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> Programming and Scripting > Blueprint Visual Scripting > Specialized Node Groups > Timelines > Creating Timelines

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Creating Timelines

This document contains an overview of how to create Timeline nodes in Blueprints and C++.

Choose your operating system:

Windows

macOS

Linux

Choose your implementation method:

Blueprints

C++

Creating Timelines

You can create your own Timeline Component in an Actor Blueprint by following these steps.

From the Content Browser, select Add/Import > Blueprint Class and create a new Actor Blueprint named BP_TimelineActor. The Pick Parent Class dialog appears.
In the class defaults, right-click on the Event Graph, to display the Blueprint Context Menu, and select Add Timeline.

A new Timeline node appears on the Event Graph.

When a Timeline is added to your Blueprint class, you will be able to see it listed in the My Blueprint tab.

Timeline Variables

Once you have created a Timeline, you will notice it become available as a variable in the My Blueprint tab. This is done to provide a reference to the Timeline component, and is useful when utilizing the Timeline nodes. These nodes exist to allow access to certain features of a Timeline, such as its play rate.

In this example, we are using the Get Timeline 0 variable to query the current Play Rate value of that timeline.

A wide variety of such nodes exist, providing the capabilities to query values and control behavior of your Timeline nodes. For a complete list of the available Timeline nodes and their functionality, see the Timeline Nodes page.

Creating a Timeline Event

Timeline Events provide functionality to a Timeline Component to handle your own custom events or functions. Follow the steps below for an example on how to implement your own event.

Open BP_TimelineActor, then select and drag the execution pin off of Begin play and connect it to the Play execution pin of your Timeline Component.
Next, select and drag off the Finished execution pin and create a new print string node with the string "Timeline Finished".
Compile and Save, then press PIE.

After a default Timeline length of 5 seconds, The text "Timeline Finished" will appear on the top left corner of the viewport.

Renaming Timelines

When using multiple Timelines in your Blueprints, it is important to name each Timeline accordingly. By default, all Timelines are named "Timeline_n" where n is a serialized number at the end. You can rename a Timeline by right-clicking it within the Graph tab or in the My Blueprint tab and selecting Rename.

Opening the Timeline Editor

Creating a timeline may not be useful unless you set it up with something to perform. For more information on editing Timelines, please see the Timeline Editing page.

[INCLUDE:ProgrammingAndScripting/Blueprints\UserGuide/Timelines/Creation/CPP]

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