Settings: Calendar & Date

Calendar

The default settings of your calendar will show that the style is ‘Absolute (Regular dates)’. You can change this to any of the following display options.

  • Weekly (Week 1, Week 2)
  • Daily (Day 1, Day 2)
  • Time (+2:25:33) 

You can also further customise your calendar by clicking the ‘Edit Calendar’ button. Here, you can customise the following. 

Weekdays: You are able to customise the hours in a day in the Weekdays tab, as well as what the names of days are. You can also add or delete any days of the week from your calendar here to create a custom timeline the supports the fantasy world you are creating. 

Months: You can customise the months that are visible in the calendar of your timeline. Depending on the template you are working within, you can add and delete different months or create a totally different calendar that is specific to the world you are creating. Customizing months is also useful if you are working in a language other than english, so you can delete the original months and work entirely within a particular language. 

Eras: You can customise your calendar to add additional eras that fit the world you are creating for your narrative. If you're working with dates that exist in reality, you can also choose whether you're working within the BC or AD era, allowing for further flexibility in determining what time period your timeline occurs in. 

Formatting

The formats available for dates are as follows: 

  • Long (23 September 1994)
  • Medium (23 Sep 1994) 
  • Short (12/9/1994)

You can also edit the Time Format, with the following options available: 

  • 12 hours (3:00pm)
  • 24 hour (15:00)

The option is also available to choose whether or not you include the name of the day.

Customizing the formatting of your timeline can affect how different elements will appear aesthetically in your timeline and will allow you to ensure consistency, and an interface that appeals to your particular needs. 

Editing

You have the option to choose whether or not you ‘Convert 2-digit years to current century’. When you type in dates, if you type in a 2-digit year then this will automatically be converted to a 4-digit year in the current century. 

For example, if you type in 'June 27 15' this will then be converted to 'June 27 2015'.

Automatic Calculations

This section allows you to configure whether or not you would like automatic date adjustments to occur. These automatic date adjustments allow you to determine how your timeline automatically responds when you change item dates or other relevant information that may alter the fluidity of your timeline. The options are as follows:

  • Disable auto-adjustment: Dates will not be automatically adjusted
  • Adjust item and end dates: When changing an item’s start date, the item’s end date will also be adjusted to maintain the item’s duration
  • Adjust children and end dates: When changing a parent item’s start date, its children will be adjusted by the same amount of time. This is in addition to adjusting item end dates. 
  • Resolve constraints and adjust children: Items will automatically be adjusted to satisfy set dependencies and date constraints. This is in addition to adjusting child items and item end dates. 

You can also change the ‘Dependency and Constraint Adjustment Limits’ which allows you to specify what kind of automatic adjustments can be made around dependencies and constraints. 

In configuring these adjustments, you are able to dictate how any future violations, or inconsistencies in your timeline will be rectified automatically, allowing for streamlined use of Aeon Timeline. 

At the bottom, there is a checkbox titled 'For ongoing item calculations, override current date/time with:'. When you check the box for this option, you will then be able to choose a date that will override the current date. 

By default, the current date will be used as the end point for dependency and constraint adjustment limits as well as ongoing event calculations. Overriding the current date allows you to choose a different fixed date for these calculations. This is mostly useful for fiction writers who may be setting their story at a different time than the exact "present day".