Enterprise Interface 3.12 User Guide

Transcription

1 Enterprise Interface 3.12 User Guide Scientia ref: 3579

2 Document Summary Written by Date Release Status History Duncan Corbett Feb Approved version for full release Updated to describe effects of refresh before writeback and new shutdown options. Global Support locations For details of your local support organisation and or office see SYLLABUS PLUS is a registered trademark of Scientia Ltd. SCIENTIA is a registered trademark of Scientia Ltd. SCIENTIA LTD is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. Copyright This document is the exclusive property of Scientia Ltd and the contents must not be copied, given or disclosed to any third party without prior consent from Scientia Ltd. Ref: 3579 i

3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Software Overview Enterprise Course Planner (ECP) Enterprise Timetabler (ET) Enterprise Desktop Reference Data Manager (EDRDM) Enterprise DataSync Managing the local database Managing locally saved data Synchronisation between database and scheduling engine Access to log files Menu Bar and Status Bar Elements Drop-down Menus Toolbars Personalising the View of Data Changing the Data Sort Order within Columns Viewing Data by Groups Adding & Removing Columns Column width Filtering Data Objects Using the Filter Editor Filtering based on related objects Using the find panel Show or hide the filter row Alignment of columns Saving and retrieving layouts Using Editors Search by typing Editing properties Adding and deleting objects Apply or discard Using Forms Opening a form view Multiple objects in form view Adding new objects in form view Tooltips Week Patterns Named Availability Week Patterns Writing Back and Refreshing Refreshing Refresh reminder Writing Back Conflicts Ref: 3579 ii

4 Table of figures Figure 1 - Local database management option... 3 Figure 2 - Data source configuration... 3 Figure 3 - Loading splash screen... 3 Figure 4 - Save image option... 4 Figure 5 - Uncommitted changes warning... 4 Figure 6 - Startup options... 5 Figure 7About window showing access to logs... 6 Figure 8 ECP drop-down menu... 7 Figure 9 Cropped ET drop-down menu... 7 Figure 10 EDRDM drop-down menu... 7 Figure 11 Add or remove sub-menus... 7 Figure 12 ECP toolbars... 8 Figure 13 ET Toolbars... 8 Figure 14 EDRDM toolbar... 8 Figure 15 The tabs of the Customisation window... 8 Figure 16 EDRDM with resources toolbar... 8 Figure 17 Creating a new toolbar... 9 Figure 18 Personalisation speed menu Figure 19 ET activities pane grouped by columns Figure 20 ET activities pane showing "Group by" box Figure 21 Drag and drop column headers to "Group by" box Figure 22 Student sets grouped by Department and Programme in ECP Figure 23 Locations grouped by Department and Capacity in EDRDM Figure 24 Drag and drop to add a column Figure 25 Filter builder Figure 26 Add new filtering conditions Figure 27 Two conditions applied Figure 28 Multiple conditions menu Figure 29 Location editor with filtering conditions applied Figure 30 Removing a filtering condition Figure 31 Summary of currently applied filter conditions Figure 32 Filter by objects Figure 33 Filter by Objects window Figure 34 Editor with filter row Figure 35 Single selection list Figure 36 Multiple selection list Figure 37 Action buttons Figure 38 - Opening form view Figure 39 - Editing in the form view Figure 40 ET toolbar tooltip Figure 41 ET week pattern tooltip Figure 42 Tooltip showing cell contents Figure 43 Named availability for a module in ECP Figure 44 Weeks deselected by click or click and drag Figure 45 Single week selected with right click Figure 46 Selecting a named availability pattern Figure 47 Last SDB refresh time Figure 48 SDB refresh reminder Figure 49 Refresh conflict message Ref: 3579 iii

5 1 Introduction The Enterprise Interface User Guide is designed to be used in conjunction with all the Enterprise applications listed below, and provides a generic guide to the functionality of common tools which are to be found in all the applications. The document should be used in conjunction with the user guides that are provided for each application. Ref:

6 2 Software Overview The Enterprise Interface User Guide can be used in conjunction with the applications listed below: 2.1 Enterprise Course Planner (ECP) Enterprise Course Planner allows the user to describe the opportunities for study being offered by the institution. The user may create Modules (individual units of study) and these may be combined to form Programmes of Study that can be offered to students. In addition, the software allows the user to describe how each module is delivered in terms of the activities that each student must attend to complete the module. Based on the student demand, ECP will automatically generate the required number of activities to accommodate the number of students on each Module. ECP tracks student demand as more data becomes available and flags to the user any discrepancies between the planned delivery and the demand. 2.2 Enterprise Timetabler (ET) Enterprise Timetabler is a graphical interface for Syllabus Plus that enables the viewing and editing of timetables from a single comprehensive screen. The user is provided with a set of interactive panes which enable simple scheduling changes, information searches, and the provision of timetabling solutions. Users that are authorised to do so may switch to the Syllabus Plus image whenever they wish to use the functionality that is not available in Enterprise Timetabler. Conversely, a user may be restricted to using the Enterprise Timetabler interface only, thus preventing them from making changes to the underlying reference data. Any changes made in Enterprise Timetabler automatically update the underlying Syllabus Plus image. Write back to the Scientia database is under user control. 2.3 Enterprise Desktop Reference Data Manager (EDRDM) Enterprise Desktop Reference Data Manager enables the editing of data upon which timetabling decisions are based. The availability of resources and any time-based constraints that apply to those resources as well as soft constraints are all maintained using this software. 2.4 Enterprise DataSync Rather than making changes directly to the data stored on the server, the Enterprise applications work against a local copy of the data that can be stored on disk at the end of a session and reloaded at the start of the next session. The Enterprise DataSync utility is responsible for maintaining the locally stored copy of the data that is used by ECP, ET and EDRDM. This consists of a local database and a Syllabus Plus image that manages the business logic of the scheduling engine. Ref:

7 2.4.1 Managing the local database If the client machine that is running the Enterprise applications has a local installation of SQL Server or SQL Server Express, DataSync can use this to manage the local database. The first time an Enterprise application is run the user can indicate that they wish to use a locally installed SQL Server by clicking on the Configure button highlighted in Figure 1 This will open a window like the one shown in Figure 2. The example shows the window as it will appear with a default installation of SQL Express. Clicking the Test Connection button will check that DataSync is able to connect to the data source and, if the test succeeds, the user will be able to click the Use Connection button, which is otherwise greyed out. Figure 1 - Local database management option Having chosen to use the connection, it will be assumed that the user wishes to use the locally installed SQL to manage the local database. The I can use SQL Server checkbox, previously greyed out, will now be checked unless the user deliberately chooses to uncheck it at some future point. In the case where the client machine does not have an installation of SQL Server it will never be possible to tick the checkbox. In such a case the local database will be managed by the Compact Edition (CE) of SQL Server which will be downloaded as part of the Enterprise deployment package. Figure 2 - Data source configuration Managing locally saved data When a user begins a session with one of the Enterprise applications on a client machine that has not been used with Enterprise applications previously, a Syllabus Plus image will be downloaded from the Enterprise server and saved to the local disk. DataSync will build a local database from that image and also save a backup copy of that database to the local disk. The locally saved image and the backup copy of the database will thus be a synchronised pair. A window like the one shown here will keep the user informed of progress in building the database. Figure 3 - Loading splash screen Ref:

8 During the session changes made by the user are made to the Syllabus Plus image that resides in memory and to the local database that is saved to disk. This means that the local database, while synchronised with the image in memory is not synchronised with the image that is saved to the local disk. At the end of the session the user will be offered the option of saving a local copy of the Syllabus Plus image. Figure 4 - Save image option If the user chooses Yes then the Syllabus Plus image saved to disk will be updated. This will mean that the locally saved image and the locally saved database are now a synchronised pair that can be used when the user next logs on. If the user chooses No then the backup copy of the database that was taken at the beginning of the session will be restored so that there will still be a synchronised image / database pair that can be used when the user next logs on. N.B. This choice will result in the loss of any changes made during the session that have not been written back to the SDB (the centrally held version of the data). The user will be given additional choices if there are windows open where changes have been made without being applied and if there are changes made during the session that have not been committed to the SDB Figure 5 - Uncommitted changes warning The user can make separate choice regarding the data in each state as to whether or not it will be saved. Alternatively, the operation to close the application can be cancelled allowing the user to make / cancel changes before closing. Ref:

9 At the beginning of the user s next session, the presence of a locally saved version of the data (i.e. a synchronised image / database pair) will be detected. Rather than downloading a Syllabus Plus image from the server and building a local database form that image, the user will be offered three options. The first option (Use locally saved data) will use the locally saved image and its matching locally saved database. Unless there have been many changes written back to SDB by other users since the user was last connected, this will be the quickest way to restart. Figure 6 - Startup options The second option (rebuild the database) will use the locally saved image but rebuild the local database from that image. This option is intended for use only when there is a suspicion that the local database has failed to synchronise correctly with changes made to the image, perhaps because of an unexpected failure of the software at the end of a previous session. The third option (Reload data) will replace the locally saved image with an image downloaded from the server and replace the local database with one newly built from that image. This option is suitable for use in the case where it is known that many changes have been written back to SDB since the user was last connected. The image that is downloaded from the server will likely have most, if not all of those changes, depending on the interval of the hot image saver and is therefore likely to be a faster way to restart. The option that is selected by default is set using a configuration file at the institution level. Individual users may change the selected option on start-up. If the user does change the selected option then the selection they make will be remembered and reused the next time that user starts the same Enterprise application. If the user takes no action, the selected option will be used after a pause of 8 seconds. This is to allow the start-up process to occur without user interaction following the initial click of the portal icon. A user with permission to change the selection may select one of the other options within the 8 seconds or they may click the pause button to delay the countdown timer while they decide Synchronisation between database and scheduling engine The DataSync utility keeps the local database in sync with the data held by the scheduling engine (the Syllabus Plus image). This is necessary because some of the changes made by a user will have knock-on effects that result from business logic applied in the scheduling engine. For example, when a module is removed from a student set, the student set is automatically unallocated from all the activities of that module. The knock-on effects will only be seen after the local database is updated with changes made by the scheduling engine which happens as part of the synchronisation process. Whenever the user makes a change using one of the Enterprise applications, the change is handled by DataSync, which sends the instruction to the scheduling engine and then reads the changes that occur as a result of that instruction, updating the local database with those changes. The user can tell this is happening when an icon like this of the Enterprise application window. appears in the DataSync control at the bottom Ref:

10 If the synchronisation process fails the user will see a warning symbol like this in the DataSync control. If the user suspects that no synchronisation occurred when they were expecting one, the rightmost button in the control allows the user to manually initiate a synchronisation Access to log files If the user wishes to see what synchronisation has been carried out recently, the latest log file can be accessed from the help menu in any Enterprise application. Choosing the option Synchronisation Log will display the most recent log file on screen. Additionally, the About window gives the user two short cuts to open the folders where the log files for DataSync and the Enterprise applications respectively are stored. Figure 7About window showing access to logs Clicking on either of the buttons (circled in red above) will open a window showing the contents of the appropriate folder. To assist in resolving problems, the user may occasionally be asked to send one or more of the files found in these folders. Ref:

11 3 Menu Bar and Status Bar Elements Various commands can be selected using both the Drop-Down Menus, and the Toolbar buttons which appear in the Header Bar. In addition, information may be contained in the Footer Bar 3.1 Drop-down Menus The Drop-down Menu bars, located at the top of the screen, contain various menus which allow the user to undertake actions within Enterprise applications. Menu items can be accessed by selection with the mouse or other pointing device, or by using keyboard shortcuts. Hotkeys are indicated by underlining. Figure 8 ECP drop-down menu Figure 9 Cropped ET drop-down menu Figure 10 EDRDM drop-down menu Clicking on the down arrow at the right-hand end of each Drop-down Menu opens a series of submenus allowing the user to add or remove buttons from the main menu or customise both the main menu and the toolbars. Customising the toolbars will be dealt with in the next section. Figure 11 Add or remove sub-menus Ref:

12 3.2 Toolbars Toolbar facilities are available within Enterprise applications allowing the user to access frequently used functions quickly and easily. A tooltip describing each function is revealed by hovering over the selected button with the mouse. Multiple toolbars may appear alongside each other and the default toolbars will appear on initially opening the applications. The user has the option to customise toolbars if required by adding and removing buttons or creating new toolbars. Figure 12 ECP toolbars Figure 13 ET Toolbars Figure 14 EDRDM toolbar Customisation can be accessed in the same way as illustrated above (Figure 11 Add or remove sub-menus), selecting Customise from the sub-menu. This opens the Customisation window: Figure 15 The tabs of the Customisation window Using the Toolbars tab new toolbars can be created, and existing toolbars can be toggled on and off using the tickboxes. The Customisation tab can be used to drag & drop buttons onto existing or new toolbars, and the Options tab makes available additional customisation options. Note that in the Toolbars tab, the Status Bar refers to the footer bar illustrated below. Buttons can also be placed in the footer bar if required: Figure 16 EDRDM with resources toolbar In the example illustrated above, a Resources toolbar has been created with the Staff, Locations & Equipment buttons added. In the footer bar, the About EDRDM button has also been added. Ref:

13 To undertake this process, the user must click on the button on the Toolbars tab, and in the New Toolbar window insert a Name. Figure 17 Creating a new toolbar Clicking on the button will create the new toolbar which will appear as an empty toolbar box within the Enterprise application. Buttons can then be dragged & dropped from the Commands tab and deposited into the new toolbar. Ref:

14 4 Personalising the View of Data Within the Enterprise applications, data appears in a variety of windows which are too numerous to mention by name in this document. However, some of the more obvious examples are the curriculum data windows obtained by clicking on the buttons in ECP, the Activities Spreadsheet and Views Pane in ET, and the Resources windows in EDRDM. The user can personalise the view of the data shown in these windows by adding and removing columns, amending the appearance of the data in each column, and also changing the order in which those columns appear. Data can also be sorted, grouped and filtered. A detailed description of how to undertake each of these actions is given below. Right clicking on the column header of the data windows invokes a speed menu from which a variety of actions can be selected. Figure 18 Personalisation speed menu 4.1 Changing the Data Sort Order within Columns The order in which data objects are listed in the various columns can be changed either by selecting the relevant action from the speed menu (Sort Ascending, Sort Descending, Clear Sorting), or by clicking once on the header of the desired column. A second click on the same column header will sort on the same column but in the reverse order. Ref:

15 Holding down the Shift key and clicking on the header of a different column will apply a secondary sort based on the data in that column. Each additional column added in this way will apply an additional level of sorting. 4.2 Viewing Data by Groups Single level and complex grouping can be achieved by right-clicking on the column header of a desired column and selecting Group By This Column. This allows the user to group the data objects by the selected column or by additional columns if the process is extended. The example below shows the ET Activities Spreadsheet grouped by Department and the Allocated Staff Name. Clicking on the & symbols will expand and contract the groups as required. Figure 19 ET activities pane grouped by columns Right-clicking on a column header and enabling Group By Box from the speed menu allows the user to create complex groupings by dragging & dropping column headers into the area above the column headers. Figure 20 ET activities pane showing "Group by" box Ref:

16 Column headers can be dragged and dropped to create multiple levels of grouping. The illustration below shows the Allocated Staff Name column being dragged to become a sub-group of the Department. Figure 21 Drag and drop column headers to "Group by" box Group headers shown in the Group by Box area can be dragged back to the column header row of the Activities Spreadsheet to undo the groupings. The Group by Box area can be toggled off from the speed menu. Examples of grouping in ECP and EDRDM are illustrated below: Figure 22 Student sets grouped by Department and Programme in ECP Figure 23 Locations grouped by Department and Capacity in EDRDM Ref:

17 4.3 Adding & Removing Columns Columns are added and removed using the Column Chooser which, when selected opens a Customisation window. The Customisation window shows all of the additional information that can be displayed for the data object type currently selected. Additional columns can then be dragged and dropped into the header row of the data window as required. Columns can be removed by dragging the column header to the Customisation window or by dragging it away from the header position until a cross appears. In the illustration shown below, the Department column is being added to the right of the Name column simply by dragging & dropping from the Customisation window. Figure 24 Drag and drop to add a column 4.4 Column width The user is also able to adjust the width of columns by clicking and dragging on the boundary between columns in the header row or using the options on the speed menu: Best Fit to change the column width to accommodate the data contained in any selected column. Best Fit (all columns) will adjust the width of all data columns. 4.5 Filtering Data Objects Using the Filter Editor Clicking on Filter Editor in the speed menu opens the Filter Builder window illustrated below. Complex filters can be built using this window. Figure 25 Filter builder Ref:

18 Clicking on [Name] opens up a list showing the properties of the object that could be used as a filter criterion such as Description, Hostkey, Department etc. Clicking on Begins with opens a list of comparison methods such as Equals, Is greater than, Contains etc. Clicking on <enter a value> allows the user to enter a value against which the property will be compared. In some cases a drop down list of values will appear. Clicking on the symbol alongside And allows the user to add further conditions to the filter Figure 26 Add new filtering conditions The outcome will be the addition of a new filtering condition: Figure 27 Two conditions applied Clicking on And will open up an additional menu allowing the user to select the way in which the multiple conditions will be applied. Choosing And, for example means that only rows that match all of the conditions will be returned by the filter. Choosing Or means that rows that match any one or more of the conditions will be returned. Figure 28 Multiple conditions menu Selecting Add Condition from this menu will add a further condition to the selected group (the same function as performed by clicking the symbol). Selecting Add Group will add a further group of conditions. The user then has the additional option of how the results of the two groups are to be combined. The outcome of entering values under both illustrated conditions is shown below: Ref:

19 Figure 29 Location editor with filtering conditions applied The EDRDM Locations window has been filtered by rooms with a Name beginning with C and a Capacity which equals 20. Clicking on the symbol removes the relevant filtering condition. Figure 30 Removing a filtering condition If a filter is already in place, clicking on the to be added or removed. button will re-open the Filter Builder to allow conditions Unchecking the check box in the bottom left-hand corner of the filtered editor will temporarily remove the filtering conditions while remembering what they are. Checking the box will reapply the conditions. Clicking on the in the bottom left-hand corner of the filtered window will remove the applied filter conditions permanently. The currently applied filter conditions are summarised in the bottom left-hand corner of the filtered window. Ref:

20 Figure 31 Summary of currently applied filter conditions 4.6 Filtering based on related objects Filtering as described above is based on properties of the object being filtered; e.g. Locations could be filtered based on their capacity since capacity is a property of Location. To filter on the basis of related objects right click on the header row and select Filter by objects Figure 32 Filter by objects Use the drop down list to select the object to filter by and then select the objects on which the filter will be based using the buttons or a double click to move objects between the candidate list on the left and the selected list on the right. Ref:

21 Figure 33 Filter by Objects window Clicking the Filter button will apply the filter to the current object list so that only objects that are associated with the selected objects in the filter window are shown. 4.7 Using the find panel Clicking on Show Find Panel in the speed menu opens the find panel as illustrated below. This enables the user to search for rows of data that include specified text. Occurrences of the search text will be highlighted in the search results. 4.8 Show or hide the filter row When data is displayed in a spread sheet style the blank filter row that appears just below the header row can be used to search for matching entries. See section 5.1. The user can decide whether to show or hide this row using the selection from the speed menu. 4.9 Alignment of columns Data in each column can be aligned to the left, right or centre of the column according to user choice. Default alignment will align according to data type; e.g. text will be aligned to the left, numbers will be aligned to the right Saving and retrieving layouts Having added, removed and reordered columns, applied sorting and filtering to suit a particular task, the user may wish to save the layout for later use. After selecting the Save Layout option from the speed menu, the user will be prompted to give a descriptive name for the layout that can be used to retrieve the same layout when next required. Ref:

22 5 Using Editors 5.1 Search by typing In some contexts, an editor will be displayed with a blank row at the top of the editor, as shown below. Figure 34 Editor with filter row By typing characters in this row the list of objects displayed will be filtered to find rows where the content matches the typed characters. Where it is considered likely that such filtering will be used, the additional row is displayed. Where such filtering is considered less likely or screen estate is at a premium, the filter row is not displayed. Similar functionality can be obtained by clicking on the filter icon that appears when you hover above the header of a column. When the icon is clicked a list of unique entries is displayed and you can search the list by typing. 5.2 Editing properties The properties of each object are edited in different ways depending on the content of the field; some can be edited in line by typing into the appropriate field, others must be edited using a selection list or custom controls. Ref:

23 When the value may be a selection of only one from the predetermined list then a single selection list is displayed as shown below. The example shows a list of departments. Figure 35 Single selection list Select an item from the list by clicking on the appropriate row. The selection list can then be closed by clicking the cross symbol. Alternatively, a double click on the appropriate row will both make the selection and close the selection list. When the value may be a multiple selection from a predetermined list then a multiple selection tool is displayed as shown below. The example shows the tool for selecting the optional modules of a Programme of Study. Figure 36 Multiple selection list The same tool will appear in all cases where you are selecting a small number of items from a list that contains many items. The list from which the selection is made will appear on the left. Items that are currently selected are shown in a list on the right. The buttons between the two lists can be used to move selected items from one list to the other. Alternatively, a double click on an item in either list will move it from that list to the other. Ref:

24 5.3 Adding and deleting objects If you are authorised to do so, you may add new objects to the list or delete objects using the buttons. The buttons will be present but greyed when you are not authorised to create new objects or delete objects of the selected type. There are some exceptions to this rule. Notably, the Activity list in ECP does not use the buttons since new activities are generated from the Activity Template Editor. Also, the Activity Template Editor in ECP does not allow the addition of new Templates since these are generated from a selected Module in the Module Editor. 5.4 Apply or discard Changes made to the data are confirmed or cancelled using the buttons at the bottom of the object window: Figure 37 Action buttons Apply confirms the change but keeps the window open. Discard cancels the change and keeps the window open. OK confirms the change and closes the window. Cancel cancels the change and closes the window. Closing the editor (using the cross in the top right hand corner) is equivalent to pressing Cancel. Ref:

25 6 Using Forms While editors, which show the data in a spreadsheet style, are ideal for viewing and comparing many objects and allow the user to sort and filter easily to find the objects they are interested in, the form view may be more useful when the user wishes to see many properties of a single object or to edit the same property for multiple objects. 6.1 Opening a form view When an object is selected in the editor, and the user clicks on the button labelled Form View, it will open a form that shows the properties of the selected object. Figure 38 - Opening form view If the user selects this button while no object is selected then there will be a message prompting the user to select an object. Ref:

26 In the form view, the user can edit any property for which they have the appropriate authorisation as shown below. In the screenshot the user is editing the User Text 2 field. Figure 39 - Editing in the form view Clicking on OK following changes will confirm that the user wishes to confirm those changes. Changes made in the form view are independent of those made in the editor view so that in the case where an editor showing the same object is open it will be updated to show the change just confirmed in the form. The changes are confirmed by the OK button on the form so will not be undone if the user clicks the Cancel button in the editor. 6.2 Multiple objects in form view When more than one object is selected in the editor, and the user clicks on the button labelled Form View, it will open a form that shows a list of those objects on the left hand side of the screen. The user may select one or more of those objects from the list in the form view. When multiple objects are selected in the form view and the selected items have a common value, that value will be displayed in the form. Where the selected items have different values for the same field, the field will be displayed as blank. In the case of fields where it is not logical to have multiple objects with the same value (e.g. name and hostkey) the fields will be disabled when multiple objects are selected. When the user changes any value and clicks OK the appropriate property will be changed to that value for all of the selected items, whether or not they previously shared a common value for that property. Ref:

27 6.3 Adding new objects in form view From the Dashboard in ECP or EDRDM, there are shortcut buttons to allow the user to add new objects of various types. Clicking on the New button will open a blank form so that the user can enter details. Once the properties of the new object have been edited, clicking OK on the form will create the new object and close the form. If the user wishes to create a series of new objects then they can click the Apply and New button. This will create the new object and blank the form ready for the creation of another new object. Ref:

28 7 Tooltips Tooltips are available throughout all the Enterprise applications and are obtained by hovering over toolbar buttons, parts of the screen, and data boxes where the default column width is such that there may be hidden data. Some examples are illustrated below: Hovering over a button on the toolbar shows a tooltip that explains the function of the button. Figure 40 ET toolbar tooltip Hovering over the week selector in ET shows a textual reminder of the weeks that are currently in view and the weeks of the current activity. Whereas the weeks are identified by their week number on the week bar (always starting at week 1) the tooltip uses week labels. By default, these are the same as the week numbers but they may have been changed in the underlying Syllabus Plus image. Figure 41 ET week pattern tooltip Hovering over a cell where the width is such that all the data cannot be seen displays a tooltip showing the entire contents of the cell. Figure 42 Tooltip showing cell contents Ref:

29 8 Week Patterns Week Patterns occur throughout the Enterprise applications in various guises and performing different functions. These functions are described in the individual application user guides. This document describes how weeks patterns are displayed and edited. 8.1 Named Availability Week Patterns In the ECP and EDRDM applications, Week Patterns occur in conjunction with Named Availability requirements against curriculum data (Modules, Student Sets etc.), and against resource data (Staff, Locations etc.). An example is illustrated below. Figure 43 Named availability for a module in ECP A week that is selected will be shaded in light grey. Weeks can be deselected by left-clicking on them with the mouse. When a week is deselected the grey shading disappears. If the mouse pointer is dragged across multiple selected weeks, while clicked, then all those weeks will be deselected. Figure 44 Weeks deselected by click or click and drag To select a single week, right-click with the mouse on the required week. Figure 45 Single week selected with right click A left-clicking on a week that is not currently selected will select that week (in addition to any weeks already selected). Clicking and dragging over multiple unselected weeks will select all of those weeks. Ref:

30 In addition, by unticking the Use Custom Availability box, pre-prepared Named Availability Week Patterns can be applied by selecting from the list. Figure 46 Selecting a named availability pattern Ref:

31 9 Writing Back and Refreshing These two buttons on the toolbar of all the Enterprise applications control writing back and refreshing. When working in a multi-user environment, all changes made by the user are initially saved locally but will not be seen by other users connected to the same central database. This allows the user to work in an experimental way, if they wish, without affecting the data that other users see. 9.1 Refreshing When the user clicks on the refresh button, their local version of the data is updated with all of the changes that have been written back by other users since the last time he refreshed. Because receiving a refresh interrupts control of the user interface, the process is undertaken when the user requests it. The status bar at the bottom of the window gives an indication of the time when the last refresh was performed so that the user can see how old their copy of the data is. Figure 47 Last SDB refresh time Refresh reminder The user can specify a time after which they should be reminded to refresh using the Application tab of the Options window (Tools Options from the menu) in the Enterprise Timetabler application. Figure 48 SDB refresh reminder After the specified SDB refresh interval, the last refresh indicator on the status bar will begin to flash with a warning symbol like this: If the Auto SDB Refresh option is checked then, in addition to the flashing reminder, a message window will appear on screen indicating that a refresh is about to be performed. A countdown timer on that message window will be set to the value indicated by the SDB refresh countdown and, unless the user postpones it, a refresh will be triggered when the countdown reaches zero. This means that an unattended image with the auto-refresh enabled will continue to refresh itself while the user is away from the screen. Ref:

32 9.2 Writing Back If the user wishes to abandon changes en masse then closing down without writing back will do that. When the user clicks the writeback button, the local data is first refreshed from SDB to ensure that the user has the latest data to make changes against. Changes they have made are then written back to the central database. Once this operation has been performed, other users connected to the same database will be able to see the changes by clicking the refresh button. 9.3 Conflicts If multiple users are working with the same data then there is the possibility that one user will have made and written back a change to the data that is in conflict with the change another user is now trying to write back. In such a case the second user will receive the changes made by the first user in the refresh that immediately precedes a writeback. A message window will give details of any changes that were pending writeback but have now been overwritten by the refresh. Figure 49 Refresh conflict message The refresh conflict message gives details of the SDB transaction number at which the conflict occurred, the objects that were affected by the refresh, and the data that was changed. This could be properties of the object or relationships between objects. E.g. one user may have changed the capacity of a location to one value while another user has changed it to a different value. One user may have allocated a resource to an activity while another user has deleted that resource. In each case the property or relationship held by SDB will win the conflict. The user who lost data will be able to see what is lost and decide what to do as a result. The probability of conflicts between changes made by different users can be reduced by writing back as soon as the user is certain of the changes they have made and refreshing the data frequently. The greater the delay between refreshes and the more changes that remain pending during that delay the more likely it is that there will be a conflict. End of Document Ref: