TIP of the day: Basic navigation to the Timeline

MJ. Smith

1. As the timeline records Events, we need to start at one of the several locations that record events:

• certain resources including Bibles, several Bible dictionaries, etc.
• the Factbook
• the Timeline itself
• the Bible People Visual Timelines interactive
• the Bible Event Navigator interactive ...

Beginning at Tools --> All interactives --> Bible People Visual Timelines --> Paul, a hover on the Event "Paul converts" brings up a informational popup window.

2. Right clicking on the event "Paul converts" brings up a context menu. Selecting the Event on the right side of the menu generates a left side that includes a Timeline option. Clicking on the Timeline option brings up the Timeline in a floating window.

3. The appearance of the resulting Timeline is dependent upon the options set when you last used the Timeline. Note the orange circle that flashes as the window opens highlights the relevant entry (the first on the top left in this case). Subsequence references to opening the Timeline generate an image identical to this unless explicitly shown to be otherwise.

4. Clicking on the event "Paul converts" in the Bible People Visual Timeline brings up the Factbook entry for the event.

5.Hovering over the Bible Passage associated with the Event in the Bible People Visual Timeline will bring up a popup containing the Bible passage. Clicking on it will open your Preferred Bible to that passage.

6. In the Bible, selecting any word within the passage marked for the event will generate a Context menu with a link to the Timeline as seen in paragraph 2.

7. In the Factbook, there is an Events section with a list of events that behaves similarly to the events in the Bible People Visual Timeline. There is also a link to another timeline related interactive, the Biblical Event Navigator.

8.Clicking on the "Open to Biblical Event Navigator" opens the interactive tool to the relevant event "Paul converts on the road to Damascus".

9.A hover over the event "Paul converts" opens an informational popup window. Clicking on it opens the Timeline.

10. A right click on the event in the Biblical Event Navigator, generates the standard Context Menu with a link to the timeline (see 2 above).

11. Clicking on any of the references given for the event in the Biblical Event Navigator will open your preferred Bible to that passage. The passage will have the same behavior as shown in 6 above i.e. provide a link to open the Timeline.

12. Of course, I've ignored the most direct way to get to the Timeline: Tools --> Bible Reference --> Timeline ... and enter some filtering words such as "Paul converts" into the filter box. The behavior of the Event on the timeline is identical regardless of how you got there.

13. Hovering over the event in the Timeline brings up a brief descriptive popup window.

14. Clicking on the event in the Timeline brings up a window with a fuller description and a list of sources for this particular event and date. Hovering over a resource name provides a preview window of the text. Note this is how you can check why a date that is open is discussion is placed where it is.

15. Clicking on the resource name will open the resource to the appropriate location, designated by a black flag. A black flag is linked to the timeline; an open flag is not although the initial tag as a date is present. A visual filter controls whether or not the flags are visible.

16. Hovering over a black flag brings up a brief description of the event. Clicking on the flag opens the timeline to the event.

17. For some totally unfathomable reason, right clicking on the black flag brings up a Context Menu with only the entry for the topic of the article in the Bible Dictionary. Oh well ....not everything leads to a useful conclusion. Note, however, that if you click on the text following the flag, you get the same right click Context Menu behavior that you get for the Bible. There is no visual clue for the span of the timeline entry text, so stay close to the right of the flag.