--- select
Select the road you want to take while trying to create a perfect timetable:
 
- simple wizard, through the basic steps, with some help displayed
- load an existing project
 
--- settings
First, identify <b>your timetable</b>.
 
Enter
- your <b>name</b>,
- the name of the <b>school</b>,
- some <b>notes</b> about the timetable.
These fields are for your reference only.
 
Next, enter the
- number of <b>work days</b> in your cycle,
- number of <b>time slots</b> you want to schedule on each work day.
 
You may notice that most fields in G-Tablix have tooltip help which will pop up if you pause the mouse pointer briefly over the field.
 
--- classes
And now the real thing. <b>Lists</b>.
 
First enter the <b>classes</b> into the list on the right. You do this by entering class names into the entry called "Name", and clicking the <b>"green-check-mark"</b> button.
 
You can enter several classes at once by separating them with commas.
You can also use an advanced syntax for consecutive adding: type in "1-4 test name" as a name and you will see what it does. You can use the same syntax for lists of classrooms and subjects.
You delete the class, that is shown in the "name" entry, by clicking the <b>"trashbin"</b> button. This also works, with the same syntax as before, for multiple deleting.
 
You probably noticed some other elements of the window. Feel free to experiment with them, or wait for the next two steps of the wizard, that will explain those also.
 
--- classrooms
More lists... <b>Classrooms</b>.
 
This is more or less the same as the previous slide, except that here you should enter the list of classrooms
 
You might also want to to set up some restrictions for some rooms. A complete
description of modules and restriction management in tablix is beyond the scope
of this guide but, for now:
- select a room and click the <b>"toolbox"</b> button.
- a pop-up will appear. This is the <b>"Restrictions editor"</b>. You can leave
it open all the time because it updates every time you select another list entry.
- it contains some context help, so play with it.
- every time you want to set a restriction, enter its value in the field and click the <b>"plus"</b> button, and the the <b>"ok"</b> button (all this in the editor). The changes show up in the classes list.
 
For exercise, select some classrooms and set the restriction "capability-place" to some value ("special room" for instance).
 
--- teachers
More lists... <b>Teachers</b>.
 
This list is a bit more complex. Here you should enter all the teachers you will later schedule, along with their subjects.
 
You can enter <b>multiple</b> teachers and / or multiple subjects. Again you can specify some restrictions for each such <b>"tuple"</b>.
 
Repeat the exercise from the previous slide. Try to set some restrictions for some tuples. Note that the value you entered before is shown as an option to select from.
 
Tablix users might wonder where the list of subjects went. Here, G-Tablix generates it automatically but you can find it separately in manual mode.
 
Another useful feature you can try are the <b>notes</b>. Double click in the
fourth field of any line and write a note. It will be saved as a XML comment.
 
If you want to know some more features now, switch temporarily to manual mode, using the "wizard toolbar button". You will notice, that the last three lists are shown together in one tab. You can switch between classes, classrooms and subjects lists with option buttons on the bottom. Switch back anytime to continue the wizard.
 
--- editor
The heart of your timetable.
    <b>Scheduling</b>
 
This is the last and the most complex list needed for your timetable. Here you can select the <b>values</b> you entered in the previous lists, and specify how often they should be scheduled (<b>"perweek"</b> entry).
 
If you prefer, you may specify the activity's exact location, and tablix will not move it. You can do this by setting <b>"room", "day" and "period"</b>. The last two are generated from the your previous entries("settings").
 
Again you can define <b>restrictions</b>, and write <b>notes</b>. You might find these notes very useful in the future.
 
Note: G-Tablix will warn you if it detects conflicting data.
 
The little "plus" named check-box-entry sets the <b>"additive"</b> mode. This means that any new value you type in the entries will be added to the appropriate list. This is enabled by default.
 
If you want to do a lot of manual scheduling, you will find the next features very helpful. First, click the "hand-over-list" button, next to time settings lists. You get a popup with <b>miniature timetable</b>, from which you can pick a period. You can leave it open all the time to schedule efficiently. It <b>colors</b> the periods that you already used yellow.
The second option is the "relative" radio button. If you select this, the timetable editor gets replaced with four <b>lists</b>, showing all the entities you've set up earlier. This is very powerful tool for scheduling, because it visually shows the relations between the entities. Select one and note the redraw of the lists. The legend of colouring is at the bottom, and the numbers represent the number of periods each entity is scheduled.
 
--- modules
Setting up the <b>tablix modules</b>.
 
All the modules that tablix needs to deal with the restrictions you entered previously were activated automatically and each of their weights was set to "1". You should check them and set some sane values for <b>"weight"</b> and <b>"mandatory"</b>.
 
The entry <b>"impossible weight"</b> is by default set to "50". You should set this higher if you can't get a reasonable timetable. Also check, that the <b>"timeplace"</b> module is activated and set to some noticeable value.
 
Read the tablix manual to learn more about using modules.
 
--- tablix
Check and run.
 
There are a few things that should be checked before you generate this timetable with tablix.
 
First, let's do a basic check for obvious problems. Select <b>"Tools->Check"</b> from the menu. A pop-up shows up and the complete project is checked. Go through the error report and make the appropriate changes in the entries on the previous pages.
 
Secondly, Tablix will not work unless <b>PVM</b> is running. If pvm is not running, you will have to learn how to set it up. If you don't know what pvm is, read the manuals for tablix and/or pvm.
 
Now you are all set to run tablix. Hit the <b>big green button</b>, with label Tablix and cross your fingers. After some moments, the values near the bottom start tracking progress.
 
If a window with a question pops up - just click "cancel".
 
If you are wondering about the entries for 'Parameter', 'Nodes', 'Local',and 'Time', these specify parameters that are passed to tablix on the command line
<b>without being checked</b>. The defaults shown usually do not need to be changed. Read the tablix manual or man page for more information.
 
--- plot
Track progress.
 
Tablix will be running for some time. The progress can be predicted by analyzing <b>convergence graphs</b>.
 
First, just click the <b>"refresh"</b> button. A graph should show up.
 
Explore the possibilities of other buttons.
 
You can save the graph as PNG if you click the <b>"save"</b> button.
 
When mandatory errors fall to zero and stay there for some time, tablix will stop and gtablix will ask you if it should open the first result. Say "yes" and proceed.
 
--- result
THE timetable.
 
Success!
In this window you can preview and export the resulting timetable for every class, teacher or classroom.
