A timeline is a graphic that represents a specific period of time and the events that occur during that time. Timelines are particularly good at showing an overview of a project—project status, a history of events, and what's to come. Use the Timeline template in the Project Schedule category to create timelines.

Use expanded timelines to show a segment of the primary timeline in more detail.

With Gantt charts, you can track the details of each project task, create task dependencies, see how changes to one task affect another, and quickly identify task owners and status. Use the Gantt Chart template in the Project Schedule category to create timelines.

You can create timelines from scratch or from existing data. To import data to create timelines, open the Timeline template, and on the Timeline menu, click Import Timeline Data. To export data from a timeline, on the Timeline menu, click Export Timeline Data.

You can create Gantt charts from scratch or from existing data. To import data to create Gantt charts, open the Gantt chart template, and on the Gantt Chart menu, click Import. To export data from a Gantt chart, on the Gantt Chart menu, click Export.

When you export data from Visio timelines and Gantt charts, Visio saves the data in Microsoft Office Project file format so you can work with the data in Project.

Right-click the shapes in timelines and Gantt charts to see their formatting options.