User Guide: School Timetable Pro
Welcome to School Timetable Pro. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up your school data, allocating teachers to classes, generating automatic timetables, and editing the final schedule.
1. Getting Started (Dashboard)
The Dashboard provides a bird's-eye view of your timetable's health. Here you can see total counts, active conflicts, and your scheduling progress.
- Periods Per Day: At the bottom of the Dashboard, you can adjust the total number of periods in a day (e.g., 6, 7, or 8). Warning: Reducing this number will delete allocations in the removed columns.
[Screenshot: Dashboard Overview showing Statistics, Scheduling Progress Bar, and Periods Per Day Setting]
2. Managing Data (Importing via Excel)
The easiest way to get started is by importing your existing data.
- Navigate to the Reports & Export tab.
- Click the Download Excel Template button.
- Fill in the template using the 4 sheets: Teachers, Classes, Subjects, and Allocations.
- Upload the saved Excel file using the Import Excel File button.
Tip: If you leave the 'Color' column blank in the Subjects sheet, the software will automatically assign a random bright color to that subject!
3. Teaching Allocations (Including Merged Classes)
Allocations tell the software "Who is teaching What, to Whom, and for How Many Periods".
- Navigate to the Teaching Allocations tab and click Add Allocation.
- Merged Classes (Co-teaching): If a teacher is taking multiple classes together in the same room (e.g., combining EG2 and EG4), click the Class dropdown and hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) while clicking multiple classes. The software will ensure these classes are always scheduled at the exact same time for this subject.
[Screenshot: Add Allocation Modal showing multiple classes highlighted in the dropdown menu]
4. Generating the Timetable
Once your allocations are set, click the prominent blue Generate Timetable button in the top right corner of the screen.
The AI will process your constraints, spread out subjects so they aren't consecutive, and attempt to balance teacher workloads. Check the Dashboard afterward to see if any soft constraints (like double periods) were flagged.
5. Viewing & Editing (The Timetable Grid)
Navigate to the Timetables (View & Edit) tab to see the final schedule.
A. View Modes
- Class View: Select a specific Class to view their weekly timetable.
- Teacher View: Select a specific Teacher to view their weekly workload.
- Master View: View ALL classes simultaneously for a specific Day of the week.
[Screenshot: Master View showing Monday's timetable for all classes side-by-side]
B. Drag and Drop Swapping
You can manually adjust the timetable by clicking and dragging any subject card to another slot. The software will instantly check for conflicts. If you drop a card into a slot where the teacher is already busy, the software will attempt an "Automatic Rearrangement" to make the swap work!
C. Blocking Specific Cells
If you want to prevent a specific class from having any subjects during a specific period (e.g., a designated assembly hour):
- Go to Class View.
- Click on any Free cell. It will turn red and say "Blocked".
- The Auto-Generator will never place a subject in this slot.
D. Marking Teachers Unavailable
If a teacher is on leave or unavailable on certain days/periods:
- Go to Teacher View.
- Select the Teacher, then click on a Free cell. It will turn red and say "Unavailable".
- The software will prevent any classes from being assigned to this teacher at this time.
[Screenshot: Teacher View grid showing a specific period marked in red as 'Unavailable']
6. Data Validation
Go to the Validation tab to perform a complete audit of your timetable.
This page features 4 tables that compare Required Periods (based on your allocations) versus Scheduled Periods (what is actually placed on the grid). It will quickly flag if a teacher is missing hours, or if a class has been scheduled for too many periods of a specific subject.
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