Lanes, markers, and panels

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Lanes, markers, and panels

    Lanes, markers, and panels form the core components of timeline visualizations in ServiceNow, available primarily in the 3D view. They help organize and display activities and records over time, enhancing visibility into project timelines and other scheduled activities.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Lanes: Channels that group activities in the 3D timeline view. Up to eight lanes can be displayed simultaneously. Users can toggle the visibility of individual lanes via the Settings pane. The number of items shown per lane is controlled by timeline visualization settings.
    • Markers: Horizontal lines crossing all lanes that indicate monthly transitions, aiding in temporal orientation within the timeline.
    • Panels: Visual blocks representing one or multiple records, color coded based on administrator-defined criteria. In 2D view, panels represent single records grouped by month and stacked chronologically, with the current month displayed by default. In 3D view, panels are grouped within lanes and ordered by date.

    Practical Use in CIO Roadmap

    Panels in the CIO Roadmap visualize projects according to their planned completion dates. In 3D view, projects sharing the same completion date are consolidated into a single panel, whereas in 2D view, they appear as individual panels. Panel headers are color coded by project state, and consolidated panels are marked with a black header. Accessing detailed information about panels is straightforward, with options to view summaries or full records via clicking and modifier keys.

    Additional Details

    • Printing visualizations is supported from the 2D view using the browser's print function.
    • The timeline administrator controls color coding and summary window content.
    • Activation of timeline visualizations does not automatically enable the CIO Roadmap; the PPM plugin is required.

    How This Helps You

    By understanding lanes, markers, and panels, you can effectively navigate timeline visualizations to track project progress, identify key dates, and quickly access detailed project information. Customizable views and color coding enhance clarity and decision-making, especially when managing complex project portfolios in the CIO Roadmap.

    Lanes, markers, and panels are the fundamental elements of a timeline visualization. appear in the 3D view only.

    Note:
    Lanes and markers are available in the 3D view only. A panel in the 2D view always represents a single record, while panels in 3D view may represent one or more records.

    Lanes

    A lane is a channel in which activities are grouped. A visualization can display up to eight lanes at a time. While viewing a visualization, you can use the Settings pane to show or hide individual lanes.
    Note:
    The number of items displayed in a lane depends on the Max items per lane and Max items per lane 2d settings on Timeline Visualization form.

    Markers

    Markers are horizontal lines that cross all lanes and identify a transition to the next month.

    Panels

    Panels in both 2D and 3D views are color coded according to values that the administrator selects during the initial setup.

    3D panel

    2D panel

    In 2D view, panels are grouped by month and stacked in chronological order, from the earliest date to the latest date. By default, the 2D view opens with the current month displayed on the left side of the visualization. You can print visualizations from the 2D view using the browser's print option. In 3D view, panels are grouped in lanes and ordered by date, from earliest to latest. The date that appears on the panel determines its placement in 2D and 3D view. The date displayed is based on a value the timeline administrator selects during initial setup.

    Panels appear in the CIO Roadmap according to the planned completion date for the project. In 3D view, projects with the same planned date of completion are consolidated into a single panel. In 2D view, projects with the same planned date of completion are displayed as individual panels.

    Panel headers in the CIO Roadmap are color coded based on project state. However, in 3D view, if a panel represents more than one project, the panel header is colored black. The Settings pane contains a key showing each available project state and the corresponding color.

    Note:
    Activating timeline visualizations doesn't activate predefined CIO roadmap. You require PPM (com.snc.financial_planning_pmo) plugin to use CIO roadmap.
    To view additional information about a panel:
    • Click a panel for a single record while in 2D or 3D view to open a summary window that contains additional information. Click the heading in the summary window to open the full record.
    • Press the Shift key and then click a panel to open the full record.
    • Click a panel that represents multiple records to open a list of those records. Click a record number to open the full record.

    The timeline administrator can configure the information that appears in summary windows.