Skip to main content
The Case Timeline at app.rytz.com.au/case-timeline is the historical record of your matter — every event that has happened, in the order it happened, with links back to the underlying evidence. Where the Case Planner is the forward-looking calendar (what’s coming, when), the Case Timeline is the rear-view mirror (what happened, when). Both tools work with the same date data; they just present it for different uses.

​
Why a separate timeline view

A few reasons:
  • Affidavit drafting loves chronology. Most affidavits walk events in date order; reading the Timeline before drafting puts you in chronological headspace.
  • Cross-examination preparation runs against a chronology — the other party will press you on the order in which things happened. Knowing your own chronology cold means you don’t get caught.
  • Pattern detection is easier in a timeline view. Repeated changeovers always falling on Sundays. Communications consistently received late at night. Patterns are visual when displayed chronologically; invisible when displayed by category.
  • Summarising the matter to anyone (lawyer, friend, mediator) is cleaner from a chronology than from a category-organised set.

​
What appears in the timeline

The Timeline draws from the same sources as the Master Case File’s chronology section but adds: Each entry includes:
  • Date — what the entry is about (not the date you recorded it)
  • Type — colour-coded by source (evidence / court / communication / decision / consultation)
  • Title and short description
  • Source link — click through to the underlying Portfolio item, court document, consultation note, or decision record
  • Tags — inherited from the source

​
Three views

Full chronology

Every entry, oldest to newest. Read top to bottom for the complete narrative.

Filtered by tag

Useful for narrative segments — “show me only changeover-tagged events” produces a changeover-only chronology.

Filtered by source

Just evidence, just court events, just communications. Useful for affidavit drafting (typically you focus on one source-type per paragraph).

Date-range

Pick start and end dates. Useful for stage-specific bundles or for “what happened in the 90 days before the interim hearing?”.

​
Reading the timeline well

A few practices:
Read the timeline before drafting any affidavit. Even an experienced drafter loses the narrative thread when working from raw notes. A 5-minute scroll through the Timeline puts you in the right headspace before you start writing.
Print the timeline before any hearing. A printed chronology in front of you (or a printed pdf) is harder to lose your place on than scrolling on a phone. Court rooms aren’t always cellular-network-friendly.
Re-read the timeline quarterly even when nothing’s happening. Your view of events shifts over time. A communication that felt like a passing thing in February reads differently in November. Re-reading the timeline catches what your present-day filter would miss.

​
Exporting the timeline

The Timeline supports two export formats:
  • Annotated chronology PDF — formatted for human reading; printable; ideal for affidavit-prep or hearing-prep
  • Plain-text bullet list — paste-friendly into Word, email, or another platform; useful for quick lawyer briefings
Both exports respect any filters you have applied. If you’ve filtered to changeover-tagged events only, the export contains only those events. For a more structured export (with strategy section, evidence matrix, etc.), use the Master Case File export instead — the Timeline is the chronology component of the MCF, not a substitute for the full document.

​
What the Timeline will not do

  • It will not edit the underlying records. Editing happens in the source surface (Evidence Portfolio for evidence items, etc.). The Timeline is a read-only view.
  • It will not interpret events for you. The Timeline shows what happened. The Master Case File Strategy section interprets it.
  • It will not auto-include events you haven’t recorded. A communication you didn’t capture in the Portfolio doesn’t appear. Garbage in, garbage out — the Timeline is only as good as your capture habits.

​
Common patterns

​
Where the Timeline connects

  • Master Case File — the Timeline is the data behind the MCF’s Chronology section
  • Affidavit Preparation — drafting wizards reference the Timeline for date-order prompts
  • Case Planner — forward-looking complement to the Timeline’s rear-view
  • Evidence Portfolio — most Timeline entries are evidence items; Timeline entries link back to the Portfolio
  • AI assistant — “summarise events between [dates]” returns Timeline output
  • Strategic Planning — Strategic Planning uses Timeline patterns as inputs

​
What’s next

Case Planner

The forward-looking calendar.

Master Case File

The synthesised case document where Timeline data lives as Chronology.

Strategic Planning

Where Timeline patterns inform strategy.

Evidence Portfolio

Source of most Timeline entries.