Menu Options

The File Menu

The "File" menu contains menu options that deal with ParentEve's event files, or general operations that affect a whole file in one go. It contains the following menu items:

New Event: Creates a new event from scratch. Selecting this option will open the "Edit Event Details" window so you can set up the new event (see Start Working on an Event ). Use this to create new parents' evenings that the system has not seen before.
Load Event: Loads in an existing event from an event file. ParentEve's event files have the type .PEV and can be stored on disk like normal documents. See Start Working on an Event for further information.
Merge Changes: Allows you to merge someone else's changes into the file you are currently working on, which is how ParentEve allows multiple people to work on the same event simultaneously. Please see Merging Changes for more information on multi-user operation and the merge menu option in ParentEve.
Save Event: Saves the current event back to the file it was loaded from. If there is no current filename you will be prompted to choose one.
Save Event As: Saves the current event to a new filename. You will be prompted to choose the new name.
Print Settings: Allows you to choose the default settings for the print jobs produced by ParentEve. You can choose what gets printed, how it gets printed and the sorting applied to printouts. Please see Print Schedule for further information.
Print: Performs a print run using the current event. Selecting this option will first show the "Print Settings" window to choose what to print, then show you a print preview so you can check what will be printed in its final format. If everything is correct you can then print out all the handouts and sheets for your event. Please see Print Schedule for further information and examples of a print run.
Print Preview: Shows you what your printouts will look like on paper, without actually printing them.
Send Emails: Sends all emails that are due to be sent. Emails are sent to any teachers or parents who have valid email addresses defined. Please see Sending Emails for further information.
Lock Schedule: Allows you to lock the current schedule.Locking the Schedule describes the schedule locking functionality, please see that section for further details.
Remove Lock: Allows you to remove a schedule's lock. This can only safely be done if you are either reusing an old schedule file for a new event, or if you have not sent out any emails or printouts yet.
Exit: Shuts the program down. You will be prompted to save your work if there are unsaved changes, and the shutdown optionally can be cancelled.

The Edit Menu

The "Edit" menu contains menu options that change data in the currently loaded event file. It contains the following menu items:

Add Teacher: Allows you to add a new teacher to the event manually. This is not normally necessary, as it is far quicker to import a list of teachers from a file. If you really need to do this, please see Defining Teachers Manually for further information.
Add Parent: Allows you to add a new parent to the event manually. This is not normally necessary, as it is far quicker to import a list of teachers from a file. However, in some circumstances ParentEve can mis-identify twins, and to fix this it is necessary to manually add a new parent. See Parents for further information.
Add Break to all Teachers: Adds a break to all of the currently defined teachers. Breaks can be any length and their start times can be randomly staggered as well. See Breaks for further information.
Edit Teacher: Allows you to edit the details for the teacher that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen. See Defining Teachers Manually for further information.
Edit Parent: Allows you to edit the details for the parent that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen. See Parents for further information.
Edit Pupil: Allows you to edit the details for the pupil that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen. See Pupils for further information.
Edit Event Details: Allows you to edit the details for the current parents evening. See Start Working on an Event for further information.
Edit Email Server: Allows you to specify or alter the current email server, how to connect to it and any authentication details needed. The email server is used to send emails on ParentEve's behalf, so this must be set up correctly if you want ParentEve to send emails. See Configuring the Email Server for further information.
Edit Appointments: Allows you to edit the appointment requests for the parent or pupil that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen. See Edit Appointments for further information.
Edit Scoring: Allows you to define the length of waiting time that is considered "acceptable" for both teachers and parents. A waiting time equal to or less than these times will incur no penalty, but a waiting time greater than these values will reduce the event's score. The scoring system is used by the optimiser to reduce waiting times. Please see Schedule Scoring and Optimisation for further information.
Delete Teacher: Allows you to delete the teacher that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen.
Delete Parent: Allows you to delete the parent that is currently selected in the tree control on the left-hand side of the screen. Deleting a parent will delete all pupils for that parent.
Delete Break from all Teachers: Allows you to delete a break from all teachers attending the event. You will be prompted to enter a time, and all breaks at this time will be removed. It is not an error to remove a break that does not exist. The time you specify will then be available for booking appointments.
Delete All Teacher Breaks: Allows you to delete all breaks from all teachers attending the event. This is most commonly used when re-using an old file for a new event.
Delete Unbooked Parents: Allows you to delete all parents who have no appointments, i.e. parents who are not attending. This is useful as it reduces the amount of printouts and emails that are sent, and makes it easier to see an overview of your event.
Reset Attendance Times: Allows you to delete all "arriving late" and "leaving early" times from everyone attending the event. This is most commonly used when re-using an old file for a new event.
Delete Appointments: Allows you to delete all appointment requests from everyone attending the event. This is most commonly used when re-using an old file for a new event. See Reuing Last Year's File for further information.
Delete Parents and Pupils: Allows you to delete all parents and pupils from everyone attending the event. This is most commonly used when re-using an old file for a new event, for example when you use an existing event file for a new school year. In this case the teachers are the same, but the parents and pupils are new. Please see Reusing the Teacher List for further information.

The Import Menu

The "Import" menu contains menu options that deal with loading data into ParentEve from your management system or from files. This is the usual way of setting up events in ParentEve and is far faster than entering data manually. It contains the following menu items:

Import Teachers: See Import Teachers for further information.
Import Pupils: See Import Parents for further information.
Import 'Taught By' List from File: The "Taught By" list is a file in the same format as the Appointment Requests file described above. It is entirely optional to import this file, as currently ParentEve only uses it to cut down the number of teachers on the "Edit Appointments" window (see Edit Appointments). However, if this window is too large to fit on your screen it if often useful to import this to make data entry easier.
Import Request List from File: The "Import Request List from File" menu item allows you to import a list of appointment requests. This is by far the fastest way of getting appointment requests into ParentEve, and should be used if possible.

The Export Menu

The "Export" menu contains menu options that deal with exporting data from ParentEve into files. This is useful if you wish to transfer data into other systems or create custom reports and mail merges. It contains the following menu items:

Export Teachers to File: Exports a list of all teachers to a file. You will be prompted for a name to save the file as. The file will be produced in CSV format with the following columns:

Full Name
Initials
Subject Taught
Location

Export Pupils to File:

Parents Name
Pupil Name
Form

Export Appointments to File:

Parents Name
Address 1
Address 2
Address 3
Address 4
Address 5
Appointment 1
Appointment 2
Appointment 3
Appointment 4
Appointment 5
Appointment 6
Appointment 7
Appointment 8
Appointment 9
Appointment 10
Appointment 11
Appointment 12
Appointment 13
Appointment 14
Appointment 15
Appointment 16
Appointment 17
Appointment 18
Appointment 19
Appointment 20

Export Teacher Handouts:
Export Parent Handouts:

The Report Menu

The "Report" menu contains menu options that produce various reports from ParentEve. All reports pop up in a window which allows you to view the report, copy it to the clipboard and save it to a file. The menu contains the following items:

Teachers with no appointments: Shows all teachers that have no appointments currently booked. This is useful to inform teachers that they do not need to attend the event. Note that there may be unbooked requests, but these will not show on this report.
Parents with no appointments: Shows all parents that have no appointments currently booked. This is useful to track down appointment request slips that have not been returned. Note that there may be unbooked requests, but these will not show on this report.
Pupils with no appointments: Shows all pupils that have no appointments currently booked. This is useful to track down appointment request slips that have not been returned. Note that there may be unbooked requests, but these will not show on this report.
Teachers with appointments: Shows all teachers that have appointments currently booked, i.e. teachers that need to attend the event. Note that there may be unbooked requests, but these will not show on this report.
Unbooked appointments: Lists all unbooked appointment requests for the current event. Requests may be unbooked if there is no space left in the event, or if a request has been recently entered and not booked in yet.
Run a scripted report: This menu option allows you to choose a scripted report and run it. Scripted reports are files on the disk that define customised reports in any format you desire. They are usually supplied by Millerchip Software Ltd. but it is possible to write them yourself (or alter existing reports) if you are familiar with scripting. ParentEve's scripts are written in the Lua language which is a standard scripting language in wide use throughout the world. There are many resources on the Internet about programming in Lua if you wish to get further involved in this area. Alternatively, please contact sales@parenteve.com if you wish to have a customised report produced for you.

The Action Menu

The "Action" menu contains menu options that represent the major actions you will need to perform in ParentEve that don't fit neatly into any other category. It contains the following menu items:

Clear and rebook all appointments: This option clears all of the current appointment times and rebooks all the parents back in on a first-come-first-served basis.
Book in only the unbooked requests: This option searches for any unbooked requests, and books them in. It leaves the existing appointments untouched and should be used after entering any new requests for parents to see teachers.
Optimise: Automatically optimises the schedule. This operation attempts to reduce the waiting time (increasing the schedule's score) by rearranging appointments. It is important to optimise the schedule once all appointment requests have been received. See Optimise Schedules for further information.
Enter Unlock Code: This option is used to enter new unlock codes when you register your copy of the software. Please see Registering the Software for further information.

The Help Menu

The "Help" menu contains menu options that provide simple information about your current installation or new versions of the software. It contains the following menu items:

Check for Updates: Checks the parenteve.com website for newer versions of ParentEve. If it detects that a new version is available, it will allow you to download and install the new version easily. Please note that your school may have blocked direct downloads of programs from the internet. If this is the case, please contact your network administrator for assistance in downloading any new versions.
About: Shows a small window that contains various pieces of information about your current installation and event.

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