Overview

semester.config is a desktop app for managing tasks, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). If you can type fast, semester.config can get your task management done faster than traditional GUI apps.

  • Table of Contents
  1. Quick start
  2. Features
  3. FAQ
  4. Command Summary

Quick start

  1. Ensure you have Java 11 or above installed in your Computer.

  2. Download the latest semesterconfig.jar from here.

  3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your semester.config.

  4. Double-click the file to start the app. The GUI similar to the below should appear in a few seconds. Note how the app contains some sample data.
    Ui

  5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.
    Some example commands you can try:

    • list : Lists all tasks.

    • delete3 : Deletes the 3rd task shown in the all tasks list.

    • clear : Deletes all tasks.

    • exit : Exits the app.

  6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Features

:information_source: Notes about the command format:

  • Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user.
    e.g. in add n/NAME, NAME is a parameter which can be used as add n/CS2103 Assignment.

  • Items in square brackets are optional.
    e.g n/NAME [pt/TAG] can be used as n/CS2103 Assignment pt/core or as n/CS2103 Assignment.

  • Items with … after them can be used multiple times including zero times.
    e.g. [pt/TAG]… can be used as  (i.e. 0 times) OR pt/coreOR pt/difficult pt/SUable etc.

  • Parameters can be in any order.
    e.g. if the command specifies n/TASK_NAME mc/MODULE_CODE, mc/MODULE_CODE n/TASK_NAME is also acceptable.

  • If a parameter is expected only once in the command but you specified it multiple times, only the last occurrence of the parameter will be taken.
    e.g. if you specify mc/CS2103 mc/CS2105, only mc/CS2105 will be taken.

  • Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as list, exit and clear) will be ignored.
    e.g. if the command specifies list 123, it will be interpreted as list.

  • All available inputs of priority tags are LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH. The application only accept these inputs as valid inputs and will throw an error if other inputs are entered

  • The module code parameter only takes in uppercase CS module codes. e.g. mc/CS2103 will be accepted but mc/cs2103 will throw an error.

Prefixes for add and edit commands

This table outlines all the available prefixes that can be used for the add and edit commands.

Prefix Name Applicable Commands Input types Example Usage
n/ Task Name add, edit Any non-empty name n/Assignment 2
mc/ Module Code add, edit Only CS coded modules (suffix letters are allowed) mc/CS2103
d/ Deadline Date add, edit Date in DD-MM-YYYY format d/10-10-2021
t/ Deadline Time add, edit Time in HH:MM format t/18:00
w/ Weightage add, edit Positive integer percentage from 0 (inclusive) to 100 (inclusive) w/25%
pt/ Tags add, edit Any non-empty tag pt/core mod
ptag/ Priority Tag add, edit either one of LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH ptag/HIGH
notes/ Notes edit Any note notes/Hello World!

Add a task: add

Add a task to the list.

Format: add mc/MODULE_CODE n/TASK_NAME d/DEADLINE_DATE t/DEADLINE_TIME w/WEIGHTAGE [ptag/PRIORITY_TAG] [pt/TAGS]...

  • Weightage value provided must be a positive integer percentage between 0% to 100%, e.g. w/10%

Example:

  • add mc/CS3243 n/Project 1 d/15-04-2021 t/10:00 w/10% will add this task to the all tasks list.
  • Priority tag of a task will be set to LOW by default if there are not inputs.
  • Note that the order of inputs does not matter, for e.g. there is no difference between entering add mc/CS3243 n/Project 1 and add n/Project 1 mc/CS3243 .

Edit a task: edit

Edits an existing task in the application

Format: edit INDEX [n/TASK_NAME] [mc/MODULE_CODE] [d/DEADLINE_DATE] [t/DEADLINE_TIME] [w/WEIGHTAGE] [notes/NOTES] [pt/TAG] [ptag/PRIORITY_TAG]

  • Edits the task at the specified index
  • The index must be a positive integer 1,2,3,…
  • The index must be on the all tasks list else an error will be thrown
  • At least one of the optional fields must be provided
  • Existing values will be updated to the input values
  • Weightage value provided must be a positive integer percentage between 0% to 100%, e.g. w/10%
  • Note that the order of inputs does not matter, for e.g. there is no difference between entering edit 1 mc/CS3243 n/Project 1 and edit 1 n/Project 1 mc/CS3243 .

Examples:

  • edit 1 n/Lecture Quiz mc/CS2103 edits the task name and module code of the task at index 1 to be “Lecture Quiz” and “CS2103” respectively.
  • edit 2 d/15-04-2021 notes/Open Book edits the date and notes of the task at index 2 to be “15 April 2021” and “Open Book” respectively.
  • edit 3 n/Finals ptag/HIGH edits the task name and priority tag of the task at index 3 to be “Finals” and “HIGH” respectively.

Add notes to a task notes

Adds/edits notes for a task at the specified index under All Tasks.

Format: notes INDEX notes/NOTES

  • Index to be inserted must be positive, and
  • Index must be available on the All Tasks list else an error will be thrown.
  • If there are currently no notes associated with the task, then it adds notes to that current task.
  • If there are existing notes for the task, the existing notes will be overwritten by the new notes.

Example:

  • Assume that the first task on the All task list has no existing notes. notes 1 notes/Hello World! will add the note Hello World! to that task.
  • Assume that the second task on the All task list has an existing note I love Python. notes 2 notes/I love Java will replace the existing note I love Python with the new note I love Java for that task.

Delete a task: delete

Deletes the task at the specified index under All Tasks

Format: delete INDEX

  • Index to be inserted must be positive, and
  • Index must be available on the All Tasks list else an error will be thrown

Example:

  • delete 3 will delete the 3rd task on the list of All Tasks
  • Using list to show all tasks, the user wants to delete the 2nd task. User use command delete 2 to delete the 2nd task from the list.

Locating tasks by taskName: find

Find tasks whose taskName contains any of the given keywords.

Format: find KEYWORD...

  • The search is case-insensitive. e.g “Assignment” will match “assignment”
  • The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. “programming modular” will match “modular programming”
  • Only the task’s taskName is searched.
  • Only full words will be matched e.g. “Java” will not match “Javascript”
  • Persons matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search). e.g. “SQL Python” will return “SQL Quiz, Python Assignment”
  • Searching allows multiple keywords e.g: “Final Assignment” will match with “Final Assignment part 1” and “Final Assignment part 2”. Use of multiple search keys must be delimited by space. Using example above. “FinalAssignment” will not match “Final Assignment part 1”.

Examples:

  • find C++ will return C++ project and C++ graded quiz
  • find assignment exam will return Final Assignment, Midterm exam

List all tasks: list

List out all tasks (might be unsorted)

Format: list

Toggle the status of a task: done

Toggle the status of a task from finished to unfinished or from unfinished to finished.

Format: done INDEX

  • The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed All Tasks list.
  • The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
  • Index must be available on the list else an error will be thrown

Example:

  • Task 3 has finished. done 3 will mark task 3 to be unfinished. If the user type done 3 again, it will mark task 3 to be finished again.
  • Task 1 hasn’t finished. done 1 will mark task 1 to be finished.

Sort tasks: sort

Sorts tasks according to the specified parameter.

Format: sort [dateTime OR taskName OR moduleCode OR priorityTag OR weightage]

  • Tasks can be sorted according to these five parameters: date & time dateTime, module code moduleCode, priority tag priorityTag, weightage weightage, and task name taskName.
  • If no arguments are given, an error will be thrown.
  • For date & time, the tasks will be sorted in chronological order, with the earliest deadline placed first.
  • For module code, the tasks will be sorted according to the lexicographical ordering of the module codes.
  • For priority tag, the tasks will be sorted according to this order: HIGH > MEDIUM > LOW. Tasks with higher priority will then be shown at the top of the list.
  • For weightage, the tasks will be sorted in a descending order, starting from the heaviest weightage.
  • For task name, the tasks will be sorted according to the lexicographical order of the task names.

Clear Application: clear

Clears all tasks from the application.

Format: clear

Exit Application exit

Exit from semester.config, changes will be saved

Format: exit

Show tasks that due soon: dueIn

Show tasks that are due within the days/weeks specified by the user (if any).

Format: dueIn [day/NUMBER_OF_DAYS OR week/NUMBER_OF_WEEKS]

  • If no parameters given, tasks shown will be tasks that will be due by next week.
  • NUMBER_OF_DAYS & NUMBER_OF_WEEKS must be a positive integer
  • If both day/ & week/ are given, an error will be thrown.
  • Tasks shown are tasks with deadlines starting from today’s date.
  • The limit for dueIn is until 31-12-2099.

Example:

  • Task 1’s task is 10 March 2020. Task 2’s task is 11 March 2020. Today is 3 March 2020. dueIn, dueIn day/7, and dueIn week/1 will lists task 1 on the list.

Add or remove a task to the daily task list: doToday

Adds the specified task from the regular task list to the daily task list.

Format: doToday [-a OR -r] INDEX

  • Flag to add or remove must be specified: -a to add a daily task, -r to remove a daily task.
  • For add flag -a: Index must be available on the task list else an error will be thrown.
  • For remove flag -r: Index must be available on the daily task list else an error will be thrown.
  • Note: the daily task list only exists within the session. Once the user quits the application, no data from the daily task list will be saved, and the next time the user opens the application, the daily task list will be empty.

Undo last command: undo

Undoes the last command that modified the application state

Format: undo

  • If there are no older states for the application to undo to, an error will be thrown.
  • Only commands that modify the application’s state can be undone i.e. add, delete, clear etc.

Redo last command: redo

Redoes the last command that modified the application state

Format: redo

  • If there are no newer states for the application to redo to, an error will be thrown.
  • Only commands that modify the application’s state can be undone i.e. add, delete, clear etc.

Saving the data

semester.config data are saved in the hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the data file

semester.config data are saved as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/semesterconfig.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

:exclamation: Caution If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, semester.config will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous semester.config home folder.

Command summary

Action Format, Examples
add add mc/MODULE_CODE n/TASK_NAME d/DEADLINE_DATE t/DEADLINE_TIME w/WEIGHTAGE [ptag/PRIORITY_TAG] [pt/TAGS]...
e.g, add mc/CS1010 n/Practical Exam d/12-12-2020 t/10:10 w/10%
delete delete INDEX
e.g, delete 3 delete 1
find find KEYWORD ...
e.g, find Database find Software
list list
done done INDEX
e.g, done 1
sort sort [dateTime OR taskName OR moduleCode OR priorityTag OR weightage]
e.g, sort dateTime sort moduleCode
notes notes INDEX notes/NOTES
e.g, notes 4 notes/Assignment must be handwritten
edit edit INDEX [n/TASK NAME] [mc/MODULE CODE] [d/DEADLINE_DATE] [t/DEADLINE_TIME] [notes/NOTES] [ptag/PRIORITY_TAG] [pt/TAGS]...
e.g, edit 2 n/Assignment 7
clear clear
dueIn dueIn [day/NUMBER_OF_DAYS OR week/NUMBER_OF_WEEKS]
e.g, dueIn dueIn day/10 dueIn week/2
doToday doToday [-a OR -r] INDEX
e.g, doToday -a 2 doToday -r 2
undo undo
redo redo
exit exit