FAQ — Timetable creation

Frequently asked questions about creating and configuring timetables. For the details of each step, see Overview of the Timetable management module.

Which timetable type to choose: weekly, cyclic or calendar?

The choice depends on your school's rhythm:

• Weekly — recurring lessons over a typical week. Suited to primary and secondary education.
• Cyclic — recurring lessons over an N-day cycle, different from the 5- or 7-day week (typical of North American systems).
• Calendar — individually dated lessons, with no recurrence (typical of higher education and continuing education). Available on Premium accounts.

Automatic generation works for all timetable types.

See Choosing the right timetable type.

Can several timetables be created in parallel?

Yes. Several timetables can coexist in the same account (drafts, versions, semesters, periods). On a Standard account, publications must cover disjoint week ranges. On a Premium account, several timetables can be published simultaneously on the same weeks, with dynamic merging — the same capability can be enabled by contract on some Standard accounts. See Multiple active timetables in parallel.

What is the recommended order for configuring a timetable?

The order of the steps: General, Sites, Teachers, Classes (with their groups), Group alignment, Hours distribution, Generation, then Publication. The first seven are the tabs of the timetable editor (from left to right); publication happens from the timetable management screen. Each step is documented in detail in the "Creating a timetable" section of the table of contents.

Does automatic generation have limits?

The solver is powerful but strictly respects the constraints it is given. If a configuration is structurally impossible (contradictory availability, insufficient capacity, inconsistent alignments), Omniscol returns the best computed timetable, leaves the missing lessons in the list of unplaced sticky notes and provides an explicit diagnostic. See Diagnosing a failed generation.

How long does a generation take?

The duration depends on the size of the timetable, the number of lessons and the constraints. Each generation starts a dedicated, parallelized computing environment; initialization often takes around ten seconds before the actual computation. The window can be closed during the computation; a notification appears at the end. For the orders of magnitude, see Algorithm behavior.

Is a generated timetable published automatically?

No. Publication ("timetable allocation") is a separate step that must be performed explicitly after review. Without publication, the timetable remains a draft that end users cannot see. See Publishing (activating) a timetable.

Can a timetable be restored to an earlier state?

Yes, in two forms:

• Duplicating a timetable — each structural change can be made on a copy, with the original serving as a reference (available on all tiers).
• Snapshots — restorable backup points of the entire account, automated or manual (Snapshots option, depending on the contract). See Backup points.

How to manage alternate weeks (A/B)?

The feature is enabled in the General settings, under the Alternate weeks section (letters A/B/C or digits 1/2/3, with any cadence over as many weeks as needed). On a course, Add week adds a range for a new alternate week. See Alternate lessons.