clicking on the sort button on the left side of the button bar, just above the timeline.
The Sort Timeline button
Check out each of the timeline entry types below:
Plan / Plan Item Created Entry
Whenever a plan or plan item is created an entry is added to the plan item’s timeline. This will always be the first entry in an item’s timeline.
If the item is the ‘Plan level’ item (the root item in the plan’s hierarchy), the entry will look like this:
The Plan Created timeline entry
For all other plan items, the entry will look like this:
The Plan Item Created timeline entry
Both the Plan Created and Plan Item Created entries show who created the item and the date and time it was created.
File Entries
When you add or upload a new version of a file, a file entry is added to the timeline. There are different entries for when you add a new file and upload a new version of a file. Both of these entries show who uploaded the file, the date, and the time of the upload.
When you add a new file, the entry shows the name of the new file, who added the file, and when the file was added.
The New File Added timeline entry
When you upload a new version of a file, the entry shows the name of both the old and new versions of the.
The New File Version Uploaded timeline entry
If you hover over either of these entry types you will see two different buttons in the top right corner of the entry: an information button and a download button.
The Information Panel and Delete Buttons
Clicking on the information button opens the information panel. Check out the section below named “The Information Panel” for more about this panel.
Clicking on the download button will download that version of the file. For each of these entries, it will download the most recent file version at the time that entry was submitted into the timeline.
For example, if you click the download button on the “New File Added” entry, it will download the original version of a file. In contrast, if you click on the download button in a “New File Version Uploaded” entry, it will download that version of the file.
Progress Update Entries
A Progress Update entry is added to the timeline whenever a user submits a progress update manually. The entry shows the updated status and metric value (if the plan item has a metric), a comment, and the user and date / time the update was made.
Progress Updates can be submitted via the link provided in progress update reminder emails or manually from within the Plan Item Card. Checkout [LINK TO SUBMITTING A PROGRESS UPDATE] for more information on Progress Updates.
A Progress Update timeline entry
Metric Update Entries
Sometimes you may want to update the metric value on a plan item without changing the plan item’s status. Whenever you submit a metric only update, the metric value is updated while the plan item’s status is left unchanged.
Metric only updates are shown in white without a status banner at the top of the entry. In almost every other way, metric only entries act the same way a regular manual update entry does.
A Metric Update timeline entry
Progress Update Request Entries
Whenever a progress update request is generated (either automatically using your schedule settings or manually via the “Update Request” button) an entry is added to the timeline.
A progress update request has three different states: Pending, Late, and Completed.
While a progress update request is pending (meaning the update has not been provided yet) it will show the time frame the update request is for, who and when the request was made, and a reason for the request (if one was provided).
An incomplete progress update request
If you are an Assigned To for an item, you will automatically see the form to provide an update for all request entries in the timeline. If you are a member or an administrator for an item, you will need to click the “Provide Update” button to provide an update for a request.
A pending progress update request (admin and member view)
Pending progress update requests that are not late are shown in blue. If a progress update request becomes late (meaning an update was not provided within the Grace Period) it will turn orange. Keep an eye out for these colors, as they are used throughout the AchieveIt platform to denote pending and late updates.
A late progress update request
Once an update is completed and someone has provided an update for the request, the entry will show the updated status (and change the color of the banner at the top of the entry to match). If an item has a metric, it will also show the updated metric value. You may also see a comment provided in an update, however the comment is optional.
A completed progress update request
Comment Entries
Comment entries are added to the timeline whenever a user provides a comment via the “Add Comment” button shown just above the timeline. A comment entry shows the comment that was provided, the user, and the date / time the comment was made.
A comment entry