Visual
Classroom Scheduler
V3.3
USER MANUAL
Visual Scheduling Systems Pty Ltd
Visual
Classroom
Scheduler
USER MANUAL
Visual
Scheduling Systems
51 Carinya Road, Picnic Point,
Sydney NSW 2213, Australia
TEL +(612) 9792 7021
FAX +(612) 9772 3092
Copyright Notice
Visual
Scheduling Systems Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication or
the software itself may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a
retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any means
without the written permission of Visual Scheduling Systems Pty Ltd, 51 Carinya
Road Picnic Point Sydney NSW 2213 Australia +(612) 9792 7021.
Terms and Conditions
The information in this manual has been carefully checked
and is believed to be accurate. However, Visual Scheduling Systems assumes no
responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained therein. In the
interests of continued product development, Visual Scheduling Systems reserves
the right to make improvements in this manual and the products it describes, at
any time, without notice or obligation. Information on the latest product
developments for the Visual Classroom
Scheduler are available from Visual Scheduling Systems. Please call or
write for information.
Disclaimer
The interpretation of the displays, results, listings or
indicators given by the Visual Classroom
Scheduler is entirely at the discretion and risk of the purchaser and user.
In no event will Visual Scheduling Systems, its management, staff or
distributors be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential
damages resulting from any defect or omission in this manual, or the products
described, or helpful suggestions given, even if advised of the possibilities
of such damage. Trademarks such as IBM, Excel, are the property of their
respective companies or owners.
The Visual Classroom
Scheduler needs an IBM compatible Pentium, Windows or Mac OS10 personal
computer.
Table
of Contents Page
1. Introduction.. 2
How can the Visual Classroom Scheduler help
you?. 2
Benefits. 3
How is it different?. 4
2. Installation.. 5
3. Before You Start.... 14
The MENU - how can it help me?. 14
File. 16
Edit 21
View.. 30
Colors. 36
Help. 41
Exit 43
4. Hints and Tips.. 44
File. 45
Edit 51
View.. 66
Colors. 73
5. Step-by-Step
Exercises.. 78
Situation
1 - What it will teach you. 79
Starting from WINDOWS. 80
Different Ways to View the Timetable. 92
Background. 95
Add/Move. 96
Random.. 96
More Color Options. 98
Situation 2. 100
Recommended Setup Method. 112
6 Appendix.. 114
VCS Training Courses. 114
Teaching Budget, Salary And Part Time Costs. 116
7 Conclusion.. 118
Congratulations on your purchase of the Visual Classroom Scheduler!
The Visual Classroom Scheduler
aims to provide:
. A simple solution to
schedule/timetable design problems.
. Relief from time
consuming effort and not altogether satisfactory
results.
. A package effective
enough to resolve timetabling worries arising
from day to day problems such as sickness, maintenance
problems and minor emergencies.
. Visual information and
a wide range of reports to help manage
valuable resources.
. Confidence
that the schedules made will work from day one and deliver expected outcomes
with a minimum of fuss.
The Visual Classroom Scheduler
delivers:
Faster
schedule/timetable design with less rework caused by double bookings, over
commitments and under utilisation of resources.
Increased
satisfaction of Teachers / Instructors, Students, Senior Head Teachers /
Instructors and administration staff where timetables are clear and easy to
update, swaps are easy to arrange and each person can have their own printed
copy or access to view their timetable
on screen.
Lower
costs where teacher / instructor hours can be easily balanced between
appropriate teachers / instructors, incorrect subject or room allocations
corrected and room usage maximised to allow allocation of extra classes.
Less
student confusion and improved satisfaction along with higher student
retention rates. Each student can be issued with their own printed group
timetable in their first week of term. The best facilities are more readily
available, and classes arranged to compress attendance days and reduce room changes
to a minimum.
Improved budget and
productivity performance as VCS on-screen statistics and unique reporting
features promote productivity and performance improvements.
The Visual Classroom Scheduler
is a schedule/timetable design tool, not just a data collection and reporting
tool.
It clearly shows scheduling opportunities and clashes during schedule
design. It speeds up the whole process dramatically without unnecessary double
bookings, or under/over commitments.
It is a tool effective enough to continually help solve day to day
problems such as:
Finding available rooms for new courses
Deciding suitable/available teacher or
instructor absence/replacement;
One off room usage needs;
Preparing accurate teacher / instructor time
sheets;
Advising students of class times and
arranging staff meetings.
The Visual Classroom Scheduler
saves effort for the designer, produces a better result, and can also provide
information to a variety of interested groups.
Some quotes from clients who have used
the system include;
"A perfect solution
with some excellent timesaving features."
"For minimising data
entry, the Visual Classroom Scheduler is second to none!"
"The planner is superb
on this package."
Our
first step today will be installing the program onto our computers
from the VSS web-site or from CD.
1.
Please follow
the instructions at the VSS web site at http://www.vss.com.au.
or on the CD pack.
2.
When you have
down loaded or located the VCSinstall.exe file and double clicked on it the
installation screen below will appear.
Click [Next] to contine
Please follow the
prompts and accept all questions, license agreements and default suggestions.
The installation
includes the java environment or “JVM”, the VCS program, help files, demo file
and sample .txt masterfiles for courses, subjects, rooms and instructors.
Click [Next] to
contine
The installation normally loads program files to the Windows Program
Files directory – unless you choose otherwise.
Click [Next] to
contine
The default
program group is Visual Classroom Scheduler.
Click [Next] to
contine
Now all the
choices have been made the installation can begin.
Click [Next] to
contine
Demo and
masterfiles are copied to the C:\VSS directory.
VCS has been
successfully installed.
Installation Complete click [Finish]
To start the Visual Classroom Scheduler:
Click on the Windows [Start] button at the bottom left side of the
screen.
Select [Programs] and a list of available programs will appear.
Select [Visual Classroom Scheduler] and click on the [VCS] tab.
The VCS program will now begin to load and after a few seconds the VCS
splash screen below will appear.
A few more
seconds later the main VCS screen will appear.
If you are using the demo program, the demo file will automatically
load.
The menu bar is displayed at the top of
the screen. It provides
you with a selection of functions:
Each function allows access to a
pull-down menu.
