How to generate a series of events

The Generate a Series command appears in the Action menu only when the current file is the Events file. The purpose of this action is to create a series of events based on a start date, a frequency, and an end date, for one or more employees simultaneously.

Once the Events file is selected, the Generate a Series command in the Action menu displays an input screen similar to the standard event screen, but with an additional tab titled Planning.

Under the Event tab, fill in the fields of your choice. The data entered will, of course, be repeated on all generated records.

This will also be the case for a text document created under the Letter tab; however, the document in question cannot be of the Email type.

Planning tab

The third tab allows you to specify the dates and employees for whom the events should be generated.

In the Start field, enter the date of the first event to be created. If you fill in the Time, Duration, and End fields, these details will be included in all the records created. Events will be created up to the date you enter in the Until field.

Depending on the selection made in the Frequency drop-down menu, you can refine the schedule by entering the value of your choice in the Repeat every field. If the selected frequency is weekly, monthly, or yearly, buttons will appear on the right to help you with this task.

Daily frequency

Events will be created starting from the Start Date, every x days based on the value entered in the Repeat every field, and continuing until the date specified in the Until field.

Weekly frequency

If you select a weekly frequency, seven buttons will appear on the right, allowing you to choose the day(s) of the week for which events should be created.

At least one day of the week must be selected by clicking the corresponding button. You can select multiple buttons; clicking a selected button deselects it.

Monthly frequency

For a monthly frequency, a set of 31 buttons allows you to select the date(s) of the desired day(s). At least one day of the month must be selected. You can also use the second radio button to choose a specific day of the week within the month.

Yearly frequency

Select the month and the day.

Choosing the employees

At the bottom of the window, a scroll box allows you to enter the name of the employee who will appear in the event records that will be created. If you enter multiple employees, events will be generated for each of them.

If you have previously made a selection in the Employees file, you can use it with the Current Selection option. To create a new selection, click the “Next Selection” option. Using the Add and Remove buttons, you can then build the list of relevant employees.

If you need to regularly generate a series of events for a consistently identical selection of employees, the Save button allows you to save this selection as a file on your hard drive. The Load button is used, of course, to retrieve this selection.

Validate

Once you have finished planning, click the Validate button to start creating the records.