How to create an Era

Q & A
#1

I see mention of using Eras in Aeon, but don’t see instructions for how to use them. I understand it has to be set up in a new timeline, and have done that. But then what? What good does it do me?

I limited the dates to late 18th c., early 19th c., but when I want to add a date to a new event, I get 2025 as the default.

#2

The purpose of a new era is to start a new year count in your calendar. This means that at the transition from era A to era B, the date starts again with year 1.
I’m thinking of the Japanese calendar, for example, which is based on the reign of the respective emperors.

How this is set up is described quite well in the knowledge base. You can also search for specific questions here in the forum.

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#3

Hi JHH,

It sounds like you might be creating your events in the Spreadsheet and then adding their dates with the date picker, is that correct?

If so, you can set the ‘today’ date to be somewhere within the date range you’re working with under the Dates tab in Settings.

Set Current Date
Set Current Date1524×1408 201 KB

Just scroll to the bottom and check the box next to “For ongoing item calculations…”

That way you won’t have to change it from the real-time 2025 date each time, but you will still have to set the date for each event.

Some other options worth trying:

Drag from event panel
Drag from event panel1495×723 75.1 KB

Drag from Side Panel:

  1. Create your events in the Spreadsheet without dates.
  2. Switch to the Timeline view.
  3. Click the Event icon in the Sidebar to open the Event Panel.
  4. Drag events onto the Timeline from the panel to place them.

Note - The zoom level sets the date precision. If you don’t want to see the time of day, drag the Timescale Slider (bottom right of the app) to the left.

Double-click on Timeline:

  1. Switch to the Timeline view.
  2. Navigate to the relevant time period.
  3. Double-click on the Timeline to place the event.
  4. Drag the event to fine-tune the date, or
  5. Select the event and edit the details in the Inspector.

Also, try the same approach using the +Add Item button (top left of the app) to add an event on the visible section of Timeline instead of double-clicking.

Hope that helps!

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