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Getting Started with the Timeline

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core Timeline and highlights the major steps in the configuration of the component.

You will initialize a Timeline and learn how to set its orientation. Then, you will see how to attach an event handler to the component.

Finally, you can run the sample code in Telerik REPL and continue exploring the component.

Sample Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core Timeline

Prerequisites

To successfully complete the tutorial, you need a project that is already configured to use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core components:

  • You can use the Telerik REPL playground and skip installing the components on your system and configuring a project.

  • You can prepare a Visual Studio project by following the following guide:

    • Creating a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core components from a project template.

1. Prepare the CSHTML File

The first step is to add the required directives at the top of the .cshtml document:

  • To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core HtmlHelpers:

    @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
    
  • To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core TagHelpers:

    @addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
    

Optionally, you can structure the document by adding the desired HTML elements like headings, divs, paragraphs, and others.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>
@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

2. Initialize the Timeline

Use the Timeline HtmlHelper or TagHelper to add the component to a page:

  • The Name() configuration method is mandatory as its value is used for the id and the name attributes of the Timeline element.
  • The DataDateField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides information when the given event happened in time.
  • The DataDescriptionField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the description information for the event.
  • The DataSubtitleField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the subtitle information for the event.
  • The DataTitleField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the title information for the event.
  • The DataImagesAltField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the value for the alt attribute of the images.
  • The DataImagesField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the images information for the event.
  • The DataActionsField() configuration method sets the field of the data item that provides the actions information for the event.
  • The Orientation() configuration method sets the orientation of the timeline axis. The widget expects "Horizontal" or "Vertical".
  • The AlternatingMode() configuration method indicates whether events are positioned on both sides of the timeline axis.
  • The CollapsibleEvents() configuration method enables the events in the Kendo UI Timeline to be expandable or collapsible.
@using Kendo.Mvc.UI
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
    @(Html.Kendo().Timeline<Kendo.Mvc.Examples.Models.TimelineEventModel>()
               .Name("Timeline")
               .DataDateField("EventDate")
               .DataDescriptionField("Description")
               .DataSubtitleField("Subtitle")
               .DataTitleField("Title")
               .DataImagesAltField("AltField")
               .DataImagesField("Images")
               .DataActionsField("Actions")
               .Orientation(TimelineOrientation.Horizontal)
               .AlternatingMode()
               .CollapsibleEvents()
               .DataSource(dt => dt.Read("GetEvents", "Timeline"))
    )
    </div>
</div>
@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
        <kendo-timeline name="Timeline" 
                        orientation="TimelineOrientation.Horizontal" 
                        datadatefield="EventDate" 
                        datatitlefield="Title" 
                        datasubtitlefield="Subtitle" 
                        datadescriptionfield="Description" 
                        dataactionsfield="Actions"
                        dataimagesfield="Images"
                        alternating-mode="true"
                        collapsible-events="true">
            <datasource>
                <transport>
                    <read url="@Url.Action("GetEvents", "Timeline")" />
                </transport>
                <schema>
                    <model>
                        <fields>
                            <field name="EventDate" type="date"></field>
                            <field name="Title" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Subtitle" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Description" type="string"></field>
                        </fields>
                    </model>
                </schema>
            </datasource>
        </kendo-timeline>
    </div>
</div>

3. Set the orientation of the Timeline to Vertical

The next step is to change the Orientation configuration of the Timeline to Vertical. You can do that by using the Orientation() configuration.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
    @(Html.Kendo().Timeline<Kendo.Mvc.Examples.Models.TimelineEventModel>()
               .Name("Timeline")
               .DataDateField("EventDate")
               .DataDescriptionField("Description")
               .DataSubtitleField("Subtitle")
               .DataTitleField("Title")
               .DataImagesAltField("AltField")
               .DataImagesField("Images")
               .DataActionsField("Actions")
               .Orientation(TimelineOrientation.Vertical)
               .AlternatingMode()
               .CollapsibleEvents()
               .DataSource(dt => dt.Read("GetEvents", "Timeline"))
    )
    </div>
</div>
@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
        <kendo-timeline name="Timeline" 
                        orientation="TimelineOrientation.Vertical" 
                        datadatefield="EventDate" 
                        datatitlefield="Title" 
                        datasubtitlefield="Subtitle" 
                        datadescriptionfield="Description" 
                        dataactionsfield="Actions"
                        dataimagesfield="Images"
                        alternating-mode="true"
                        collapsible-events="true">
            <datasource>
                <transport>
                    <read url="@Url.Action("GetEvents", "Timeline")" />
                </transport>
                <schema>
                    <model>
                        <fields>
                            <field name="EventDate" type="date"></field>
                            <field name="Title" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Subtitle" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Description" type="string"></field>
                        </fields>
                    </model>
                </schema>
            </datasource>
        </kendo-timeline>
    </div>
</div>

4. Handle a Timeline Event

The Timeline exposes a Expand() event that you can handle and assign specific functions to the component. In this tutorial, you will use the Expand() event to display a message when the user expands an event of in the Timeline.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
    @(Html.Kendo().Timeline<Kendo.Mvc.Examples.Models.TimelineEventModel>()
               .Name("Timeline")
               .DataDateField("EventDate")
               .DataDescriptionField("Description")
               .DataSubtitleField("Subtitle")
               .DataTitleField("Title")
               .DataImagesAltField("AltField")
               .DataImagesField("Images")
               .DataActionsField("Actions")
               .Orientation(TimelineOrientation.Vertical)
               .AlternatingMode()
               .CollapsibleEvents()
               .DataSource(dt => dt.Read("GetEvents", "Timeline"))
               .Events(e => e.Expand("onExpand"))
    )
    </div>
</div>

<script>
    function onExpand(e){
        console.log(e.dataItem);
    }
</script>
@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
<h4>Timeline with event handler</h4>

<div id="example">
    <div class="demo-section wide">
        <kendo-timeline name="Timeline" 
                        orientation="TimelineOrientation.Vertical" 
                        datadatefield="EventDate" 
                        datatitlefield="Title" 
                        datasubtitlefield="Subtitle" 
                        datadescriptionfield="Description" 
                        dataactionsfield="Actions"
                        dataimagesfield="Images"
                        alternating-mode="true"
                        collapsible-events="true"
                        on-expand="onExpand">
            <datasource>
                <transport>
                    <read url="@Url.Action("GetEvents", "Timeline")" />
                </transport>
                <schema>
                    <model>
                        <fields>
                            <field name="EventDate" type="date"></field>
                            <field name="Title" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Subtitle" type="string"></field>
                            <field name="Description" type="string"></field>
                        </fields>
                    </model>
                </schema>
            </datasource>
        </kendo-timeline>
    </div>
</div>

<script>
    function onExpand(e){
        console.log(e.dataItem);
    }
</script>

For more examples, refer to the demo on using the events of the Timeline.

5. (Optional) Reference Existing Timeline Instances

You can reference the Timeline instances that you have created and build on top of their existing configuration:

  1. Use the id attribute of the component instance to establish a reference.

    <script>
        var timeline = $("#timeline").data().kendoTimeline; // timeline is a reference to the existing timeline instance of the helper.
    </script>
    
  2. Use the Timeline client-side API to control the behavior of the widget. In this example, you will use the open method to open an event details of the Timeline. script <script> var timeline = $("#timeline").data().kendoTimeline; // timeline is a reference to the existing timeline instance of the helper. var firstEvent = timeline.element.find(".k-timeline-track-item:eq(3)"); timeline.open(firstEvent); </script> For more information on referencing specific helper instances, see the Methods and Events article.

Explore this Tutorial in REPL

You can continue experimenting with the code sample above by running it in the Telerik REPL server playground:

Next Steps

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