Has anyone used a tool like Office Timeline Expert (formerly Pro) to create timeline charts in PowerPoint? I'm looking for a tool to allow non-experts to enter timeline data and automatically create very pro, board-ready timelines. I'm aware of monday.com and tools that require a decent amount of configuration in advance. Something light and fast would be preferable.

Yes, I’ve seen Office Timeline (Expert/Pro) used quite successfully for exactly this purpose: enabling non-experts to enter simple timeline data and quickly generate very polished, board-ready visuals directly in PowerPoint. Its main strength is that it stays lightweight—no heavy project configuration—while producing consistent, professional timelines that executives immediately understand, and updates are fast when dates shift. Compared to tools like monday.com, it avoids upfront setup overhead and keeps the output presentation-centric. The trade-off is licensing cost, but for teams that regularly need clean, executive-level timelines without design effort, it hits a practical sweet spot.

Try Mermaid diagraming tool. Though.... it might not create board-ready artifacts: https://mermaid.live/edit#pako:eNpFjU1vwjAMhv9K5DOr0jZtINdN-5A2adK4bOolNG6JSGMUEm0M8d8XQIP3ZD9-bB-gJ4OgINoJnfXYeZYTbXTInu0uUtgzGtgH9VY79obGavbudBwoTBe34rxiir1av0Hz4q9QZPioe1wRbS7wHMWeiEaHV6_J6JPSMq1urM1s-W1jxAAzGIM1oGJIOIMJw6RPLRxOdgdxjRN2oHJpcNDJxQ46f8xrW-2_iKb_zUBpXIMatNvlLm2Njvhg9Rj0TUFvMNxT8hFU1ZxPgDrAD6i7UhS1WNRl3dZCNHO5yON9tnhdSNGIUvJWtqUsjzP4PX_lxVw2PKdquZS8ao5_-DlsFg