Schedules

Viewing rink schedules is the most important function of this app. The basic functions are pretty simple, but as you explore deeper you will learn how you can customize the views in ways that will make them more helpful to you. Use the material below to guide your experimenting.

Weekly Schedule

We’ll begin with the Schedule tab as shown here:

On the left, first notice the clock and the time and date information below it. The current time and date are always shown in the rink’s time zone, regardless of your present location.

Below the rink logo is a control for choosing whether you want to view a Weekly or Daily schedule. Stick with Weekly for now. The Daily schedule is described below.

If the rink posts several different schedules, you can choose which one to view. In this example East West Ice Palace posts schedules for the Ice and the Dance Room. Other rinks might have other choices. These are “radio buttons”, so you can choose one at a time.

Below this is popup menu for choosing whether you want to a hear chime at the beginning and end of every session (and for which schedule if there are several). Note that chime will sound for the chosen schedule, even if you are viewing a different one.

The controls in the bottom left corner of the window provide additional viewing options and adjustments:

Adjust the size of text in the schedule. The best size will depend on the size of your screen and the size of the window. Choose whatever works best — large enough to read without getting too crowded in the space available. Note that the program will save your settings for future use — actually two values, one for fitting vertically and one for scrolling.

Check Fit Vertically to see the entire schedule in the available vertical space. Otherwise, the view will scroll up and down.

Check Show Session Times to see the exact time of the sessions at the bottom of each time slot.

You can turn pages to move forward and backward through the weeks in the schedule in any one of four ways:

1. Click the arrow buttons in the upper right corner.

2. Tap the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.

3. If you have a trackpad or a touch-sensitive mouse, swipe left or right.

4. Choose a week in the Calendar. More on that subject below.

Note that “Swipe between pages” is an option you can enable, disable, and configure according to your needs. Go to System Preferences, then to Mouse or Trackpad settings, and then to More Gestures.

Click the Show Now button to jump back to the current week and scroll as needed to bring the time marker into view.

Notice the time of day labels on the left, and the day and date labels across the top. Today’s date is distinguished by black frame around the entire day on the schedule. If today is visible, the current time of day is shown with a red marker which advances once per minute. Past dates are darkened slightly to distinguish them.

Did you notice the box on the left side below the time and date? Move your mouse around the schedule and this box will display detailed information about the session you are pointing at. Use this to determine the start and end times for a session rather than trying to read across to the time of day labels.

If a session in the schedule has a gray triangle in the upper right corner, this indicates that an additional note is attached to the session. That note will appear in the info box when you hover the mouse over the session.

Daily Schedule

Choose Daily using the control below the rink logo.

The Daily tab provides a detailed look at one day at a time. It includes columns for the time, description, and duration of each session.

The controls and navigation in the Daily view are very similar to those in the Weekly view. You can turn pages between days and choose a day from the calendar. If you switch from the Daily view to the Weekly view, the day you were just viewing will be framed in blue to show where you came from.

There is also a useful shortcut: double-click a day in the Weekly view and you will jump directly to that day in the Daily view. It’s smart enough to know the time of day you clicked, so if the Daily tab is in scrolling mode, the time you clicked will be scrolled into view.

The biggest difference is that the Daily view can also show several schedules side by side. If the rink posts multiple schedules, the controls for choosing them (below the rink logo) are check boxes, not radio buttons. You can have several checked simultaneously.

Calendar

Click the Calendar sidebar control in the upper right corner to show or hide the Calendar. It shows several full months, with dates which are outside the available range in gray. Today’s date is distinguished by red text with a frame around it. The week or day being viewed is highlighted. Click on a different week or day to view it.

Chimes

A special consideration with regard to chimes and multiple windows: You may have noticed that chimes can be enabled in both the Main window and in the Today window. So what happens if chimes are turned on in multiple windows at the same time? The answer is simple. Chimes will sound only for the frontmost window with chimes turned on. The chimes for all windows behind it are suppressed. You will never hear multiple chimes or chimes for several different rinks.

Schedule Subject to Change

Keep in mind that while this application gives you a view several weeks into the future, you should take that future as “always in motion”. You are getting a glimpse into plans as they are evolving, not a commitment to specifics cast in stone. There are likely to be changes as a particular date draws near.