CNET Editors' review
FET - Free Timetabling Software is a timekeeping tool that helps schools manage their teacher and classroom schedules. This program and its interface are so basic that a visit to the Help file is required to get started.
When we opened the program for the first time, a plain window appeared with no directions for how to begin. The Help section provides instructions for how to use the program, but be prepared to spend some time reading the lengthy text. The instructions would be easier to follow if there were step-by-step screenshots. We tried entering some dummy data into the program with just a cursory visit to the Help file. When we tried to create a timetable, we discovered that every variable of the timetable had to be filled out for it to generate. The lack of flexibility is a drawback, and the learning curve required to use this program is just not practical for busy teachers and administrators.
FET - Free Timetabling Software is accessible after extraction, so there is no need to install the program. The application is free, so if you have the patience and the free time to spend hours with the program's instructions and Help file, then FET-Free Timetabling Software might be a solution for you. However, we have seen much better programs out there that perform the same functions in a much more intuitive package.
Publisher's Description
From Liviu Lalescu:
FET is free, open source GNU/GPL software. Localized to English, Arabic, Catalan, German, Greek, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Dutch, Polish, Romanian and Turkish. Fully automatic generation algorithm, allowing also semi-automatic or manual allocation. Powerful flexible modular XML format for the input file, allowing editing with an XML editor or by hand. The resulted timetables are exported into XML and HTML formats. Very flexible students structure, organized into sets: years, groups and subgroups. FET allows overlapping years and groups and non-overlapping subgroups. There is a large and flexible palette of time and space constraints. FET works with an heuristic algorithm, based on swapping activities recursively to make space for new activities. Usually, FET is able to solve a complicated timetable in maximum 5-20 minutes. For simpler timetables, it may take under 3 minutes (in some cases, a matter of seconds).
What's new in this version: Version 5.16 include where each constraint can be activated/deactivated and also each constraint may have an optional comment. The user can sort the constraints based on their comment. These special functions can only be accessed from all time/space constraints dialogs (suggested by George Miliotis, Davide G. M. Salvetti and maybe other users).
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"Sophisticated program which is easy to use"
Version: FET - Free Timetabling Software 5.16
Pros
Lots of help available to get you up to speed. I thought it would take me quite a time, but following the basic guide, and then the FET Manual, I was able to understand most of it in less than a day. You can get quite a sophisticated timetable by adding time and space(rooms) constraints. When you view the timetable html files, there are so many options that if you printed them all out, you could cover one wall in the staffroom.
Cons
Although the timetable output can be seen within the program a limited way, you have to launch a web browser to see the complete output. If you want some finesse formatting, you need to edit the CSS file. Its not obvious that you need to add rooms through space constraints, and your first timetable may contain teachers and subjects only.
Summary
Fantastic program that is open source, and probably does a much better job than expensive propriety software.
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