Timelie for Mac: The Complete User Guide

I. Detailed Explanation of the Core Interface and Workspace

Timelie’s main interface is designed to be clean and functionally focused, mainly divided into the following areas:

1. Top Menu Bar and Toolbar: Contains standard menus such as File operations, Edit, and View. The toolbar below provides quick access buttons, such as “New Track,” “Zoom Tools,” and “Play/Pause Timeline Preview.”
2. Left Resource/Layer Panel: Located on the left side of the window by default. This area lists all “tracks” and “keyframe groups” in the project. Each track represents an independent task line or data sequence, and you can rename, reorder, or hide tracks here.
3. Central Timeline Canvas: This is the core workspace. The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis arranges the various tracks. You can directly drag, stretch, and adjust the “time blocks” representing time segments in this area, or place and edit “keyframe” markers.
4. Right Inspector/Properties Panel: When you select an element on the timeline (such as a time block or keyframe), this panel displays its detailed properties, such as name, start/end time, color label, notes, etc., allowing you to make precise adjustments.
5. Bottom Status Bar and Time Scale Controls: The bottom displays information such as the current playhead position and zoom level. The time scale control bar allows you to quickly zoom the precision of the timeline view (from seconds to years).

II. Complete Workflow: From Creation to Export

1. Create or Open a Project

Method: After launching Timelie, you will see a welcome window. To create a new project, click “New Project” or use the menu bar File > New (shortcut ⌘N). To open an existing project, click “Open” or use ⌘O.

2. Set Up the Project and Timeline

After creating a new project, you first need to set the timeline baseline:

1. Click the menu bar Project > Project Settings....
2. In the pop-up window, set the “Start Time,” “Time Unit” (e.g., hours, days), and “Total Duration.”
3. After confirming, the time scale on the central canvas will update according to your settings.

3. Add and Manage Tracks

Location: Bottom of the left resource panel or the toolbar.

• Add Track: Click the “+” button below the resource panel, or use the shortcut ⌘T. Enter a descriptive name for the new track.
• Reorder Tracks: Drag track names up or down directly in the resource panel to reorder them.
• Hide/Show Tracks: Click the eye icon to the left of the track name.

4. Add Clips and Keyframes

This is the core step of task planning.

• Add Clips: Select the target track in the resource panel, move the mouse to the corresponding row of that track on the central canvas, right-click and select “Add Clip,” or simply use the shortcut B. Then drag either end of the clip to adjust its start and end times.
• Add Keyframes: Select the target track in the resource panel, move the playhead (vertical red line) to the desired moment, right-click on the canvas and select “Add Keyframe,” or use the shortcut K. Keyframes are commonly used to mark milestones or important points in time.

5. Edit and Adjust Elements

Location: Central canvas and right-side properties panel.

1. Select Elements: Click a clip or keyframe to select it. Hold the ⌘ key to select multiple.
2. Move: Select and drag directly. Hold Shift while dragging to constrain movement to the horizontal (time) direction.
3. Adjust duration: Hover the mouse over the left/right edge of a time block; when the cursor changes to a double arrow, drag to resize.
4. Edit properties: After selecting an element, modify its name, color, time values, or add notes in the properties panel on the right.

6. Preview Timeline

Use the playback control bar above the canvas (similar to a video player) or press the spacebar to play the timeline animation from the current time pointer, allowing you to visually inspect how the sequence progresses.

7. Export & Share

Location: Menu bar File > Export.

• Export as image: Choose “Export as PNG/PDF” to save the current timeline view as a static image or vector document.
• Export as data: Choose “Export as JSON/CSV” to export structured project data for analysis or backup in other software.
• In the export settings, you can usually choose the time range to export, whether to include track names, and other options.

III. Advanced Tips for Common Features

• Quickly zoom the timeline: Use two-finger vertical swipe on the trackpad, or hold ⌘ and scroll the mouse wheel to quickly zoom the time scale. Press ⌘0 to zoom to fit the entire project.
• Batch operations: Hold ⌘ and click to select multiple time blocks or keyframes, then batch-modify their colors or tags in the properties panel on the right.
• Time snapping: Under the menu bar View > Enable Snapping (enabled by default), dragging elements will automatically snap to tick marks, keyframes, or the edges of other time blocks for precise alignment.
• Copy and paste elements: After selecting an element, use ⌘C and ⌘V to copy and paste. When pasting, the new element will appear at the original time position; you can drag it to other tracks or points in time.
• Using marker tracks: Create a dedicated “Marker” track for placing global keyframes, used to annotate project phases, meeting dates, etc., making the timeline more readable.

IV. Common Issues and Solutions