How to Generate a Schedule

You can manually schedule ministers for events, you can use the auto-scheduler, or a combination of both methods. The procedures in this topic guide you through both methods.

Manually Scheduling Specific Ministers for an Event

Using the Auto-scheduler to Create a Schedule

If you have not done so already, set up the scheduler. After you complete the setup, you are ready to generate schedules.

●       If you have specific ministers that you want to manually schedule for an event, follow the instructions to manually schedule ministers for events.

●       If you want the auto-scheduler to make your minister selections for you, follow the instructions to use the auto-scheduler to create a schedule.

Manually Scheduling Specific Ministers for an Event

Suppose that you want to schedule specific ministers for a special event or a one-time-only service. In such instances, you can manually select the ministers you want and assign them to the event. If the ministers-needed requirement for the event is still unmet, you can then run the auto-scheduler to fill any open slots in the event’s schedule. Follow these steps to manually assign ministers to an event.

If you need to find out who is currently assigned to an event or if you want to see a list of ministers who are available to serve, see How to View the Status of Minister Assignments for an Event. Then, return to this procedure to input your changes.

1. Click to display the Scheduling page.
2. At the bottom of the page, click .

The following message is displayed: Successfully generated schedule events.

3. Click  to dismiss the message.

The Scheduling page lists all of your events.

4. If desired, filter the list of events by choosing options from one or more of these dropdown lists, located at the top of the page:

• Select Date Range
• Select Ministry Group
• Select Ministry
• Select Ministry Event

Then, click (on the top-right).

The content refreshes, and a list of events matching your filter selections is displayed. The status icons on the right indicate the following:

To specify the minister requirement (ministers needed) for an event, go to How to Set Up the Scheduler.

(Green): All of the ministers required for the event have been assigned.

 (Green with an asterisk): The event is overscheduled (has more ministers than needed).

 (Gray): No ministers are assigned to this event because no minister requirement is specified in the setup for the event. (To specify the number of ministers needed, see How to Set Up the Scheduler. )

 (Yellow) The minister requirement specified for this event has not been met. Some ministers are scheduled, but the number needed has not been satisfied.

(Red) None of the needed ministers are currently assigned to this event.

5. Click  to display the Manual Scheduling page for the event that you want to manually schedule.

The Ministers Needed field shows you the number of ministers required for the event. The Current Schedule Event Ministers grid shows the names of ministers currently selected for the event.

6. To assign one or more ministers to the event, complete the following:

1. (optional) Filter the Ministers Available For The Selected Event grid to show the names of ministers with a specific status. To do this, select the desired option from the Status dropdown list.

For example to view ministers who indicated that they can serve as substitutes only for the selected event, select the Sub-Only option.

2. In the Ministers Available For The Selected Event grid, check the box to the left of each minister that you want to assign to the event.
3. Click .

A message is displayed to inform you that the selected ministers are now scheduled for the event.

4. Click  to dismiss the message.

The ministers you assigned are now listed in the Current Schedule Event Ministers section on the left. This icon is displayed to indicate that the minister was manually scheduled by the administrator: .

5. When done, click .

The main Scheduling page is displayed. The ministers you added are displayed in the Schedule Event Ministers list on the right.

If you need to schedule additional ministers, you can continue to add them manually by repeating this procedure. Or, you can run the auto-scheduler and let it help you fill remaining open slots for you. See Using_the_Autoscheduler_to_Create_a_Schedule.

Using the Auto-scheduler to Create a Schedule

Follow these steps to have the autoscheduler create a schedule for you:

1. Click to display the Scheduling page.

2. At the top of the page, select your filter options to narrow the scope of your schedule to a specific group.

For example, in the following illustration, we selected Group=Women's Volleyball, Ministry=Travel, Event=Little Flower vs. Christ the King.

3. Click .

The application loads your filter selections.

4. At the bottom of the page, click .

The automatic scheduling process begins. After the process completes, the following message is displayed: Successfully auto scheduled.

5. Click to dismiss the message and view the generated schedule that matches your filter selections.

In the following illustration, you can see the schedule generated by the auto-scheduler that matches the filter selections entered in Step 2:

The status icons on the right indicate the following:

(Green): All of the ministers required for the event have been assigned.

 (Green with an asterisk): The event is overscheduled (has more ministers than needed).

 (Gray): No ministers are assigned to this event because no minister requirement is specified in the setup for the event. (To specify the number of ministers needed, see How to Set Up the Scheduler. )

 (Yellow) The minister requirement specified for this event has not been met. Some ministers are scheduled, but the number needed has not been satisfied.

(Red) None of the needed ministers are currently assigned to this event.

6. Thoroughly review the schedules generated by the auto-scheduler. Then, do one or more of the following:

• If the schedule meets your expectations, you can publish to the Web so that your ministers can view their assignments. See Publishing_a_Ministry_Schedule_to_the_Web. You can also create other types of reports (see Reports Shortcut Menu or Viewing, Printing, and Saving Reports).
• If you need to modify the schedule, refer to the following topics:
• How to Set Up the Scheduler to change the general setup (for example, to change the number of ministers needed for an event).
• How to Add and Remove Ministers from a Schedule to manually change the auto-scheduler's minister selections. You can also add ministers to
  under-scheduled events and remove ministers from overscheduled events.
• If you want to view the names of ministers who are assigned to an event or if you want to see which ministers are available to serve, see How to View the Status of Minister Assignments for an Event.
• If the schedule does not meet your expectations or if you experience problems, see Troubleshooting Scheduling Results to see if you can resolve the issues. You should also review the information in this topic: Understanding the Automated Scheduler.

Related Topics

How to Set Up the Scheduler

How to Add Ministers and Remove Ministers from a Schedule

Troubleshooting Scheduling Results

How to View the Status of Minister Assignments for an Event

Publishing_a_Ministry_Schedule_to_the_Web

Quick Reports Shortcut Menu

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