Save the events for each issue as a story

One chronology serves many arguments. The limitation point needs the dates of knowledge and the date of the claim. A witness statement needs only the events Anna Lambda took part in. The client update needs the ten events that changed the picture. A story is a saved set of filters with a name: choose it and the timeline shows only those events, choose All events and the whole chronology is back.

One question decides each story: who or what is this cut for? An issue, a witness or a reader. The answer gives the story its name and tells you what to filter on.

Filter the events

1. Open the timeline and click Filters in the row of story tabs under the toolbar. The Filter events panel opens beside the timeline.

   

2. Narrow the events with the sections of the panel. Each section you use narrows the result further.

   • Text: words in the Title, Description or Note of the event, for example a Note that includes "limitation".
   • Dates: a period, From and To. An event that runs across the period counts, so a negotiation lasting a year still shows in a period of one month. Leave one side empty for everything before or after a date.
   • Tags, Documents and People: click the values to include. Background and Text colour filter on the colours you have given events.

3. When you pick two or more values in Tags, Documents or People, choose Any to show events with at least one of them, or All for events that have every one. Tags "Limitation" and "Knowledge" with All shows only the events tagged with both.

4. Check the count beside the panel's title, such as "12 of 148 events", before you save.

Save it as a story

1. Click Save as a story at the bottom of the panel, type a name ("Limitation", "Witness: Anna Lambda", "Client update") and press Enter.

   

2. The story appears as a tab under the toolbar and is selected. Everyone on the timeline sees the same stories.

You can also click Add story in the row of tabs: it saves the current filters as a new story and opens its name for you to type over.

Switch between stories

1. Click a story's tab to show its events, and All events to see the whole chronology again.

   

2. A story only decides what is shown. Choosing, changing or deleting a story never changes or deletes an event.

Update or remove a story

• Change the filters while a story is selected and its tab is marked with a dot. Click Save current story in the filter panel, or Unsaved filters in the row of tabs, to save the change to the story. To keep the original as it is, click Save as new story in the panel instead.
• Right-click a tab and choose Rename story or Delete story. Deleting removes the story and its saved filters for everyone on the timeline; the events are kept.

Tips from practice

• One story per issue or per reader. Name it after what it is for, so anyone on the team picks the right one without opening the filters.
• Export from a story. In the PDF and PowerPoint export dialogs, the arrow beside the box that ticks every event (Select story) ticks exactly the events in a story.
• A story per party fills a swimlane. See show each party's side in swimlanes.
• Stories are as good as what is on the events. Filtering by issue or by witness works when the events carry the tags and people: see tag events by issue and track who was involved in each event.

Filtering and saving stories need edit access to the timeline. When a story is ready, present the case chronology or draft a pleading from the chronology.