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Welcome to the first newsletter for 2004. The first term of the year has been very busy at Human Edge with new products being developed and tested, as well as many new users coming on board.
2004 has so far seen the release of the new ASP version of First Class Web, our latest internet/intranet publishing tool. First Class Web instantly reflects any changes that have been made to the timetable database, even down to student timetables where choices have been amended, or a new student enrolled. First Class Web makes the latest timetable available anywhere across the school intranet or beyond. It has received an enthusiastic response and we believe that it will be a great enhancement for all who purchase it.
The first new release of First Class for 2004 is now available. Version 539 can be download now via our website http://www.humanedge.biz/firstclass/login.asp
2004 will also see Human Edge expand its product range with a number of exciting new options. One of these is A+, a new package that will allow you to record student absences and late arrivals, either via a PDA device or an in-room computer. A+ shares the same database as First Class, keeping all you records in one place. More news on this and other products will follow in upcoming newsletters.
Register you name now for A+ pre-release information Click Here
2003 was also a big year in the development of First Class. In Conjunction with suggestions from timetablers, we added to, and improved on the functionality of First Class, making it an even better timetabling solution. In case you missed it here are some of the great things added during 2003.
 | The FIND function now allows you to search for text in almost any screen, and highlights it with a red border. An extremely useful tool, for example, in determining the spread of a subject across a form timetable. |
| TODAY'S CHANGES report in EXTRAS, summarizes all the changes for the day, including a detailed list of all extras. |
| SHOW FREE option in the Master Timetables properties box shows teachers and rooms free at the end of each period. Daily Organisers/Deputy Principals can use this to help determine teachers or rooms for extras cover. |
| The ENROL STUDENT feature allows you to enrol, enter choices and allocate students, all in one step. There is no more need to swap between screens to perform these steps one-at-a-time. |
| Two new BAR CODE SELECTION SHEETS were added. One is a generic sheet that has the student bar code at the top, and the subject bar codes listed alphabetically below. The other allows you to create your own layout, with text boxes included, which can be saved for use in future years. Utilize the speed and accuracy of entering student choices using a bar code reader. |
| SECURITY levels can now be set for individuals or groups of users, allowing the timetabler to control who has access to sensitive areas of the program, such as timetable generation or blocking. |
| The NON-PRINTING property in PERIOD MAINTENANCE allows you to define items such as yard duty that are included on the timetable but can be excluded from printing using the TIMETABLES PROPERTIES BOX. Yard duty can be shown on teacher timetables but hidden on all other timetables |
| ROOM GROUP RESOLVER. Room Groups are an excellent way to give the Timetable Generator some flexibility when positioning allocations on the timetable, without the possibility of there being too many of a particular type of class in any period. Subjects such as Science are the best examples of where Room Groups can be used. This resolver then places the timetabled classes into rooms, even minimizing the room changes for a particular class. |
Full details of all changes to First Class can be found in the release notes section of the website http://www.humanedge.biz/firstclass/releasenotes.htm
What do the checkboxes next to items in the tree-view in the timetable browser mean?
The checkboxes you see on all items in the tree-view browser in the timetable section govern which timetables will be previewed (and/or printed). If you merely wish to print one timetable, you only need that one to be displayed, and no boxes need to be checked.
There is a short-cut. If you click on the higher branch of the tree-view, eg, the checkbox next to TEACHERS, all the items under that branch will be selected.
How do I set default timetable print options?
When you check the boxes for a number of items on the timetable browser and press PREVIEW and then click SETUP, the first item in the preview list (first teacher, form etc), will be the one highlighted in the Setup tree-view. However, setting the print options for that item does only that. To set the options for all items of that type (teachers, forms, master etc), click on the word TEACHER or FORM etc. and set the options there. Those options will then be the default for all items of that type. In fact, you could set all the default options for all types of timetables the first time you open this screen!
Did you know?
That you can enrol, via our website, into one of our scheduled training courses?
Just go to the following URL http://www.humanedge.biz/firstclass/fc2000training.asp and click on the "Book Now" button. Just follow the 5 simple steps to book the course and yourself and/or up to 10 (other) participants.
For more information please contact:
Robert Bakker
First Class Support, Implementation and Training team
Phone: 1300 301 931
Email: firstclass@humanedge.biz
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