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Range Timeline Scale

A range timeline scale is a specialized type of date-time scale featuring multiple lanes, each adorned with range labels generated by a multiples of various date -time units. It enables users to visualize different time spans (e.g., weeks, months) within broader ones (e.g., quarters, years). This scale is frequently employed in financial charts, where stock data is typically plotted on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.

Best Practices for Using a Range Timeline Scale

Match Data Granularity
Select time intervals that match the granularity of your data (e.g., years, months, days, hours, minutes). For instance, use daily intervals for daily sales data and monthly intervals for long-term financial trends.

Avoid Overcrowding
Ensure label intervals are not too frequent to avoid overcrowding the axis with too many labels. The automatic date time step selector in the chart will try to select a proper date time unit and multiplier that will not clutter the scale with many labels but still generates a sufficient number of labels so that the scale is readable.

Choose Proper Formatting
Different date-time units require different date-time format strings. For example, it does not make sense to include time information (hour, minute, second, etc.) when you plot labels using the Century unit. Similarly, it does not make sense to include Date information when you plot millisecond data.