Make a family timeline chart
A family timeline chart shows who was alive at the same time: whether a great-grandmother knew her grandchildren, which brothers both lived through the same war, or how long a widow outlived her husband. Each person is a bar running from birth to death along one line of years, oldest first, so overlapping lives line up by eye.
Draw My Tree draws that timeline from the tree you already have, or from a GEDCOM file, and exports it as a PDF, SVG or PNG.
Try it as a guest with a few names or a GEDCOM file. No account is needed for up to 50 people.
Step 1: get your people in, with years
A timeline needs dates. Type the family in (Building your tree), or import a GEDCOM exported from Ancestry, MyHeritage, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic or any other genealogy program (Import a GEDCOM). Approximate dates such as "abt 1850" or "c. 850" count, and so do years BC.
Step 2: switch to the timeline
- Open Look on the rail.
- Under Layout, choose Timeline.
Everyone the tree shows is now a bar. Select anyone and their lifetime is shaded down every row, with the people whose lives never overlapped theirs faded back. A dot on a bar marks a recorded partnership with a start year (a marriage, or an engagement or partnership), when it falls within that person's bar.
How the bars are drawn
The chart only states what is recorded, and says so when it has to guess:
- Birth and death recorded: the bar runs from one to the other.
- Born within the last century with no death, burial or death place recorded, or marked as living: the bar runs to today.
- Only one year recorded: the other end is estimated (a lifespan of 60 years) and the bar is drawn dashed and paler. The label still shows only the recorded year.
- A burial but no death (and a birth year): the bar ends at the burial.
- No years at all: no bar. These people are listed under the chart, so you can see who still needs dates.
Step 3: choose who is on it
A whole tree of a few hundred people is a few hundred rows. The timeline shows the same people as the tree, so the Filter panel narrows it the same way:
- Family name to show one surname's line.
- Focus to show one person's ancestors or descendants.
- Hide living people before you share or print it.
Step 4: export or print it
Open Export on the rail and choose A print. The last step shows the page as it will come out. All export options has every format, the size and Orientation.
- PDF for printing, sharp at any size. SVG for a print shop, PNG or JPEG for a slide or a message.
- Size: a timeline is wide and grows taller with every person. Twenty or thirty people suit a landscape Letter, A4, Tabloid or A3 sheet. A larger family reads better as a poster, or as a PDF split across Letter or A4 sheets to tape together.
Print your family tree covers every size, margin and option.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free? Drawing the timeline is free, and a guest can download a watermarked PNG at screen size. The free 5-generation print covers the tree, the pedigree and the fan, not the timeline. A print-ready PDF or SVG, poster sizes, full-resolution images without the watermark, and the Print button come with a one-time Keepsake for that tree, or with the Family Plan for every tree. Prices are on the pricing page.
Does it show historical events too? No. It shows your family's lives and marriages against the years, not world events.
Can I change the colours? Yes. The timeline takes its colours and typeface from the look, and Colour by gender in Look tints the bars. Turn on Gender shape mark as well and a square, circle or diamond before each name says it without relying on colour.
Can I see one person's events in order? Open the person; their details list their events. The timeline chart is for comparing many lives at once.
What to read next
Last updated October 11, 2026 by Prescott Bros LLC, the makers of Draw My Tree.