TimelineJS3
============

TimelineJS v3: A Storytelling Timeline built in JavaScript.  https://timeline.knightlab.com

## Overview

TimelineJS is a tool designed to help people with minimal technical skill tell rich, dynamic stories on the web. Most people will create timelines using the [official authoring tool](http://timeline.knightlab.com/#make) and embed their creations using a snip of HTML code offered at the end of that process. 

For users of these content management systems (CMSes), there are plugins to facilitate the embedding process:

* [Wordpress](https://wordpress.org/plugins/knight-lab-timelinejs/)
* [MediaWiki](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Modern_Timeline)
* [Drupal](https://www.drupal.org/docs/8/modules/views-timelinejs)


## Getting Started

General users of TimelineJS should consult [timeline.knightlab.com](https://timeline.knightlab.com) for instructions and documentation. Information on GitHub is primarily directed at those who are interested in working with the TimelineJS source code.

The [authoritative documentation list](https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/) is also on the main website, but here are some direct links which may be useful:

* [Available media types](https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/media-types.html), relevant to users of any technical level
* [Instantiate a Timeline in your page instead of using an embed](https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/instantiate-a-timeline.html)
* [Configuration options](https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/options.html) (for more technical users)
* [JSON configuration file format](https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/json-format.html) for those who prefer not to use Google Sheets

## Contributing to TimelineJS
Are you trying to contribute to or develop TimelineJS3? [Here's where you should start.](https://github.com/NUKnightLab/TimelineJS3/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)

## API

For users who instantiate a timeline in a page (as opposed to using the iframe embed model), [this page](https://github.com/NUKnightLab/TimelineJS3/blob/master/API.md) roughly documents TimelineJS's JavaScript API, but note that because TimelineJS's primary use case is the embedded iframe, some of these methods have not been thoroughly tested.

## Use via ES6 modules/webpack

To use in a project that uses ES6 modules and webpack, import the `Timeline` class and the CSS as follows

```js
import { Timeline } from '@knight-lab/timelinejs';
import '@knight-lab/timelinejs/dist/css/timeline.css';
```