New Aeon Timeline (v3) user, working with the Creative Writing: Novel template on a Mac.
How do I plot a graph that shows the rise and fall of tension with each event? I created a new data type called Tension with the fixed integer set 1 through 10 as the only available values.
Is it possible to graph such a thing?
(I found a previous thread from years ago that referenced “Tension” and the possibility to graph it. But I haven’t found any other info or reference to such a thing.)
Can you export your “tension” field with the CSV file? Then it should be possible to load it into a spreadsheet program such as Excel or LibreOffice Calc and have this create the diagram.
I put in a feature request to map out various properties in a line graph style quite some time ago. I can’t recall if it was post initial 3.0 release or during the Alpha/ Beta phase, but my hope was to be able to map out story structure and changes in the dates of characters. So if a change in a scene’s internal or external values (see Story Grid framework) were positive it would show an increase in that value for that event or scene. And vice verse for negative internal and external value shifts. So I get where you are coming from.
As Peter states it would be possible to export a csv and map those values in a spreadsheet application. But to be honest I’m hankering after shiny new things in Aeon and fed up of always trying to work around the lack of much needed functionality. It feels like there has been little movement in user requested features since launch and I’m running out of patience waiting for features I need to be implemented.
Well, I see your point, Andrew. Anyway, when I look at all the feature requests around, and the discussions about Aeon as an all-rounder (including word processing, note taking, and world building database), and then think of the potential issues around stability and performance, then I don’t raise my expectations too high. I am simply happy to have the best timeline program on the market with Aeon 2. And I’m really satisfied when I can expand it through programming and integrate it into my own tool landscape.
Absolutely, Peter. There must be so many feature requests, it can’t be easy for the devs to work out which to develop and when. This one, for me at least, isn’t a deal breaker. But others are, and it would be nice to see some of the features developed, that I believe would make a writer’s job easier. Such as a consistent narrative order implementation across other views. Exporting of text: no app purporting to be for writers should hold on to text and not allow some rudimentary output to use in other applications. Then there’s better text input and possible formatting. The list goes on. I’m a firm advocate for AT3. But when my workflows are impeded I get frustrated. Next up is an online version. But that doesn’t interest me and that feature has been at least six months in the making. So, yeah, I’m one frustrated writer.
I agree with you about the lack of text export. In this respect, they seem to rely on the interaction with Scrivener, which may have a high market share in English-speaking countries.
I have made an Aeon 3 extension available for the free LibreOffice myself, but it seems that hardly anyone uses it. Apparently there are people who buy all their software and have very high expectations on the one side, and those who never spend any money for applications and use open source or freeware on the other side. So using LibreOffice goes along with not buying Aeon Timeline.
So it looks like it makes perfect sense to concentrate on the smoothest possible interaction with commercial software such as Scrivener and Ulysses, and to minimize other interfaces to such an extent that no support effort is required.
Sorry, this is off-topic, isn’t it? There are other threads for that.
The elephant in the room, of course, is that the developers are very careful to leave us in the dark. Yes, I know, they have their reasons. I just think we deserve better.
When I was studying engineering, my professor for industrial and systems technology taught me: “You always need two teams. One that keeps the customer happy and one that does the actual work.” Quite true.
Very true Peter. Heads down developing is all well and good, as long as you still have customers when you lift your head to stop coding.
Hi Steve,
The feature request section has now been removed from the redesigned website. With its demise, the tiny candle we were all using to stumble our way through the development roadmap has been blown out. And all we can hear in the dark is that elephant stomping harder and harder and harder.
Andrew, I hadn’t realized the feature request section had been removed. It had pretty much been ignored anyway, but yes, at least it was something.
Hi @TCM087, thanks for your question. As others have said, currently the only way to do this is to export your data and use a program such as Excel to visualize it.
Regarding feature requests, @SCN @ahansonauthor @Peter_T, I’ve put up a post to give at least a bit more info for now: An update on the Feature Requests page
It doesn’t answer all the questions and feedback given here, but hopefully it helps show where we’re currently at and where we’re trying to go. We do read and consider every single feature request that comes in, and we are actively hiring at the moment with the hopes of being able to hold solid, informative conversations with you all.
Thanks for the workaround. I hope it’s temporary–it would be nice to be able to do that within the program.
Haven’t tried this yet, but will look into it later. I just needed to know if I should bother with the additional field.
To be honest.
You have been ignoring important feature request for way to long now, like an “export to web function” or “sync to markdown” function, that allow people to publish/share their timelines or use better editors for their notes/writing.
You need to tell your customers that; -“Yes, that feature will come”.
I know for myself, that the only way I give you any more money is if you come out with a real “export to web” function that allows me to share or publish my research on my own server/domain.
I don’t care if I need to pay a few Euro for it, but I will not be forced to use a web site that I have no control over and where my data is stored on a server in another country or with a service that do not care that much about privacy or security of personal information.
The same goes for Editors, I will not pay for any more “updates” or “support” when I am forced to use a text editor where the developers deny making changes to support the possibility to use any decent Bibliography, Source and Citation Manager.
And I think it is more users than me that think the same way… Even though it might be because of other features.
You have a really good product here and I agree with @Peter_T , that I am happy to have a really good timeline software, actually one of the best if not the best out there, it doesn’t need to have a built-in full-blown text editor, it doesn’t need to have tons of built in whistles in it, but it need some real export and/or sync functions. one that makes it possible to actually publish or share your timeline and research, as it is now, we can’t even export a large timeline to pdf or jpg in a viewable size.
And it must be possible to export or sync with something not as limited as Scrivener.
As a minimum it should have export for at least a couple of well-known Open Source, Open Data file formats that is not limited regarding data exported and where people without tons of developers-experience, actually can utilize their own data.