Documentation
Generally speaking, this program should be pretty self explanitory. However on this page I will document some of the basic concepts and some of the common options.
For information on installing or setting up the Windows or KDE versions, please read the corresponding pages:
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How it works
There are 4 watches (Red, Green, Blue and Brown), and there are two shifts in a day (the day shift and night shift). This makes a total roster cycle of 8 days.
As with the example on the right, Red Watch have the day shift for 2 days, and Green Watch have the night shift. On the 3rd & 4th days Red Watch move to night shift, and Green watch enter their first two days of rest. Brown watch take the day shift, and so on.
The shift times depend on the service. The NZ Fire Service have a 14 hour day shift and 10 hour night shift, with the changes occuring at 0800hrs and 1800hrs. The St John Ambulance service have a 12 and 12 hour shifts, with the changes occuring at 0600hrs and 1800hrs.
The program
With all versions of the program, an icon is displayed in the system area (usually near the clock). This icon is coloured as to the current watch colour.
If you double click on this icon, a calendar will be shown (when supported) displaying the current month. The colour behind each day is the two watches that are on that day.
There are many options that can be set for each program, these options are usually accessed by right-clicking on the icon.
Options
Each version of the program (Windows and KDE) may have different options available.
- Watch Colours
You can adjust the colour used to indicate each watch. This is useful if you don't like the default shade of a colour.
- Shift Type
Ambo or Fire. Ambo shift times are 0600hrs and 1800hrs. Fire shift times are 0800hrs and 1800hrs (See the above section How it works).
- Week starts on
Here you choose to have the calendar start the week on Monday or Sunday.
- Circle today
Put a black circle around todays date on the calendar.
- Display leading/trailing days
In a light grey, display the dates from the previous and next month at the beginning and end of the month. (See screenshot).
Three shift colours option. - Display three shifts
Display three shifts on each day on the calendar. The shifts are the previous night shift, the day shift, and the night shift. Some people find this more inutative than displaying just the days day and night shift.