As the number of records in the archive increases it can be useful to break the timeline down into a number of segments or periods. This process is similar to pagination and can make it easier for a site visitor to navigate long timelines. It can also increase the speed of timeline generation.

Timeline segmentation is controlled by the value applied in the plugin Settings [timeline segment items]. If the value is set to a number which is greater than the total number of records in the timeline, segmentation is not applied. If the value is set to greater than zero and the number of records in the timeline is greater than this value, segmentation is applied. The number of segments is determined by the number of records in the timeline divided by the [timeline segment items] value, which is then rounded up to the next whole number.

The segment or period labels represent the start and end year of the segment. The start year of the first segment is the first year in the timeline. The end year of the segment is the year that contains the records that complete the [timeline segment items] value. The start year of the next segment is the previous sengment end year plus one. There is not necessarily a timeline entry for that start year. This approach ensures that there are no gaps in the segment label years.

The number of records in each segment may not always be equal to the [timeline segment items] value as all the records for a given year are kept together, i.e. years are never split across segments. The last segment will usually contain fewer records.

When there is more than one period option, there is also an option to add a period that includes ALL records with a known year. This option is added as the first option in the list. This option may be turned On or Off using the Settings [enable all segments] switch.

When segmentation is applied a set of period labels is displayed above the timeline. Period 1 is initially displayed with the period highlighted and the first [timeline segment items] records included in the timeline. Selecting any of the other periods refreshes the timeline with the appropriate years and records and that period is highlighted.

Last edited on 04 May 2022 by Site Administrator

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