General Schedule Tab

The General schedule Tab contains the controls that allows you to define the start and stop times of the schedule. These times define the scheduling period.

The General Tab may be displayed by selecting Schedule -> Define Start/Stop... from the Menu Bar.

General Tab

STK Scheduler maintains one time convention. That convention may be interpreted to whatever is convenient for you and the scheduling problem. For a discussion on how time is used in STK Scheduler, see Time in STK Schedule.

Whenever a STK scenario is used in conjunction with STK Scheduler, all times reported by STK will be in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In such a case, you should be careful to ensure that all times entered into STK Scheduler are also in UTC.

If the schedule has an associated STK scenario and the schedule start and stop times are changed, STK Scheduler will automatically change the times of the associated STK scenario.

The STK Scheduler schedule must match the scenario times of the associated STK scenario. If you change the STK scenario times without also changing the STK Scheduler schedule times, incorrect time reports may result. It is recommended that you always use STK Scheduler to modify the schedule and scenario times while using STK Scheduler.

Start Time Textbox

The start time textbox allows you to define the start time of a scenario. This time determines the earliest possible time that a task may be scheduled. Entries may be typed directly into the control. Alternatively, the and buttons may be used to select the start time.

Stop Time Textbox

The stop time textbox allows you to define the stop time of a scenario. This time determines the latest possible time that a task may be scheduled. Entries may be typed directly into the control. Alternatively, the and buttons may be used to select the stop time.

Buffer Times (Optional)

The Buffer Times setting is an optional configuration that will preserve the schedule as it happened before a certain point in time. If the checkbox next to "Are Applicable?" is checked, then all assignments and empty timeslots will remain the same as they were before the buffer time epoch. The buffer time will be applied when the algorithms are run and when recreating possibilities. The buffer time values will be applied based on the resources used in each task, and their associated resource-level buffer times. If the "Allow partial task locking?" option is checked, then the buffer time will apply to individual task assignments, rather than entire tasks. If the "Use Realtime" option is checked, then the buffer time will be applied starting from the current real time. If the "Use Explicit Buffer Time Epoch" option is checked, then users can input the exact time to apply buffer time locking/deferring too.

Scheduler's concept of real time is based on the Scheduler computer's current date and time. For schedules used in operations, it is strongly recommended that you set your computer's time to UTC time.

The task lock and defer is only applied at the time of deconfliction and when recreating possibilities. Scheduler will not automatically lock or defer tasks that fall into the buffer time as the real time progresses through the schedule.