For some of our databases we prefer to use single-dates rather than date ranges. 90% of these databases only have a single day, so using a date range adds an extra click and shows the date twice. But for the 10% of entities on these databases where we need a duration as well, we have a number field showing “+ Days” and a formula that ties the due date and the extra days together.
With all the new Timeline improvements, I would love a way to drag and drop these databases on the timeline. But using a date field as the start and a formula field as the end only lets me drag backwards and not change the overall duration.
On a Timeline, I would love to be able to use a single date field for the start and a number field as the end date, then Fibery creates an automatic date range between the two. This way I can still drag the entities around and extend the duration when necessary.
This is probably a very unusual use case, so I completely understand if this isn’t implemented. I just wanted to share one of our use cases for timeline.
We have an assumption that when you are dragging the end of an card on the timeline view that you are only editing the value for that field (i.e. if you drag the left edge, you are changing the start date). We also have a constraint that the start date must be before the end date, so you are never allowed to drag the left edge beyond the position of the right edge, since this would imply that you were updating both fields.
However, if you drag the whole card, you are simultaneously adjusting the start and end dates (maintaining the duration). As you point out, if either field is read-only, you won’t be allowed to do this.
Why don’t you have a normal (editable field) for the end date and a duration (number) field, and then you can use an automation that runs when the duration field is updated to change the end date accordingly. If necessary, have an automation that runs on creation (with a filter of End date is empty) to set the default duration value to 1, and possibly one to run on creation if Start and End date aren’t empty to calculate the duration.
