Questions

Frequently asked.

How TLCp works, question by question. Still stuck? Get in touch.

Get help creating a timeline. Read the Quick Start Guide.A gentle walk-through · Creating a timeline · The three views · Sharing

Getting started

How do I sign up?
Choose “Create account” at the top of any page. On a smaller screen it says “Sign up”, and on a phone it is inside the Menu. Enter your email address and choose a password of at least 8 characters, typed twice; your name is optional. Wait for the robot check to finish (it sometimes asks you to tick a box), then press Create account. We will email you a link to confirm your address. Open it, on any device, and you are signed in and taken to your dashboard, where + New timeline starts your first timeline.
What does it cost?
TLCp is free to use right now. Creating an account, building your timeline and sharing it cost nothing. If we ever introduce a charge, we will tell you first, and nothing you have recorded will ever be locked away from you.
What is a timeline?
A timeline is your history laid out in order: a series of events, each with a date, a title, and as much or as little detail as you like. Build one for a life, a family, a project, or anything with a story.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. TLCp runs in any current web browser on a computer, a tablet or a phone, with nothing to install. On a phone, timelines open in the Vertical view, which is the easiest to scroll with a finger.

Signing in and your account

I had an account on the old TLCp. How do I get in?
Your account and all of your timelines have come across safely. Passwords are the one thing we did not bring over, so that yours is kept more securely. On the sign-in page, choose “Forgot password?” and we will email you a link to set a new one. You only need to do this once.
I've forgotten my password.
On the sign-in page, choose “Forgot password?”, enter your email address and we will send you a link to set a new one. If that address is no longer one you use, contact us and we will help you back in.
The confirmation or password email hasn't arrived.
Give it a few minutes, and check your spam or junk folder. Asking again straight away will not send a second email for about a minute. If nothing arrives after that, contact us and tell us the address you used.
The link in the email didn't work.
Each link can be used only once, and some email services open links to check them before you do, which uses them up. Ask for a new link and open it straight away.
How do I change my name or password?
Once signed in, choose Account at the top of the page, then Account settings.
Can I change my email address?
Not from the website yet. Contact us from the address you want to use, tell us your current one, and we will change it for you.
How do I close my account?
You can ask us at any time to delete your account and all your content. Write to info@time-linecontinuum.com and we will action it.

Timelines

Should my timeline be dated or sequenced?
Choose Dated if your events have real dates; they will be placed in date order and shown along a time axis. Choose Non-dated (sequenced) if you just want them in an order, like chapters, with no dates. You cannot change this once the timeline has events, so decide before adding them.
How do I rename a timeline or change its picture?
Open the timeline and choose Timeline settings. You can change its name, description, keywords, how dates are shown and its banner image there.
How do I delete a timeline?
Open the timeline, choose Timeline settings, and use Delete this timeline at the bottom. You will be asked to confirm. This permanently removes the timeline and all of its events, and it cannot be undone.
How many timelines or events can I have?
There is no limit on the number of timelines or events.
What are keywords for?
Keywords help you find a timeline later. The search box on your dashboard looks at timeline names and keywords.

Events

What goes into an event?
Every event has a title and, usually, a date. You can add a description, photos, and attachments. The title is the short, memorable name for the moment, for example “Summer by the lake.”
Can I change an event after I've added it?
Yes. Press Edit on any event to change its title, date, description or photos whenever you like. Events sit in date order, so to move one you change its date; on a non-dated (sequenced) timeline you change its place in the sequence instead. Nothing is set in stone.
I don't know the exact date.
Set “Show date as” to Month & year when you know the month but not the day, or to Year only when you know just the year. The timeline then never shows a day you did not know. You can set this for the whole timeline in Timeline settings, or for one event.
The event lasted days or years, not a single day.
Give it an End Date as well as a Start Date. The End Date is optional.
Can I record the time of day?
Yes. The Start Date includes a time. Choose Full date & time under “Show date as” to display it.
How do I delete an event?
Press Edit on the event, then Delete event. You will be asked to confirm.
Is there an undo?
No. That is why deleting always asks you to confirm first, and deleting cannot be reversed. If you start to leave an event with changes you have not saved, you will be asked whether you really want to.

Photos and files

Which photos can I add, and do I need to make them smaller?
Any photo your browser can open, including the HEIC photos an iPhone takes, which are converted for you. You do not need to make them smaller first; they are resized when you add them.
How do I add a photo to an event?
In the event's Description box, click where you want the photo, then press Insert Image and choose it. Photos go in one at a time.
How do I add a scanned letter or certificate?
Scanners usually save a PDF. Add it with the “+ Add audio / video / document” button under Attachments. Each page becomes a photograph, shown in order in the event, so it can be read in place.
How large can a video or sound recording be?
Up to 50MB each. Videos and recordings are shown at the bottom of the event.
Can I change the order of attachments?
No. Attachments are shown in the order they were added.

Viewing your timeline

What are the three views?
The same events, shown three ways. Pick whichever suits the moment:
  • Horizontal: your events sit along a true-to-scale time axis, so you can see how far apart they really were. Best for taking in the whole sweep at a glance.
  • Vertical: a scrollable column of event cards (on a dated timeline, oldest or newest first). Best for reading straight through, one moment after another.
  • Carousel: one event at a time, shown large. Best for focusing on a single moment, photos and all.
Switch between them any time and you never lose your place.
The text is too small to read.
Enlarge it with your browser's zoom (hold Ctrl and press + on a computer, or Cmd and + on a Mac). The pages are built to stay readable when zoomed.
How do I find one event in a long timeline?
In the Vertical or Carousel view, type a word into the Search events box. Only matching events are shown in Vertical; in Carousel you step from one match to the next.
Can I choose what people see first?
Yes, on a dated timeline of your own. In the Horizontal view, zoom and move to the part you want, then press Open here. Everyone who opens the timeline in the Horizontal view will start there. Reset goes back to showing the whole timeline.

Privacy & sharing

Who can see my timeline?
No one but you, unless you choose to share. You can send a private link, invite specific people by email, or share only selected events. You can stop sharing at any time.
Does my story stay mine?
Always. What you write through TLCp belongs to you, and we never make anything public on your behalf. Your history stays private and secure.
What is the difference between a link and an invitation?
A secret link lets anyone who has it read the timeline, with no account needed. An invitation by email is for one person: when they sign in to TLCp with that address (or create an account with it), they see the invitation on their dashboard and press Accept. The timeline then appears under “Shared with me”.
Can the people I share with change anything?
No. Shared viewers can only read your timeline. They cannot edit, add or delete anything.
Should I put a password on a shared link?
We recommend it. On the Share page, add a password of at least 8 characters, and send it separately from the link, not in the same message.
How do I stop sharing?
Open the timeline and choose Share. Untick “Share this timeline” and press Save sharing settings to turn the link off, or use “Replace the link” so the old link stops working. People who accepted an invitation keep their access until you choose Remove access beside their name. An invitation not yet accepted can be withdrawn with Withdraw.
Someone has asked to see my timeline.
A number appears beside Account at the top of the page. Open the timeline's Share page to Approve or Decline the request.
Can anyone at TLC read my timelines?
We can technically reach your timelines because we run the service, and we may do so to fix a fault or restore a backup. We do not read them otherwise.
Is my timeline backed up?
Yes. Your timelines and photos are backed up regularly, and you can always save your own copy with Export.
Does TLCp use cookies?
We use two, and neither is for advertising. One keeps you signed in. The other remembers that you have entered the password for a share link, so you are not asked again on every page.

qChat

What is qChat?
qChat is TLCp's AI helper. Give it a batch of photos and it writes a suggested title and description for each one, using what it sees. You review and can change everything before a word is saved; it only ever offers a draft.
Where do my photos go when I use qChat?
The photograph itself is sent to Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI service, which writes the suggestion and sends it back. If you tick “Add a location line when a photo has GPS data”, the map coordinates are sent to OpenStreetMap to turn them into a place name; if you do not tick it, they are not sent anywhere. None of this happens to a photograph you simply add to an event. It happens only when you ask for a suggestion.
How many photos can qChat look at?
Up to 20 at a time, and up to 60 in any 24 hours.
qChat got something wrong.
Change it or remove it on the review screen before you press Save. Nothing is saved until then, and you can still edit any event afterwards.

Export and import

Can I save a copy of my timeline?
Yes. Open the timeline and choose Export. Download PDF gives a copy for reading and printing; Export to Word gives one you can edit. You can include every event or only the ones you select, and choose whether to include photos.
Can I bring in events from a spreadsheet?
Yes, on a dated timeline. Choose Import events, download the template, fill in a row per event with dates written as YYYY-MM-DD, save it as a CSV file and choose it. You can tick an option to skip events that are already on the timeline.

The book

What is my timeline building toward?
A book. TLCp is designed so the history you gather becomes a narrated book of your life: a finished, printable keepsake told in your own words. Everything you add, event by event, is a page of it in the making. The timeline is how you write it; the book is what you keep.
Why start with a timeline instead of just writing a book?
Because a life isn't written all at once. A timeline lets you set down one moment at a time, in any order, and change it whenever you like. It quietly keeps your moments in order, earliest to latest, so that, when you're ready, it can become the book.

Getting help

How do I contact you?
Use the contact page, or write to info@time-linecontinuum.com. A person reads every message, so please allow a few days for a reply. If you cannot sign in, include the email address your account uses.

Ready to begin?

Your first timeline takes only a minute to start. Add an event or two and you already have a timeline. You can return to it and build on whenever you like.

Create your account