Polish the chronology before it goes out
Consistent colours, fonts and sizes, readable event cards and formatted text before the chronology is exported or shown.
Screenshots are taken from the app on every release. Updated 13 October 2026.
The chronology is complete and checked. Before it goes to the client, to counsel or up on the screen in a meeting, it should look as considered as the work behind it: colours that mean something, one font, events wide enough to read, and the key words in bold.
Two questions decide how far to go. Will the reader see it in colour, on screen or on paper? And what should the colours tell them? Colour is most useful when it marks something, such as an issue or a party, and the same colour means the same thing throughout.
Colour an event
Point at the event on the timeline and click Edit.
Under Appearance on the timeline, choose a Colour for the card, a Text colour and a Border colour. Click + (Custom colour) for any other colour, and None under Border colour for a card without a border.
Click Save, or Save and next to go on to the next event. If it asks which one, choose Timeline event.
Colour a whole issue at once
Colouring event by event is slow on a long chronology. Open the timeline in Table, filter on the issue's tag in Filters, tick the box at the top of the table to select the events, and click Bulk edit. Pick the Colour, Text colour or Border colour and click Save. Change many events at once has the details.
Emphasise the words that matter
Click into an event's Title or Description in the event panel. A toolbar appears above the text with bold, italics, underline, text colour, highlighting, font size, alignment and numbered and bulleted lists. Bold the amount or the deadline the reader must not miss, and use a list where a description sets out several points.
Give long events room
In Relative, an event with a long title or a large font can be cut short. Drag the left or right edge of the event card to make it wider. Near the standard width the edge snaps to it, which brings a card back to its normal size. Events with an end date cannot be resized this way.
Use one font throughout
Events imported from different sources can end up in different fonts and sizes. Select all the events in Table and click Bulk edit. Under Title font and Description font, choose a Font family and a Font size. A field that shows Keep existing leaves the events as they are.
Return an event to the firm's colours
When an event has drifted from the firm's look, open the timeline in Table, click the event's cell in the Background colour or Text colour column, and click Reset to organisation default. Tick several rows first, and change the cell in one of the ticked rows, to reset them all.
What to polish for which reader
| Who it is for | What to polish |
|---|---|
| The client, on screen in a meeting | A colour per issue, and bold on the facts the meeting turns on |
| Counsel or the court, on paper | One font and size throughout, and colours that still read in black and white |
| The team, for a working session | Little: the chronology is still changing |
Tips from practice
- Polish last. Colour and formatting take time, and new events arrive without them. Do it when the chronology is settled, right before you present the case chronology.
- Keep the meaning of a colour. If red marks the other side's breaches, use it for nothing else. Tag the same events as well, so the issue is named and not only coloured; see tag events by issue.
- Check the contrast. Light text on a light card, or a pale card on paper, is hard to read. Look at the export, not only the screen.
- The firm's house colours. Your organisation admin can set the colours every new event starts with; see give timelines the firm's look.