OCLM Software - Help Guide - Custom Scheduler

Overview:

This feature allows you to create fully customized schedules. We provide default templates to help you get started, such as Cleaning, Lawn Maintenance, Attendant, and Sound schedules, all of which can be tailored to your needs. You can also build entirely custom schedules — for example, for Circuit Assembly parking attendants or Regional Convention contribution box assignments.

Custom schedules can include up to 10 columns of your choice, along with Rotating Columns — a feature that lets you set specific repeating values for each column, ensuring these values cycle in order rather than being randomly assigned to users.

Video Guides (Coming Soon)

• Video Guide 1: Intro & Creating a new schedule
• Video Guide 2: Add/Modify Persons or Groups
• Video Guide 3: Generate Schedules and Printouts

Set-Up New Schedules

• Using Default Schedules
• Making Custom Schedules
• Rotating Columns
• Schedule Frequency
• Avoiding Conflicts with other Schedules
• Edit existing schedule settings

Add/Modify Persons or Groups

• Importing Brothers
• Creating new Service Groups or other entries

View/Generate Schedules

• Auto-Assign Schedule
• Manually modifying schedule
• History
• Time Away
• Hide weeks/Show weeks

Printouts

• Printing your Custom schedule in PDF

Data

• Backup your Data
• Import/Restore your data

Set Up New Schedules:

Using Default Schedules

To create a new schedule, go to the "Schedule Template" dropdown menu. You can either select one of the default templates or choose "Custom Schedule". Regardless of your selection, you must enter a name for your schedule in the "Schedule Name" field.
If you choose a default schedule, you can still adjust the number of columns and customize the column names as needed.

Creating Custom Schedules

To create a custom schedule:

1. Select "Custom Schedule" from the "Schedule Template" dropdown.
2. Enter a name for your schedule in the "Schedule Name" field.
3. Choose the number of columns and provide names for each column in the fields that follow.

Note: A 'Date' column is automatically included — you do not need to add it as Column 1.

Rotating Columns

The Rotating Column option allows you to set up columns with specific, repeating values rather than random assignments.

For example:

• In the default Lawn schedule, you may want to rotate Kingdom Hall sections A, B, and C. To do this, check the Rotation box for the desired column and type: A, B, C. These values will rotate in order.
• For a Cleaning schedule, you could rotate between "Major" and "Light" cleaning by selecting the Rotation box and entering: Major, Light, Major, Light.

Schedule Frequency

In the "Schedule Frequency" dropdown, you can select:

• Weekly
• Midweek and Weekend
• Monthly

Once selected, choose the day(s) of the week for the schedule to start.
For example:

• For a Sound or Attendant schedule, select "Midweek and Weekend" and then choose the meeting days (e.g., Tuesday and Sunday).
• For a Weekly or Monthly schedule, select the desired start day (e.g., Monday).

Avoiding Conflicts with Other Schedules

You can prevent scheduling conflicts by checking one or both of the "Avoid conflicts with Midweek Schedule" or "Avoid conflicts with Weekend Schedule" options. This ensures that brothers already assigned to parts in the Midweek or Weekend meetings will not be auto-assigned conflicting duties.

If you maintain separate schedules for duties like Sound and Attendants, you can also select "Avoid conflicts with custom schedule" and choose the specific schedule you want to avoid overlapping with.

Editing Existing Schedule Settings

After creating a schedule, you can still adjust its settings by selecting "Edit Schedule Settings" under each schedule tab.
Please note: Changes will only apply to unscheduled or newly imported weeks — previously scheduled weeks will remain unchanged.

Add/Modify Persons or Groups

Importing Brothers

1. Go to the "Add/Modify Person/Group" tab under the newly created Schedules tab.
2. Click either "Import Brothers from Midweek" or "Import Brothers from Weekend", depending on which meeting you want to import from.
3. In the list that appears, check the box next to each brother’s name you wish to import.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Import Selected".

This will import each selected brother’s name and contact information. After importing, you can click the Edit button next to each name to assign responsibilities by checking the appropriate assignment boxes.

Creating New Service Groups or Other Entries

1. Click the "Create New Person/Group" button.
2. Enter the brother’s name, contact information, and select the assignments he can perform.
3. To add a service group, congregation name, or other category:
   • Type the group name in the "Last Name" field.
   • Leave the "First Name" field empty.

View / Generate Schedules

Auto-Assign Schedule

1. Go to the "View/Generate Schedules" tab under your new schedule.
2. Click the "Get Schedule Data" button to load the upcoming month’s weeks.
   • Click repeatedly to load additional months as needed.
3. Use the Auto-Assign buttons to automatically assign brothers for each available week.

To see who has been scheduled for a particular week, click the "View" link under the "Assigned" column.

Manually Modifying the Schedule

1. To view assigned brothers for a scheduled week, click the "View" link under the "Assigned" column.
2. To see suggested alternates, click "Show" under the "Suggested Alternates" column.
   • This displays brothers who have not performed that assignment for the longest time.
3. If no brother is listed for an assignment, it means no suitable brother was available for that role.

Hide/Show Schedule Weeks

1. Click the "Hide Weeks" button on the Schedules screen.
2. Select a From and To date range to hide.
3. To restore hidden weeks, click the "Show" button and select the desired date range.

Note: Hidden weeks are not deleted; they can be viewed again at any time.

History

• Available under the "Add/Modify Person/Group" tab.
• To view or edit a brother’s assignment history—or to enter history for a new student—click the "History" link in the "History" column.

Time Away

• Also accessed from the "Add/Modify Person/Group" tab.
• Click the "Time Away" link in the "Time Away" column to view, add, edit, or delete a brother’s unavailable dates.

Important Notes:

• A brother marked as "Time Away" will not be scheduled during those dates.
• For an unknown absence period, consider setting the brother as Inactive:
  1. Click Edit beside the brother’s name.
  2. Uncheck the "Active" box.
  3. Click Save.
• To ensure the entire week is covered, begin and end "Time Away" dates on a Sunday (unless your congregation’s meeting day is set otherwise; by default, the system assumes Monday).

Printouts

1. On the Schedules page, choose your print format (PDF) from the Printout dropdown.
2. If your schedule has more than 5–6 columns, select the Landscape option for better fit.
3. Select/Checkmark the weeks to print in the "Select to Print" column, or click "Select All Weeks on Page" to choose all visible weeks.
4. Click Print — your document (PDF) will open for download or viewing.

Editing Printouts:

• You can choose to download a standard or editable PDF. For the editable version, use your PDF reader/editor to fill in or adjust values using built-in text boxes.

Data Management

Backup Your Data

• From the Main Menu, click the "Data" tab and select Backup.

Import / Restore Your Data

• From the Main Menu, click the "Data" tab and select Import/Restore.

More Guidance Needed?

If you would like further details on any of the above sections please email: info@oclmsoftware.com