FET (Free Timetabling Software) is an open source application that provides high-schools and universities with a mature and comprehensive timetabling application that runs on Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Features at a glance
The application generates algorithms automatically, it allows users to import from and export to the CSV format, and features a flexible and modular XML format for saving timetables. In addition, it includes a very flexible students structure arranged in groups, subgroups and years.
With FET, users will be able to view the currently generated timetable. While the resulted timetables are automatically exported to the HTML and XML formats, it is also possible to consider a weight (percentage) for each constraint.
Modern and easy to use graphical user interface
Its user interface is modest and allows users to create a new timetable or open a previously saved project saved in the modular XML format mentioned above. You can insert detailed information about the institution, teachers, students, subjects, activities, individual subactivities, activity tags, rooms, and buildings.
Time constraints can be added only for teachers, students, break periods, as well as for a set of activities or subactivities, or a single activity. Furthermore, space constraints can be added for preferred rooms, subjects, students, teachers, and a set of activities.
The timetable can then be generated only for teachers, students, rooms, a mix of them, as well as for all. It is also important to mention that the timetable algorithm has some limitations, such as 30000 activities, 6000 rooms and buildings, 30000 students, 6000 teachers, 35 working days per week, and 60 periods per day.
Lastly, we should mention that the project is translated into multiple languages, including Romanian, English, German, Arabic, Italian, Slovak, Danish, Greek, Turkish, Hebrew, Albanian, Serbian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Brazilian Portuguese, Hungarian, and many others.
Bottom line
Summing up, FET is a great application for automatic scheduling of timetables in educational institutions. It is a fast, efficient and unique application that supports multiple operating systems and hardware platforms.
