Scheduler is a simple program that I use to make graphical representations of my college class schedules, thus the name Scheduler. This document will attempt to explain how to use Scheduler. I am not an expert on programming the Macintosh; I am really just a beginner. As a result, I will probably omit something that will be relevant to someone - so let me apologize now - I'm sorry! Please, send any comments, found bugs, or ideas to ryanlb@hiwway.net.
System Requirements
This is the part I am not real sure about. I would suggest using this program with macOS 7 or later. A color monitor would be good, but I don't think it is necessary. I screen larger than one on a classic would be advisable also, but again I don't think it is absolutely necessary. The memory requirements that are suggested by the "Get Info" dialog are probably more than is necessary, but I didn't included anything in the program to deal with insufficient memory - lower memory requirements if you need to with that in mind. This is a 68K version, but I use it on my PowerMac 7200/90 with no problems. I have also used this program on a Mac LC II, and a Mac IIci (where it was mostly created). I have used the printing function on a LaserWriter and a StyleWriter with no problems. Sorry this is not very helpful, but like I said, I am just a beginner.
How to Use Scheduler
I personally think that Scheduler is very easy to use. You can probably figure out how to use it by just experimenting. In case you prefer to read about it first, however, the following paragraphs will lead you through what I consider a typical use of the program - making class schedules!
Ñ First you need to start the application. You can do this by either "double clicking" on the application itself, or on a file saved by the application. There are also other ways to open the program depending on the operating system you have, but we are now just dealing with semantics.
Ñ Then, assuming you have a schedule to enter, you will want to add the individual class entries (or whatever, I will just proceed with the class schedule example) to the schedule. Assume I have the following class schedule for the Spring 1996 term:
Monday and Wednesday from 1:00pm to 2:00pm I have EE 102
Tuesday and Thursday from 2:35pm to 3:50pm I have EE 489
Friday from 7:00am to 7:00pm I have EE 302
This schedule is not real (obviously). Anyway, The first thing you will want to do is choose "Add..." from the Entry menu. If there is no window, choose "New" from the file menu, then choose "Add.." from the Entry menu. You should see a dialog that requires information about the entry to be added: the name, the start and end time, the days, etc. If this is the case, then proceed; if not, make sure you chose the correct menu item from the correct menu ("Add..." from menu Entry).
Each entry must have a name; so for the first entry, enter EE 102. This will be shown later when the schedule is displayed. Next, the start and end times need to be entered. The four pop-up menus in the upper right of the dialog are for this purpose. Look at the row of items starting with the words "Starting Time:". The first pop-up menu shows times (hours only) from 7 (am) to 10 (pm). Notice that some numbers are repeated (7 through 10) the numbers toward the bottom of the menu represent PM times and the numbers toward the top represent AM times - 12 noon is toward the upper middle of the menu. Choose the appropriate staring hour. For the class schedule example, choose menu item "1". After you do this, notice that the ending "AM" has changed to a "PM"; this can be used to ensure the proper hour has been chosen. The next step would be to choose the minutes of the start time. In our example, the start time is 1:00pm, so that the default minute selection of 00 is the correct. Minute choices from the menu are in increments of five minutes. This, again, goes back to using this program to make class schedules. Entering the "End Time" has the same basic procedure as the "Start Time" with one exception. Notice that the "hour" pop-up menu of the "End Time" goes to 11pm; this is the latest anything can end. Therefore, the earliest hour anything can start is 10pm (shown in the "hour" menu of the "Start Time" row).
Now that the start and end times have been entered, next the days affected by this entry need to be checked. Check the appropriate days located in the middle of the dialog box. For this example (the first entry) check the days Monday and Wednesday.
The bottom section of the dialog is used to set the graphical characteristics of entry. The "Forground" and "Background" contain color used in the forground and the background of any pattern you might select from the "Pattern" menu. Just selecting a forground color will set the entry to display that color with no pattern. You can play around with these characteristics in the dialog and see what they look like immediately. The square to the right of the "Swap" and "Refresh" button shows what the current forground, background, and pattern selection will produce. In case it doesn't show anything, which is the case sometimes, press the "Refresh" button show the characteristics. The "Swap" button can be used to make the forground color the background color and the background color the forground color. In other words it swaps the forground and background colors.
You are done with the first entry! It may seem like a long process, but it is not really. To enter the entry, click the "Add" button in the lower right corner of the dialog. This action stores the entry in the current window and then clears the dialog of the selections you have made without closing the dialog. I did this because I thought in general more that one entry would be added to a schedule at one time. Therefore, back to the example, you can just enter the remaining two entries just as you did with the first one (making the appropriate selections). Once you are finished adding your entries, click the "Close" button of the dialog. This will close the dialog, and display all entries in the current window. A legend is also created to the right of the scheduler grid (which shows days of the week at the top, and hours down the side). The legend consists of a small square showing the graphical characteristics of an entry and then the entry name. Clicking on the small squares in the legend makes the time of the entry appear below the scheduler grid.
Ñ Other menu function are as follows:
- Entry Menu
-- Modify shows the entries of the current window. By selecting an entry from this menu, a dialog box appears containing the information associated with that entry. You can make any modifications to the entry, then press "Modify" to accept the modifications, or "Cancel" to cancel any changes to the entry. The dialog looks suspiciously like the dialog invoked by the "Add..." menu item.
-- Remove also shows the entries of the current window. By selecting an entry from this menu, you will first be asked if you are sure you want to permanently delete the selected entry. If you choose yes, the entry will be removed.
- Window Menu - this menu shows the current windows open. By selecting a window from this menu, you can bring that window to the front of all other window. Note: only five widows can be open at one time. I didn't want to deal with dynamic allocation of memory, and I thought five windows would be more than anyone would ever need open at one time.
- Edit Menu - I did nothing with this menu but put it in the program. If you notice, during the dialogs with text boxes this menu becomes active. I guess following Apple's programming guidelines is a good idea!
- File Menu - This menu has most of the standard items associated with a File menu. Some things worth noting: 1) if you try to have more that five windows open at one time you will get at message saying that you can't do that, 2) before you can "Save" a schedule, you must "Save as..." (I guess I was just lazy...), 3) when you select "Print...", you first get the standard "Page Setup" dialog, and then the standard "Print" dialog, 4) there are messages that allow you to save documents before you quit if you choose "Quit" before you save.
Conclusion
Did (I) miss anything (besides the "I")? Probably... Anyway, I have included a sample schedule that is the example discussed in this "User's Manual". Check out the "Cheat Sheet" for a quick reference to the things discussed here. Hope you enjoy the program. Oh yeah, it is free! Just please include these files if you redistribute it (the "READ ME FIRST!", the "User's Manual", the "Cheat Sheet", and the "Spring 1996 Example").
