diff --git a/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/DateTimeRange.java b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/DateTimeRange.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f880888
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/DateTimeRange.java
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package org.lucares.pdb.plot.api;
+
+import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
+
+public class DateTimeRange {
+	private final OffsetDateTime start;
+	private final OffsetDateTime end;
+
+	public DateTimeRange(final OffsetDateTime start, final OffsetDateTime end) {
+		this.start = start;
+		this.end = end;
+	}
+
+	public OffsetDateTime getStart() {
+		return start;
+	}
+
+	public OffsetDateTime getEnd() {
+		return end;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public String toString() {
+		return start + "-" + end;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/PlotSettings.java b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/PlotSettings.java
index 888c59b..d5bb762 100644
--- a/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/PlotSettings.java
+++ b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdb/plot/api/PlotSettings.java
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 package org.lucares.pdb.plot.api;
 
-import java.time.Instant;
 import java.time.LocalDateTime;
 import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
 import java.time.ZoneOffset;
 import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
-import java.time.temporal.ChronoUnit;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
+import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
 
 public class PlotSettings {
 
@@ -30,9 +29,7 @@ public class PlotSettings {
 
 	private int limit;
 
-	private String dateFrom;
-
-	private String dateRange;
+	private String dateRangeAsString;
 
 	private AxisScale yAxisScale;
 
@@ -110,68 +107,24 @@ public class PlotSettings {
 		this.limit = limit;
 	}
 
-	public String getDateFrom() {
-		return dateFrom;
-	}
-
-	public void setDateFrom(final String dateFrom) {
-		this.dateFrom = dateFrom;
-	}
-
 	public String getDateRange() {
-		return dateRange;
+		return dateRangeAsString;
 	}
 
-	public void setDateRange(final String dateRange) {
-		this.dateRange = dateRange;
+	public void setDateRange(final String dateRangeAsString) {
+		this.dateRangeAsString = dateRangeAsString;
 	}
 
-	public OffsetDateTime dateFrom() {
+	public DateTimeRange dateRange() {
 
-		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(dateFrom)) {
+		final String[] startEnd = dateRangeAsString.split(Pattern.quote(" - "));
+		Preconditions.checkArgument(startEnd.length == 2, "invalid date range");
 
-			return OffsetDateTime.ofInstant(Instant.ofEpochMilli(Long.MIN_VALUE), ZoneOffset.UTC);
-		} else {
-			return LocalDateTime.parse(dateFrom, DATE_FORMAT).atOffset(ZoneOffset.UTC);
-		}
-	}
+		final OffsetDateTime startDate = LocalDateTime.parse(startEnd[0], DATE_FORMAT).atOffset(ZoneOffset.UTC);
+		final OffsetDateTime endDate = LocalDateTime.parse(startEnd[1], DATE_FORMAT).atOffset(ZoneOffset.UTC);
 
-	public OffsetDateTime dateTo() {
+		return new DateTimeRange(startDate, endDate);
 
-		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(dateRange)) {
-			return OffsetDateTime.ofInstant(Instant.ofEpochMilli(Long.MAX_VALUE), ZoneOffset.UTC);
-		} else {
-			final int period = Integer.parseInt(dateRange.split(" ")[0]);
-			final ChronoUnit unit = toChronoUnit(dateRange.split(" ")[1]);
-
-			return dateFrom().plus(period, unit);
-		}
-	}
-
-	private ChronoUnit toChronoUnit(final String string) {
-
-		switch (string) {
-		case "second":
-		case "seconds":
-			return ChronoUnit.SECONDS;
-		case "minute":
-		case "minutes":
-			return ChronoUnit.MINUTES;
-		case "hour":
-		case "hours":
-			return ChronoUnit.HOURS;
-		case "day":
-		case "days":
-			return ChronoUnit.DAYS;
-		case "week":
-		case "weeks":
-			return ChronoUnit.WEEKS;
-		case "month":
-		case "months":
-			return ChronoUnit.MONTHS;
-		default:
-			throw new IllegalArgumentException(string + " is an unknown chrono unit");
-		}
 	}
 
 	public void setYAxisScale(final AxisScale axisScale) {
@@ -186,7 +139,7 @@ public class PlotSettings {
 	public String toString() {
 		return "PlotSettings [query=" + query + ", height=" + height + ", width=" + width + ", thumbnailMaxWidth="
 				+ thumbnailMaxWidth + ", thumbnailMaxHeight=" + thumbnailMaxHeight + ", groupBy=" + groupBy
-				+ ", limitBy=" + limitBy + ", limit=" + limit + ", dateFrom=" + dateFrom + ", dateRange=" + dateRange
+				+ ", limitBy=" + limitBy + ", limit=" + limit + ", dateRangeAsString=" + dateRangeAsString
 				+ ", yAxisScale=" + yAxisScale + ", aggregate=" + aggregate + ", yRangeMin=" + yRangeMin
 				+ ", yRangeMax=" + yRangeMax + ", yRangeUnit=" + yRangeUnit + ", keyOutside=" + keyOutside
 				+ ", generateThumbnail=" + generateThumbnail + "]";
diff --git a/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/recommind/logs/ScatterPlot.java b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/recommind/logs/ScatterPlot.java
index a0c4ce6..f50e31b 100644
--- a/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/recommind/logs/ScatterPlot.java
+++ b/pdb-plotting/src/main/java/org/lucares/recommind/logs/ScatterPlot.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.lucares.pdb.api.GroupResult;
 import org.lucares.pdb.api.Result;
 import org.lucares.pdb.api.Tags;
 import org.lucares.pdb.plot.api.CustomAggregator;
+import org.lucares.pdb.plot.api.DateTimeRange;
 import org.lucares.pdb.plot.api.Limit;
 import org.lucares.pdb.plot.api.PlotSettings;
 import org.lucares.pdb.plot.api.TimeRangeUnitInternal;
@@ -78,8 +79,9 @@ public class ScatterPlot {
 			final List<String> groupBy = plotSettings.getGroupBy();
 			final int height = plotSettings.getHeight();
 			final int width = plotSettings.getWidth();
-			final OffsetDateTime dateFrom = plotSettings.dateFrom();
-			final OffsetDateTime dateTo = plotSettings.dateTo();
+			final DateTimeRange dateRange = plotSettings.dateRange();
+			final OffsetDateTime dateFrom = dateRange.getStart();
+			final OffsetDateTime dateTo = dateRange.getEnd();
 
 			final Result result = db.get(query, groupBy);
 
@@ -117,7 +119,7 @@ public class ScatterPlot {
 				final GnuplotSettings gnuplotSettings = new GnuplotSettings(outputFile);
 				gnuplotSettings.setHeight(height);
 				gnuplotSettings.setWidth(width);
-				defineXAxis(gnuplotSettings, plotSettings.dateFrom(), plotSettings.dateTo());
+				defineXAxis(gnuplotSettings, plotSettings.dateRange());
 
 				gnuplotSettings.setYAxisScale(plotSettings.getYAxisScale());
 				gnuplotSettings.setAggregate(plotSettings.getAggregate());
@@ -134,7 +136,7 @@ public class ScatterPlot {
 				final GnuplotSettings gnuplotSettings = new GnuplotSettings(thumbnail);
 				gnuplotSettings.setHeight(plotSettings.getThumbnailMaxHeight());
 				gnuplotSettings.setWidth(plotSettings.getThumbnailMaxWidth());
-				defineXAxis(gnuplotSettings, plotSettings.dateFrom(), plotSettings.dateTo());
+				defineXAxis(gnuplotSettings, plotSettings.dateRange());
 
 				gnuplotSettings.setYAxisScale(plotSettings.getYAxisScale());
 				gnuplotSettings.setAggregate(plotSettings.getAggregate());
@@ -169,9 +171,10 @@ public class ScatterPlot {
 		}
 	}
 
-	private void defineXAxis(final GnuplotSettings gnuplotSettings, final OffsetDateTime minDate,
-			final OffsetDateTime maxDate) {
+	private void defineXAxis(final GnuplotSettings gnuplotSettings, final DateTimeRange dateTimeRange) {
 
+		final OffsetDateTime minDate = dateTimeRange.getStart();
+		final OffsetDateTime maxDate = dateTimeRange.getEnd();
 		String formatX;
 		int rotateX;
 		String formattedMinDate;
diff --git a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PdbController.java b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PdbController.java
index 954f08c..a8c6cfe 100644
--- a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PdbController.java
+++ b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PdbController.java
@@ -150,8 +150,7 @@ public class PdbController implements HardcodedValues, PropertyKeys {
 			@RequestParam(name = "groupBy[]", defaultValue = "") final List<String> aGroupBy,
 			@RequestParam(name = "limitBy.number", defaultValue = "10") final int limit,
 			@RequestParam(name = "limitBy.selected", defaultValue = "NO_LIMIT") final Limit limitBy,
-			@RequestParam(name = "dateFrom", defaultValue = "") final String dateFrom,
-			@RequestParam(name = "dateRange", defaultValue = "1 week") final String dateRange,
+			@RequestParam(name = "dateRange") final String dateRange,
 			@RequestParam(name = "axisScale", defaultValue = "LINEAR") final AxisScale axisScale,
 			@RequestParam(name = "aggregate", defaultValue = "NONE") final Aggregate aggregate,
 			@RequestParam(name = "keyOutside", defaultValue = "false") final boolean keyOutside,
@@ -163,6 +162,10 @@ public class PdbController implements HardcodedValues, PropertyKeys {
 				throw new BadRequest("The query must not be empty!");
 			}
 
+			if (StringUtils.isBlank(dateRange)) {
+				throw new BadRequest("The parameter 'dateRange' must be set.");
+			}
+
 			final PlotSettings plotSettings = new PlotSettings();
 			plotSettings.setQuery(query);
 			plotSettings.setGroupBy(aGroupBy);
@@ -170,7 +173,6 @@ public class PdbController implements HardcodedValues, PropertyKeys {
 			plotSettings.setWidth(hidth);
 			plotSettings.setLimit(limit);
 			plotSettings.setLimitBy(limitBy);
-			plotSettings.setDateFrom(dateFrom);
 			plotSettings.setDateRange(dateRange);
 			plotSettings.setYAxisScale(axisScale);
 			plotSettings.setAggregate(PlotSettingsTransformer.toAggregateInternal(aggregate));
diff --git a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PlotSettingsTransformer.java b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PlotSettingsTransformer.java
index 378dd26..20fb1eb 100644
--- a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PlotSettingsTransformer.java
+++ b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/PlotSettingsTransformer.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ class PlotSettingsTransformer {
 		result.setWidth(request.getWidth());
 		result.setLimit(request.getLimit());
 		result.setLimitBy(request.getLimitBy());
-		result.setDateFrom(request.getDateFrom());
 		result.setDateRange(request.getDateRange());
 		result.setYAxisScale(request.getAxisScale());
 		result.setAggregate(toAggregateInternal(request.getAggregate()));
diff --git a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/domain/PlotRequest.java b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/domain/PlotRequest.java
index 77c1e6e..3c06b57 100644
--- a/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/domain/PlotRequest.java
+++ b/pdb-ui/src/main/java/org/lucares/pdbui/domain/PlotRequest.java
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ public class PlotRequest {
 
 	private int limit = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
 
-	private String dateFrom;
-
 	private String dateRange;
 
 	private Aggregate aggregate = Aggregate.NONE;
@@ -107,22 +105,11 @@ public class PlotRequest {
 		this.limit = limit;
 	}
 
-	public String getDateFrom() {
-		return dateFrom;
-	}
-
-	public void setDateFrom(final String dateFrom) {
-		this.dateFrom = dateFrom;
-	}
-
 	public String getDateRange() {
 		return dateRange;
 	}
 
 	public void setDateRange(final String dateRange) {
-		if (!dateRange.matches("\\d+ (second|minute|hour|day|week|month)s?")) {
-			throw new IllegalArgumentException(dateRange + " is not a valid range");
-		}
 		this.dateRange = dateRange;
 	}
 
diff --git a/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/css/design.css b/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/css/design.css
index d0b771f..291c534 100644
--- a/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/css/design.css
+++ b/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/css/design.css
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@ textarea {
 	width: 4em;
 }
 
-.input_date {
-	max-width: 10em;	
+#search-date-range {
+	width: 38ex;
 }
 
 #add-filter {
diff --git a/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/js/ui.js b/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/js/ui.js
index f41b6c2..4db7529 100644
--- a/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/js/ui.js
+++ b/pdb-ui/src/main/resources/resources/js/ui.js
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ function ffHasParentWithId(el, id) {
 	return false; 
 };
 
+const DATE_PATTERN = "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss"; // for moment-JS
+
 window.onload=function(){
 
 const gnuplotLMargin = 110; // The left margin configured for gnuplot
@@ -24,6 +26,8 @@ moment.locale('en', {
     }
 });
 
+
+
 Vue.config.keyCodes.arrowUp = 38;
 Vue.config.keyCodes.arrowDown = 40;
 
@@ -225,23 +229,22 @@ Vue.component('result-view', {
 		  return x > gnuplotLMargin && x < imageWith - gnuplotRMargin;
 		},
 		drag_start: function(event) {
+		  event.preventDefault();
 		  if (event.buttons == 1 && this.isInPlot(event.x) && !data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.keyOutside) {
-    		  //console.log("drag-start " +event.x+ " " + event.buttons);
     		  this.in_drag_mode = true;
     		  this.drag_start_x = event.x;
     		  this.drag_end_x = event.x;
           }
 		},
 		dragging: function(event) {
+		  
 		  if (this.in_drag_mode && event.buttons == 1 && this.isInPlot(event.x) && !data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.keyOutside){
-		      //console.log("dragging " + event.layerX+ " " + event.x + " button: " + event.buttons);
 		      this.drag_end_x = event.x;
 		      
 		      const left = this.drag_start_x < this.drag_end_x ? this.drag_start_x : this.drag_end_x;
 		      const width = Math.abs(this.drag_start_x - this.drag_end_x);
 		      
 		      this.zoomInSliderStyle="position: absolute; left: "+left+"px; width: "+width+"px; top:"+gnuplotTMargin+"px; bottom: "+gnuplotBMargin+"px;";
-		      //console.log(this.zoomInSliderStyle);
 		  }
 		},
 		drag_stop: function(event) {
@@ -251,9 +254,7 @@ Vue.component('result-view', {
 		      
 		      // Zoom in if the selected area has some arbitrary minimal size
 		      if (Math.abs(this.drag_start_x - this.drag_end_x) > 10) {
-		          const dateFrom = data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.dateFrom;
-		          const dateRange = data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.dateRange;
-		          
+		          const dateRange = parseDateRange(data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.dateRange);
 		          
 		          const startPxInImage = Math.min(this.drag_start_x, this.drag_end_x);
 		          const endPxInImage = Math.max(this.drag_start_x, this.drag_end_x);
@@ -264,16 +265,10 @@ Vue.component('result-view', {
 		          const endPxWithinPlotArea = endPxInImage - gnuplotLMargin;  
 		          
 		          const startPercentOfDateRange = startPxWithinPlotArea / widthPlotArea;
-		          const intervalPercentOfDateRange = (endPxWithinPlotArea- startPxWithinPlotArea) / widthPlotArea;
+		          const endPercentOfDateRange = 1-endPxWithinPlotArea / widthPlotArea;
 		          
-		          const dateRangeInSeconds = this.dateRangeToSeconds(dateRange);
-		          const newStartDate = this.shiftDateBySeconds(dateFrom, dateRangeInSeconds * startPercentOfDateRange);
-		          const newDateRangeInSeconds = Math.max(60, dateRangeInSeconds * intervalPercentOfDateRange);
-		          const newDateRange = Math.ceil(newDateRangeInSeconds) + " seconds";
+		          shiftDate(data.searchBar.imageLastUsedParams.dateRange, startPercentOfDateRange, -1*endPercentOfDateRange);
 		          
-		          console.log("new range: "+newStartDate+" with interval "+newDateRange);
-		          data.searchBar.dateFrom = newStartDate;
-		          data.searchBar.dateRange = newDateRange;
 		          plotCurrent();
 		      }
 		  }
@@ -283,51 +278,6 @@ Vue.component('result-view', {
           this.drag_start_x = 0;
           this.drag_end_x = 0;
           this.zoomInSliderStyle="display: none;";
-		},
-		shiftDateBySeconds: function(date, shiftInSeconds) {
-		    var oldDate = Date.parse(date);
-            var newDate = oldDate.add({seconds: shiftInSeconds});
-            return newDate.toString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
-		},
-		dateRangeToSeconds: function(dateRange){
-            var tokens = dateRange.split(/ +/,2);
-            
-            var newValue = -1;
-            if(tokens.length == 2)
-            {       
-                var value = parseInt(tokens[0]);
-                var period = tokens[1];
-                switch (period) {
-                    case "second":
-                    case "seconds":
-                        newValue = value;
-                        break;
-                    case "minute":
-                    case "minutes":
-                        newValue = value * 60;
-                        break;
-                    case "hour":
-                    case "hours":
-                        newValue = value * 60*60;
-                        break;
-                    case "day":
-                    case "days":
-                        newValue = value * 24*60*60;
-                        break;
-                    case "week":
-                    case "weeks":
-                        newValue = value * 7*24*60*60;
-                        break;
-                    case "month":
-                    case "months":
-                        newValue = value * 30*7*24*60*60;
-                        break;
-                    default:
-                        console.log("unhandled value: "+ period);
-                        break;
-                }
-            }
-            return newValue;
 		}
 	},
 	computed: {
@@ -546,155 +496,33 @@ Vue.component('navigation-bar', {
 		},
 		zoomIn: function() 
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(0.25);
-			this.zoom(0.5);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, 0.25, -0.25);
 			plotCurrent();
 		},
 		zoomOut: function() 
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(-0.5);
-			this.zoom(2);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, -0.5, 0.5);
 			plotCurrent();
 		},
 		dateLeftShift: function()
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(-1);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, -1, -1);
 			plotCurrent();
 		},
 		dateHalfLeftShift: function()
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(-0.5);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, -0.5, -0.5);
 			plotCurrent();
 		},
 		dateHalfRightShift: function()
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(0.5);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, 0.5, 0.5);
 			plotCurrent();
 		},
 		dateRightShift: function()
 		{
-			this.shiftDate(1);
+			shiftDate(data.searchBar.dateRange, 1, 1);
 			plotCurrent();
-		},
-		zoom: function(factor)
-		{
-			if (!$('#search-date-range').is(":invalid")) {
-			    
-				var dateRange = data.searchBar.dateRange;
-				var tokens = dateRange.split(/ +/,2);
-				
-				if(tokens.length == 2)
-				{		
-					var value = parseInt(tokens[0]);
-					var period = tokens[1];
-					
-					var newValue = value*factor;
-					while (newValue != Math.round(newValue)){
-					
-						switch (period) {
-							case "second":
-							case "seconds":
-								if (value == 1) {
-									// we reached the smallest range
-								}
-								else if (value % 2 == 1){
-									value = value -1;
-								}
-								break;
-							case "minute":
-							case "minutes":
-								value = value * 60;
-								period = "seconds";
-								break;
-							case "hour":
-							case "hours":
-								value = value * 60;
-								period = "minutes";
-								break;
-							case "day":
-							case "days":
-								value = value * 24;
-								period = "hours";
-								break;
-							case "week":
-							case "weeks":
-								value = value * 7;
-								period = "days";
-								break;
-							case "month":
-							case "months":
-								value = value * 30;
-								period = "days";
-								break;
-							default:
-								console.log("unhandled value: "+ period);
-								break;
-							}
-					
-						newValue = value*factor
-					}
-					
-					
-					data.searchBar.dateRange = newValue + " " + period;
-				}
-			}
-		},
-		shiftDate: function(directionalFactor)
-		{
-			var dateBefore = Date.parse(data.searchBar.dateFrom);
-			var newDate = this.shiftByInterval(dateBefore, directionalFactor);
-			data.searchBar.dateFrom = newDate.toString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
-		},
-		shiftByInterval: function(date, directionalFactor)
-		{
-			if (!$('#search-date-range').is(":invalid")) {
-			    
-				var dateRange = data.searchBar.dateRange;
-				var tokens = dateRange.split(/ +/,2);
-				
-				if(tokens.length == 2)
-				{		
-					var value = parseInt(tokens[0]);
-					var period = tokens[1];
-					var config = {};
-					
-					value = directionalFactor * value;
-					
-					switch (period) {
-					case "second":
-					case "seconds":
-						config = { seconds: value };
-						break;
-					case "minute":
-					case "minutes":
-						config = { minutes: value };
-						break;
-					case "hour":
-					case "hours":
-						config = { minutes: 60*value };
-						break;
-					case "day":
-					case "days":
-						config = { days: value };
-						break;
-					case "week":
-					case "weeks":
-						config = { days: 7*value };
-						break;
-					case "month":
-					case "months":
-						config = { days: 30*value };
-						break;
-			
-					default:
-						break;
-					}
-					
-					var newDate = date.add(config);
-					return newDate;
-				}
-			}
-			return date;
 		}
 	},
 	computed: {
@@ -733,10 +561,8 @@ Vue.component('group-by-item', {
 Vue.component('search-bar', {
   props: ['searchBar'],
   mounted: function() {
-  	$('#search-date-from').daterangepicker({
+  	$('#search-date-range').daterangepicker({
         timePicker: true,
-        singleDatePicker: true,
-        startDate: Date.parse(data.searchBar.dateFrom),
         minDate: "2017-01-01",
         maxDate: moment(),
         maxYear: parseInt(moment().format('YYYY'),10),
@@ -758,15 +584,18 @@ Vue.component('search-bar', {
             'Last Month': [moment().subtract(1, 'month').startOf('month'), moment().subtract(1, 'month').endOf('month')]
         },
       });
-      $('#search-date-from').on('apply.daterangepicker', function(ev, picker) {
-          data.searchBar.dateFrom = picker.startDate.format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss');
+      $('#search-date-range').on('apply.daterangepicker', function(ev, picker) {
+          setDateRange(picker.startDate, picker.endDate);
       });
   },
   watch: {
-    // whenever searchBar.dateFrom changes, this function will run
-    'searchBar.dateFrom': function (newDateFrom, oldDateFrom) {
-      const newDate = Date.parse(newDateFrom);
-      $('#search-date-from').data('daterangepicker').setStartDate(newDate);
+    // whenever searchBar.dateRange changes, this function will run
+    'searchBar.dateRange': function (newdateRangeAsString, olddateRangeAsString) {
+        if (newdateRangeAsString) {
+            const newdateRange = parseDateRange(newdateRangeAsString);
+            $('#search-date-range').data('daterangepicker').setStartDate(newdateRange.startDate);
+            $('#search-date-range').data('daterangepicker').setEndDate(newdateRange.endDate);
+        }
     }
   },
   methods: {
@@ -825,7 +654,6 @@ Vue.component('search-bar', {
 	    	'splitByKeys.selected': data.searchBar.splitByKeys.selected,
 	    	'limitBy.selected': data.searchBar.limitBy.selected,
 	    	'limitBy.number': data.searchBar.limitBy.number,
-	    	'dateFrom': data.searchBar.dateFrom,
 	    	'dateRange': data.searchBar.dateRange,
 	    	'axisScale': data.searchBar.axisScale,
 	    	'aggregate': data.searchBar.aggregate,
@@ -888,40 +716,13 @@ Vue.component('search-bar', {
 			</div>
 			
 			<div class="group">
-				<label for="search-date-from">From Date:</label>
+				<label for="search-date-range">Date Range:</label>
 				<input type='text'
-					id="search-date-from" 
-					v-model="searchBar.dateFrom"
+					id="search-date-range" 
+					v-model="searchBar.dateRange"
 					required="required" 
-					pattern="\\d{4}-(0[1-9]|1[0-2])-(0[1-9]|[1-2]\\d|3[0-1]) [0-2]\\d:[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d"
+					pattern="\\d{4}-(0[1-9]|1[0-2])-(0[1-9]|[1-2]\\d|3[0-1]) [0-2]\\d:[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d - \\d{4}-(0[1-9]|1[0-2])-(0[1-9]|[1-2]\\d|3[0-1]) [0-2]\\d:[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d"
 					 />
-				<!--
-				<input 
-					id="search-date-from" 
-					v-model="searchBar.dateFrom"
-					class="input_date" 
-					type="text"
-					required="required" 
-					pattern="\\d{4}-(0[1-9]|1[0-2])-(0[1-9]|[1-2]\\d|3[0-1]) [0-2]\\d:[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d" />-->
-			</div>
-			
-			<div class="group">
-				<label for="search-date-range">Interval:</label>
-				<input 
-					id="search-date-range"
-					v-model="searchBar.dateRange" 
-					type="text"
-					list="ranges"
-					required="required"
-					pattern="\\d+ (second|minute|hour|day|week|month)s?">
-				<datalist id="ranges">
-					<option value="60 seconds"/>
-					<option value="5 minutes"/>
-					<option value="1 hour"/>
-					<option value="1 day"/>
-					<option value="1 week"/>
-					<option value="1 month"/>
-				</datalist>
 			</div>
 			
 			<div class="group">
@@ -1049,8 +850,7 @@ var data = {
 	    	'selected': GetURLParameter('limitBy.selected','NO_LIMIT'),
 	    	'number': GetURLParameter('limitBy.number',10)
 	    },
-	    dateFrom: GetURLParameter('dateFrom', Date.now().add({ days: -7 }).toString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss")), // '2018-01-05 09:03'
-	    dateRange: GetURLParameter('dateRange','1 week'),
+	    dateRange: GetURLParameter('dateRange', moment().add({ days: -6 }).startOf('day').format(DATE_PATTERN)+ ' - '+ moment().endOf('day').format(DATE_PATTERN)), // '2018-01-05 09:03:03'
 	    axisScale: GetURLParameter('axisScale','LOG10'),
 	    aggregate: GetURLParameter('aggregate','NONE'),
 	    yRange: {
@@ -1096,6 +896,46 @@ var data = {
 	}
 };
 
+function parseDateRange(dateRangeAsString){
+
+    if (dateRangeAsString) {
+        const startDate = moment(dateRangeAsString.slice(0, 19));
+        const endDate = moment(dateRangeAsString.slice(22, 41));
+        
+        return {
+            startDate: startDate,
+            endDate: endDate,
+            duration: moment.duration(endDate.diff(startDate))
+        };
+    }
+}
+
+function setDateRange(startDate, endDate) {
+    const formattedStartDate = startDate.format(DATE_PATTERN);
+    const formattedEndDate = endDate.format(DATE_PATTERN);
+    
+    data.searchBar.dateRange = formattedStartDate+" - "+formattedEndDate;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Zoom in/out or shift date by adding factorStartDate*dateRangeInSeconds seconds to the start date
+ * and factorEndDate*dateRangeInSeconds seconds to the end date.
+ * 
+ * shiftDate(dateRangeAsString, 0.25, -0.25) will zoom in, making the range half its size
+ * shiftDate(dateRangeAsString, -0.5, 0.5) will zoom out, making the range double its size
+ * shiftDate(dateRangeAsString, -0.5, -0.5) will move the range by half its size to older values
+ * shiftDate(dateRangeAsString, 1, 1) will move the range by its size to newer values
+ */
+function shiftDate(dateRange, factorStartDate, factorEndDate)
+{
+    const dateRangeParsed = parseDateRange(dateRange);
+    const dateRangeInSeconds = dateRangeParsed.duration.asSeconds();
+    
+    const newStartDate = dateRangeParsed.startDate.add({seconds: dateRangeInSeconds*factorStartDate});
+    const newEndDate = dateRangeParsed.endDate.add({seconds: dateRangeInSeconds*factorEndDate});
+    
+    setDateRange(newStartDate, newEndDate);
+}
 
 function showLoadingIcon()
 {
@@ -1165,7 +1005,6 @@ function createRequest(query, generateThumbnail){
 	request['groupBy'] = groupBy();
 	request['limitBy'] = data.searchBar.limitBy.selected;
 	request['limit'] = parseInt(data.searchBar.limitBy.number);
-	request['dateFrom'] = data.searchBar.dateFrom;
 	request['dateRange'] = data.searchBar.dateRange;
 	request['axisScale'] = data.searchBar.axisScale;
 	request['aggregate'] = data.searchBar.aggregate;
@@ -1219,7 +1058,6 @@ function updateImageLink(query) {
     	'splitByKeys.selected': data.searchBar.splitByKeys.selected,
     	'limitBy.selected': data.searchBar.limitBy.selected,
     	'limitBy.number': data.searchBar.limitBy.number,
-    	'dateFrom': data.searchBar.dateFrom,
     	'dateRange': data.searchBar.dateRange,
     	'axisScale': data.searchBar.axisScale,
     	'aggregate': data.searchBar.aggregate,