Changes

The Changes module introduces a two-layer scheduling scheme. For each date in the calendar, there are now two schedules: the schedule that was planned in advance (created in the usual Planning mode), and the schedule that reflects unplanned events and other daily changes.

The Changes mode is useful for institutions that need to keep track of both schedules: the planned schedule and the modified schedule (the one that actually takes place). For example, when a weekly schedule remains mostly the same from week to week, but daily changes such as cancellations or special events occur, these changes can be made in the Changes mode for specific dates, ensuring that the schedule is always accurate and up to date for each date.

If a change becomes permanent rather than temporary, it can simply be made back in the Planning mode. Since the Changes mode is based on the planned schedule, the updated schedule will automatically be reflected in the daily schedule as well.

How to switch to Changes mode?

To begin making changes, click the Changes button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

In Changes mode, you start from the planned schedule. Therefore, when you switch to Changes mode for the first time, you will initially see exactly the same schedule as in Planning mode.

The main difference is that, in Planning mode, you work with generic days (Monday, Tuesday, etc.), whereas in Changes mode those generic weekdays are mapped to the corresponding calendar dates of the term. This mapping is based on the Day of Week property of each generic day, so make sure this property is defined for all generic days.

Once you enter Changes mode, you will notice that the day selector at the top changes into a calendar date selector, and the generic weekdays are replaced by the corresponding calendar dates.

Working in Changes mode is no different from working in Planning mode. All the same operations are available, including scheduling activities, moving cells, deleting cells, and copying and pasting cells. There is, however, one key principle in Changes mode: any modification you make to an activity cell applies only to that specific cell; other cells belonging to the same activity are not affected by the change.

How to make changes?

Let's look at a few common scenarios that require schedule changes and see how to make those changes.

Scenario 1: Cancellation

The most basic scenario is cancelling a planned activity. To do this, select the cell and click the Delete button in the left-side toolbar, or press Delete on the keyboard.

The activity will not be simply removed from the schedule like in the Planning mode. Instead, it will remain visible with a strikethrough, indicating that it was planned but later cancelled. The cancelled activity will appear crossed out in the schedules of all the resources involved.

Scenario 2: Change of time

In this scenario, instead of cancelling a planned activity, you want to move it to a different time. This is done exactly as in the Planning mode, using drag-and-drop. Select the cell, place the mouse over its top-left tab, then drag it to the new time.

After the drag-and-drop operation, the original cell will remain in the schedule crossed out with a red stripe, while the new cell will appear underlined with a green stripe next to it.

Scenario 3: Change of room

This scenario demonstrates how to reassign an existing activity to a different room while keeping the same day and time. To do this, select the cell you want to modify, then choose a different room from the Room property in the Properties pane in the bottom-right corner of the screen. When you open the room list, all rooms that are available during the selected time slot are marked with a green stripe next to their names.

After the change is made, the original room's name will appear crossed out, and the new room's name will appear underlined. In addition, the cell will be marked with a yellow stripe, indicating that it has been modified. In the new room's schedule, the cell will be marked with a green stripe, indicating that it is newly added.

Scenario 4: New activity

In this scenario, you want to schedule a completely new activity. The new activity may involve an instructor who does not normally teach the group, a different course or any other combination of resources. It can be scheduled either in addition to or instead of an existing activity.

To schedule a new activity, select the desired time slot in the schedule, then click the New Cell tab at the top of the Properties pane. Enter any of the activity details, such as Course or Instructor, and a new cell will immediately appear in the schedule. You can then continue filling in the remaining properties, such as Room, in the Properties pane.

Scenario 5: Sick leave

Suppose an instructor has called in sick and a replacement needs to be assigned for each of that instructor's activities. In this scenario, we first open the instructor's schedule and block the entire day. Optionally, we can add a note to the block, such as Sick Leave. Once the instructor's day has been blocked, all activities scheduled for that day are automatically canceled. We can then review each activity individually and assign a replacement instructor. This can be done either from the instructor's schedule or from the schedules of the affected courses or groups.

Scenario 6: Exam

In this scenario, you want to schedule an exam, either by marking an existing cell as an exam, or by creating a new cell specifically for the exam.

To mark an existing cell as an exam, select the cell, then in the Properties pane choose the exam type from the Exam field, such as Exam, Quiz or Final Exam. The cell will be highlighted with a yellow stripe, and a medal icon will appear in its bottom-right corner, indicating that it contains an exam.

To create a new cell for the exam, use the New Cell tab in the Properties pane, as explained earlier, to create the new cell. Then select the exam type in its Exam property.

How to restore a cell?

Any cell that was modified in Changes mode can be easily restored to its original state. To do so, select the changed cells (this applies to all types of changes: canceled cells, added cells, and modified cells) and choose Edit → Restore from the main menu or the right-click menu. Alternatively, click the Restore button on the left-hand toolbar or press Backspace on the keyboard.

The change will be removed, and the original cell will reappear.

Note: Restoring a cell is not the same as undoing an action. You can undo an action only immediately after it is performed, whereas you can restore any changed cell at any time.

Changes Pane

Similar to the Conflicts pane, the Changes pane lists all existing changes in the schedule. The Changes pane is located on the right-hand side of the workspace and can be displayed by clicking the Changes tab, which is located next to the Conflicts tab.

Important: By default, the Changes pane displays only the changes related to the resource currently selected in the navigation pane. For example, if you are viewing a group schedule in the main schedule pane, the Changes pane will display only the changes involving that group. To display the changes for all resources, click the All tab at the top of the Changes pane.

In the list of changes, each row represents a single change. If you double-click a row, the program will open the schedule of the resource involved in that change and automatically select the corresponding cell.

The last tab above the Changes pane represents the day and time currently selected in the main schedule pane. Clicking this tab displays only the changes that occur at that specific day and time, filtering out all others.

If you want to view only certain types of changes (for example, cancellation changes only), use the filter button above the list, which is labeled All Types by default.

The next chapter: Reports.