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The automatic engine of the software needs to know your demands from the constructed
timetable in order to be able to construct it the way you want it. To accomplish
this, the program needs to know all the constraints which guide your judgment when
you construct the timetable on your own. These constraints are entered in the Constraints
entry view, which can be accessed by clicking on Constraints at the bottom
of the screen.
Here are the main components of the Constraints view:
- Navigation Bar - used to choose the type of the constraint, and the type
of the objects.
- Constraints Table - the table in which constraints are defined. Contains
the Min, Max, Desirable and Violation columns (the Violation
column is shown only in Automatic mode).
Types of Constraints
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Gaps - a gap is an empty cell, before and after which there are full cells.
You can constrain the quantity of Gaps per Week, Gaps per Day and
the number of Consecutive Gaps.
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In this example there are 3 gaps: Wednesday, lesson 2; Thursday lesson 2; Thursday
lesson 3. On Thursday there are 2 consecutive gaps (one after the other).
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Late Starts - a late start is one or more empty cells at the beginning of
the day, after which there are full cells but before which there are no full cells.
You can constrain the quantity of Late Starts per Week and the Late Start
Size (length).
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In this example there are 2 late starts: on Monday and on Wednesday. The size of
the late start on Monday is 2, and the size of the late start on Wednesday is 1.
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Adjacency - adjacent cells are cells that are scheduled on the same day in
consecutive lessons. You can constrain the minimal and maximal number of adjacent
cells. This is usually defined for specific activities.
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In this example the minimal adjacency is 1 (Monday, 3 and Thursday, 1) and the maximal
adjacency is 3 (Tuesday 2-4).
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Lessons per Day - lessons per day is the number of scheduled cells in a day.
You can constrain the minimal and maximal number of lessons per day. If defined
for a subject, the number of lessons is per subject per group (e.g. the number of
History lessons per day in any of the groups).
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In this example the minimal number of lessons per day is 2 (on Wednesday) and the
maximal is 4 (on Monday).
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- Lesson Range - lesson range defines the earliest and latest lesson in which
an activity can be scheduled.
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In this example the minimal (earliest) lesson is 2 (on Tuesday and Wednesday) and
the maximal (latest) is 4 (on Tuesday and Thursday).
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Min, Max, Desirable and Violation Columns
The values for the constraint are entered in the Min, Max and Desirable
columns. The Desirable value must be within the Min-Max range. The program always
assigns higher priority to constraints which have a Min-Max violation, and lower
priority to constraints which have a Desirable violation (when the actual value
is within the Min-Max range, but not equal to the Desirable).
The values are entered by selecting the cell in the table and typing the value on
the keyboard.
Any of the Min, Max and/or Desirable fields can be left empty.
If the Min is left empty, it means that the constraint can be of any value not above
Max; If the Max is left empty, the constraint can be of any value not below Min;
If they are both left empty, the constraint can be of any value, and the desirable
is what you typed in the Desirable field; If all 3 values are left empty, the program
ignores the constraint for that object.
The Violation column appears only when you are in the Automatic mode,
and tells you the value of the constraint in the existing timetable relative to
the values you typed. If the actual value in the timetable does not fall within
the Min-Max range, the violation is written in red.
If it is within the range, but not equal to the Desirable value, it is written in
orange. There is always a + (plus) or
- (minus) sign next to the value of the violation. A plus marks that the
violation is above the maximum, and a minus that the violation is below the minimum.
Fixations
Sometimes you may need to schedule an activity and make sure the program does not
delete it or schedule it anywhere else. To accomplish this, you can fixate that
activity, which tells the program that it must remain in place, and should not be
"touched".
Learn more about Fixations...
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