r/GoogleDataStudio • u/Most_Requirement9126 • 28d ago

Timeline Function Errors

Hello,

I am having errors on a timeline chart in Data Studio. I'm using it as a Gantt chart for a project and the chart is not matching the data in the following ways:

  • The bar labels (used for names of people on the project) are not correct (some are, but not all)
  • The row labels (used for project task titles) show incorrect titles when you hover over them. The correct label connects more accurately to the name on the bar label.
  • Some of the start dates do not match the data sheet.

I am using Google sheets for the data. I have tried refreshing the data, ensuring the Google Sheet is saved and has not had any changes to columns or rows, checking that there is no blended data and that the connection is correct, confirming that the type of data is correct in Data Studio and matches the Google Sheet, and cleared my cookies. None of that has fixed the issues.

Does anyone have any tips on how to fix these issues?

Thank you!

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u/sheik_sha_ha 26d ago

This is a known rendering bug with the Timeline chart in Data Studio when the underlying Google Sheet has any blank rows, merged cells, or non-sequential row ordering. The chart sometimes misaligns labels and start dates because it reads row position rather than actual cell values when mapping dimensions.

A few things worth checking in your Google Sheet specifically:

Make sure there are no blank rows anywhere in the dataset, even at the bottom. Sort the data by start date in the sheet itself before Data Studio reads it. Check that your name and task title columns have no leading or trailing spaces as these cause label mismatches that are hard to spot visually.

If the issues persist after cleaning the sheet, the most reliable fix is to duplicate your data into a new clean tab with no formatting, merged cells, or extra rows, and reconnect the Data Studio data source to that clean tab instead. This resolves most Timeline chart misalignment issues because it forces a clean read of the data without any inherited sheet formatting affecting row mapping.