This week we are pushing farther into Flash and will be analyzing one of the key design components of an animated map: the timeline. No, I'm not referring to the "timeline" in Flash but rather a component of the animation that relates temporal information and controls. A poorly designed timeline is difficult to use and interpret, and takes away from the animation regardless of how nice the maps are. The goal is to have dates and buttons and visuals that are intuitive, integrated, and functional. You want the viewer to spend their time on the map, not figuring out how to play it!