Administration Manual
Table of Contents
1. Logging in as an administrator 3
The Actions Menu 3
The Utilities Menu 3
2. Resources: Airplanes and Instructors 5
How to add a new resource 5
How to edit an existing resource 6
3. USERS – Setting up User Accounts 8
How to setup a new user account 8
How to edit an existing user account 9
Expired / Restricted / Inactive User Accounts Explained 10
4. add / edit reservations 11
Add a reservation as administrator 11
Add a reservation as another user 11
Add a reservation as a maintenance time block 11
Edit an existing reservation 12
Delete a reservation 12
Modify the times of an existing reservation 12
Modify the priority of an existing reservation 12
Move a user from one resource to another 12
5. The program logs 13
Use log 13
Action log 13
6. How to Check for Sign-up Infringements 14
1. Logging in as an administrator
When you logon to the system as an administrator, you are presented with a few more options in the menus as compared to a normal user. These functions allow you to control all aspects of the scheduler program.
The Actions Menu
In the actions menu you have the same options as a normal user plus an extra button called “Member List”:
§ Log Out – Logs you out of the scheduling system. You can enter your username and password to log back in later.
§ User Signups – Displays all of your future signups (for all resources) in one consolidated listing
§ Resource Signups – Displays all of your future signups for a specific resource (For example you could check all your signups for your instructor only, and not any aircraft)
§ Member List – Displays a list of all members that have accounts in the scheduler system
§ Help! – Displays an online help menu
§ Utilities Menu – Most all administrative tasks are located within the Utilities Menu
The Utilities Menu
The utilities menu contains most all of the administrative tasks. Normal users have a utilities menu, but the only function that is available to them is the ability to edit their own account information. An administrator has many more options available:
Actions Menu:
The actions menu is available from within the utilities menu. The actions menu includes the same buttons as on the opening calender-view page, as well as “Edit my Account”:
§ Edit My Account – used to edit the current administrator account information, including telephone number, email address, and password
Maintenance Menu:
Also in the utilities menu is the “Maintenance” menu. The maintenance menu holds the following administrative functions:
§ Sign-up Infringements – Used to check who has signup warnings for their reservations so that you can take action if desired (change / delete reservation)
§ Use Log – Used to check who has logged onto the scheduler, and how long they were using the system for
§ Action Log – Used to view the action log that contains all transactions that have been executed in the scheduler. Check this to settle reservation discrepancies, and to see how reservations were added, deleted, or modified in the past.
§ User Management – Used to manage the user database (add & edit users)
§ Resource Management – Used to manage the resource database (add & edit resources, both airplanes & instructors)
§ More… - Contains the “Other Actions” listing which includes:
o Program Configuration – Used to modify low-level program settings. This feature requires a separate password from your administrator password (it requires the SuperUser password). The page contains program settings which could cause the scheduler “break down” and not function properly if set to the wrong values. A normal administrator does not need to worry about this page. The person responsible for keeping the script running will be responsible for these settings.
o Make Back File – By clicking on this function you can save a backup file of the entire scheduler database. This backup file can be used later for an emergency restore operation. When creating a backup via the web browser, be sure to save the file as a text file.
o Restore from Backup - By clicking on this function you can restore the scheduler database from a previously created backup file. The current database including user accounts, aircraft and instructor accounts, and the schedule itself will be deleted and replaced with the backup file. Normal administrators cannot use this feature. You must have the SuperUser password to restore the database. The person responsible for keeping the script running will be responsible for the restore feature.
2. Resources: Airplanes and Instructors
How to add a new resource
A resource can be an aircraft or an instructor. To setup a new resource, logon to the system as an administrator, click on the “Utilities Menu”, and then click on “Resource Management”.
To add a new resource click on “Add New Resource”
How to edit an existing resource
To edit a new resource, click on the “Utilities Menu”, and then click on “Resource Management”.
A screen will be displayed showing all the resources:
Description of the available buttons used to edit a resource:
§ Edit – allows you to edit the information shown to the left of the edit button
§ Delete – allows you to delete a resource (all current reservations for that resource will be deleted, and those users will receive an automated email notification)
§ Block All – Click this to block all users (except administrators) from being able to make or edit reservations for this resource
§ Allow All – Click this to allow all users to make or edit reservations for this resource
§ Copy Permissions – Copy the resource permissions from another resource. The resource permissions define which users are allowed, and which users are prohibited from scheduling the resource. For example, if you add a new Warrior to the list, you would probably copy the permissions from an existing Warrior over to the new Warrior so that everyone that is already checked out in the old Warrior would be allowed to reserve the new aircraft as well.
Copy User Permissions from another Resource
If you want to add an additional resource with similar user access restrictions as an existing resource, you will use this button to copy the permissions from the existing resource. For example if you added another Piper Warrior to the resource lineup, you may want to copy permissions from an existing Piper Warrior, so that existing people who were already checked out in an existing Warrior may make reservations for the new aircraft as well.
For additional instructions on how to “Copy Permissions”, please read the next page.
1. First click on “Copy Permissions” for the resource, which has the existing user access permissions that you want to copy (ie. the old existing aircraft).
2. Next click on “To Here” for the resource to which you want the permissions copied (ie. the newly added aircraft)
3. Finally click “Confirm” to complete this permission-copy action
In this example, once this action is completed, all users who were already able to reserve the 32292 Warrior, will also be able to reserve the new 47656 Warrior since they were already checked out in this type.
Helpful Tip: Most likely all users will be able to make reservations for resources such as instructors and possibly trainer aircraft (152’s). In that case, it is easier to click on “Allow All” rather than going through the “Copy Permissions” procedure.
3. USERS – Setting up User Accounts
How to setup a new user account
To setup a new user, logon to the system as an administrator, click on the “Utilities Menu”, and then click on “User Management”.
To setup a new user click on “Add New User”
Enter the user information as requested by the online form, and then click “Add New User”:
After you click “Add New User”, the system will prompt you to enter a password for that user. Enter the password twice in order to ensure you entered the password properly. Then click “Update Password”.
How to edit an existing user account
To edit an existing user, first logon to the User Management Interface. (Log on as administrator, click on “Utilities” and on “User Management”)
Expired / Restricted / Inactive User Accounts Explained
A user account can automatically expire, or be manually restricted by an administrator. An expired account and restricted account are treated the same. The only difference between them is how they became limited (automatically or manually). An inactive account is not automatically restricted, but rather is intended as a way to notify administrators of old unused accounts.
Once an account has expired or been forcefully restricted, limitations are placed on the account. These users are limited to scheduling aircraft in conjunction with instructors. They may not make new reservations without FIRST signing up an instructor for the same time slot. In addition, their outstanding reservations will be reconciled. Any existing reservations that are not in conjunction with an instructor will be automatically deleted, and the user will receive email notification of this event. Existing reservations that are scheduled for the same time block as an instructor will not be deleted.
Expired Accounts
An account will expire automatically when their expiration date passes. The expiration date is set in their user account settings page as described earlier. Users will receive warning messages 30 days prior to account expiration when they log onto the scheduling system.
The expiration date should be set to the earliest expiration date for the following certifications for flight:
Medical Certificate Expiration
Renter’s Insurance Expiration
BFR Expiration (for licensed pilots)
Solo Certification Expiration (for students)
Each time an account expires, the user must present all relevant documents listed above to prove their qualifications for flight. An administrator must identify which certification will expire first.
Restricted Accounts
An account can be manually restricted, so that it behaves identically to an expired account. An administrator can manually restrict an account on the User Management page as described earlier.
Typical reasons for restricting an account are:
Students that are not certified to solo
Inactive accounts
Inactive Accounts
User accounts are automatically marked as “Inactive” if the user has not created a reservation for the past 6 months. INACTIVE ACCOUNTS ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY RESTRICTED. When an account becomes inactive, it is marked as such in the user management window listing. In addition an email is sent to the administrators, allowing them to make a decision whether to restrict the account manually. The administrator will probably want to contact the user before restricting their account. If they have been actively flying other planes, and still plan to use this system in the near future, then you probably don’t want to restrict their account. To aid the administrator in their decision, the date of the user’s last signup activity is recorded and displayed on the user’s account page. An administrator can use this info to decide whether to restrict the account, delete the account, or to leave it alone. If the account has not been used for many years, it could probably be safely deleted.
4. add / edit reservations
Add a reservation as administrator
When you make a reservation as an administrator, you have a few more options than a normal user. Along with users who have “Calendar Authority” permissions, you can signup as another user, and modify other users reservations.
Add a reservation as another user
To make a reservation as another user, begin the signup as a normal user would:
1) Select a start and end time (either by clicking on the calendar, or directly entering it in the boxes at the top of the page)
2) Click on “As User”
3) Then select a user from the drop-down box
4) Complete the reservation by clicking on “Sign-up As User”
Add a reservation as a maintenance time block
If an airplane is down for maintenance you may want to block out some time for maintenance. If this is the case, then you should create a user account called “Maintenance”, and then logon as administrator and signup for that time-block as user “Maintenance” (see directions above for signing up as another user)
Edit an existing reservation
To edit an existing reservation, simply click on the reservation in the calendar view.
Delete a reservation
To delete a reservation, click on the delete button
Modify the times of an existing reservation
To modify the reservation time and date, directly enter the
new time/date at the top of the screen
Modify the priority of an existing reservation
As administrator you can change the priority of a reservation. For example, you can move reservation priorities around in order to give someone with 2nd the 1st (primary) priority. Simply enter a number in this box to indicate priority (1, 2, or 3)
Move a user from one resource to another
You can move a user from one resource to another (for example switch planes if one breaks down or is needed for some other pressing matter). Simply select a new resource by selecting it in the list.
5. The program logs
The program maintains a couple of logs: use log and action log. Both of these are available from the Maintenance Menu: