The Advanced Timeline Tool: An Unfinished and Unfulfilled Feature
Hello!
I’d like to express a concern shared by many long-time Logos users: the Advanced Timeline Tool feels like an incomplete, outdated, and underdeveloped feature that has not evolved alongside the rest of the Logos platform.
While it was originally introduced as a promising tool for pedagogical and historical exploration, its current state is frustrating. It lacks key functionality and basic usability. The issues are not marginal—they are structural:
- Filters like “People” do not allow for multiple or grouped selection (e.g., “Greek philosophers” or “Church Fathers”), making serious exploration nearly impossible.
- The vast majority of events link to only one or two basic resources—usually dictionaries—regardless of the user’s library. This breaks the promise of contextual integration and feels disconnected from the core strength of Logos: dynamic personalization.
- The visual layout lacks any semantic hierarchy or thematic distinction. All events look the same, whether they are biblical, philosophical, or political.
- There is no guided or thematic mode (e.g., “Classical World,” “Second Temple Period,” “Early Church”), which is a basic feature in educational tools today.
- No ability to bookmark timelines, create custom views, or follow learning paths—tools that would empower teachers and students alike.
All of this results in the perception of a confusing and stagnant tool that has been neglected in Logos development cycles, despite its immense potential. Other tools—like Factbook, Counseling Guide, and the improved Search—have seen major investments. The Timeline tool, however, remains stuck in the past.
Please, finish what was started.
Improving the Timeline should not be locked behind a paywall or new tier of Logos. It is not a premium wish list item—it is a necessary correction to a feature that was marketed as part of the core experience.
As a user committed to Logos for both biblical and historical study, I urge the development team to prioritize this update and treat it with the seriousness it deserves.
Comments
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Excellent analysis.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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I gave up on it years ago - too difficult to find what I want. I occasionally give it another try but go back to finding the info I want from other resources inside and outside of Logos.
Macbook Air (2024), Apple M2, 16gb Ram, Mac Sequoia, 1TB storage
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I completelyy agree.
In addition to what was mentioned, the inability to filter and display some constantly requested things like: Kings of Israel and Judah, The OT Prophets are glaring by their omission in spite of being constantly requested.Logos has several times promised that the badly functioning 8 Timeline resources would be integrated into Advanced Timeline, this has never occurred.
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I have my own speculative timeline and I have suggested earlier that the Logos timeline tool should include user-specified timeline(s) for the Biblical research and for the general history. May not be easy to implement into the current timeline framework?
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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I miss the old timeline that allowed user-created things like that. Especially since biblical events, authorship, etc. are often prone to wildly diverse date assignments, the current implementation not very useful.
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When I just wanted to view a simple timeline of the books of the Bible and the advanced timeline could not do this is when I gave up on this feature and never looked at it again. It's things like this and Atlas that give me pause on recommending Logos to people even though many parts of the program are excellent. Logos, please give us less half-baked features and focus on fewer that are excellent!
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Vote for adding content to the timeline here.
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I agree with all of the above (along with Atlas).
But absent more/better filters, it'd be major surgery, given the original design.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Many users have clearly pointed out that the Advanced Timeline tool—though full of promise—remains half-developed. What’s most concerning is that several have said they’ve had to abandon it due to its limited usefulness. I suppose this is what they call "erosion of trust" in brand management. Can Logos respond with a clear statement? Are there any concrete plans to update it or truly reintegrate it into the current ecosystem of the software?Alongside the lack of intelligent AI integration, this tool stands out as one of the most pressing unfinished challenges.Those of us who remain committed to Logos value the content—but we also need living tools, not decorative ones. Thanks!
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