Lanetrace

Open-source, single-file program timeline builder with Excel import, swimlanes, milestones, decisions, and boardroom-ready exports.

What It Does

Lanetrace turns Excel data into professional timeline visuals. Drop in a spreadsheet, and get a presentation-ready roadmap with:

• Swimlanes for organizing work by team, phase, or workstream
• Multiple item types: phases, tasks, milestones, events, decisions
• Two ways to edit: one item form, or inline in the Data view grid
• Exports: SVG, PNG, PDF, PowerPoint, clipboard, Excel and CSV
• Status updates: builds an AI prompt for a status email from your dates and progress
• Themes: nine color packs, each in light, dark and auto modes
• Density options: ultra-compact to spacious

Why It Exists

Program managers need timeline visuals for executive presentations. MS Project is overkill. PowerPoint shapes are tedious. Office Timeline costs money.

Lanetrace fills the gap: a free, portable tool that works from a single HTML file with no install required.

It takes cues from Office Timeline (now Lucen), Microsoft Project, Microsoft Planner and SharePoint Lists.

Current Status

Early prototype / pre-release

Core functionality works, but the project is still being polished for public release. Expect rough edges.

Quick Start

1. Download public/lanetrace.html
2. Open it in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari)
3. The built-in sample data demonstrates all features
4. To load your own data:
   • Click Settings > Download template to get the Excel template (a copy is also in examples/)
   • Fill in your data. The template's Instructions sheet explains every column
   • Drag-drop the file onto the app (or click Load .xlsx)

Features

Timeline View

• SVG-based rendering
• Color-coded swimlanes with sub-swimlanes
• Collapsible swimlanes that show one summary bar with dates, item count and % complete
• Optional milestone strip above the timescale, for all milestones or pinned ones
• Today marker, or a custom "as of" date
• Month/quarter/year grid and legend
• Bar labels pick white or dark text for contrast, in every theme
• Keyboard access: Tab to any item, Enter to edit

Data View

• Inline cell editing with dropdowns and suggestions
• New item opens the same item form the timeline uses
• Quick look column: open the item, preview notes, row menu
• Column reordering, custom columns and filters by swimlane, item type and visibility
• Data checks flag unreadable dates and missing fields

Item Types

Type	Description
Phase	Bar with rounded ends, for project phases
Task	Bar with a pointed end, for work items
Milestone	Diamond marker, single point in time
Event	Triangle marker, external occurrence
Decision	Star marker, choice point

Exports

• SVG: Vector format, editable in Illustrator/Figma
• PNG and clipboard: High-resolution image for slides and email
• PDF: Via browser print dialog
• PowerPoint: Embedded image on a 16:9 slide
• Excel: Every item with your edits, in the template layout, so it loads back in
• CSV: UTF-8, for other tools

Customization

• Light/dark/auto theme
• Four density levels
• Swimlane colors and ordering
• Undo/redo

Data Format

See docs/data-format.md for the complete column reference.

Required columns:

• Row ID
• Swimlane
• Milestone/Task Title
• End date

Optional columns include Sub-swimlane, Start date (blank = milestone), % Complete, Owner, Notes (Markdown), Item Type, Label Position, Milestone Shape, Bar Style, Milestone Row, Shown, Color Category and Title Color.

Privacy / Local-First

Lanetrace is entirely local:

• No server required
• No data sent anywhere
• No analytics or tracking
• Your data stays in your browser

The one network request: the first PowerPoint export downloads its library (PptxGenJS, version pinned and integrity-checked) from jsDelivr. Every other feature works offline.

Optional: Use the sync folder feature (Chromium only) to persist settings to a local folder.

Browser Compatibility

Browser	Status
Chrome	Full support
Edge	Full support
Firefox	localStorage only (no sync folder)
Safari	localStorage only (no sync folder)

Not a Gantt Chart

Lanetrace does not currently support:

• Dependency arrows between items
• Critical path analysis
• Resource leveling
• Drag-to-reschedule

If you need these features, use MS Project or similar tools.

Roadmap

• Dependency arrows (major feature)
• Drag-to-reschedule items
• JSON data format support
• Clipboard paste from Excel

Attribution

Created by Wesley Erickson | pmpmaker.com

License

MIT License - see LICENSE