User Guide

Are you an NUS Teaching Assistant (TA) in the School of Computing (SoC), struggling to keep track of your classes? If you’re looking for a centralised and user-friendly system to keep TAbs on your TA duties, look no further: TAbs is here!

With so many students in so many tutorials, labs and recitations, it’s easy to lose track of your students’ attendance. TAbs is a desktop app created just for you to manage your classes—while it’s optimised for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI), it still has the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

• Quick start
• Features
  • Input Field Validation
  • Viewing help: help
  • Listing all tutorials: list
  • Adding a tutorial: add_tutorial
  • Deleting a tutorial: delete_tutorial
  • Copying a tutorial: copy_tutorial
  • Editing a tutorial: edit_tutorial
  • Finding tutorials by keyword: find
  • Listing all the students in a tutorial: list_students
  • Adding students to a tutorial: add_student
  • Deleting a student from a tutorial: delete_student
  • Marking students in a tutorial as present: mark
  • Marking ALL students in a tutorial as present: mark_all
  • Unmarking students in a tutorial: unmark
  • Unmarking ALL students in a tutorial: unmark_all
  • Clearing all tutorials: clear
  • Exiting the program: exit
  • Saving the data
  • Editing the data file
  • Future plans (current version: v1.6; coming in v2.0)
• FAQ
• Known issues
• Command summary

Quick start

1. It is recommended to have Java 17 installed in your computer in order to run this application.
   Mac users: Ensure you have the recommended JDK version prescribed here.

2. Download the latest .jar file from here.

3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for TAbs.

4. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the .jar file in, and run the following command to start the application:

    java -jar TAbs.jar
   

   A GUI similar to the one below should appear in a few seconds. Note that the app may contain sample data.
   
   
   
   

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

   • list: Lists all tutorials.

   • add_tutorial t/T123 m/CS2103T d/2025-01-01: Adds a tutorial with ID T123 for the module CS2103T.

   • list_students t/T1: Displays a list of all the students enrolled in the tutorial with ID T1.

   • delete_tutorial t/T1: Deletes the tutorial with ID T1.

   • clear: Deletes all tutorials.

   • exit: Exits the app.
     
     

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

Features

Input Field Validation

TAbs validates all input fields to ensure data integrity. Below are the validation rules for each field type:

Viewing help: help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Listing all tutorials: list

Shows a list of all tutorials in TAbs.

Format: list

Adding a tutorial: add_tutorial

Adds a tutorial to TAbs.

Format: add_tutorial t/TUTORIAL_ID m/MODULE_CODE d/DATE [id/STUDENT_ID]…

• Adds a tutorial with the specified tutorial ID, module code and date.
• Multiple students can be added to the same tutorial.
• If duplicate student IDs are specified in the same command, only unique students will be added (duplicates are automatically ignored).
• Maximum limit: Each tutorial can have a maximum of 100 students. Attempting to create a tutorial with more than 100 students will be rejected.

Examples:

• add_tutorial t/C456 m/CS2101 d/2025-01-01
• add_tutorial t/T123 m/CS2103T d/2025-01-01 id/A1231231Y id/A3213213Y

After a tutorial has been added, the GUI will display the newly created tutorial card in the tutorial list as shown below. The card shows the tutorial’s tutorial ID, module code, date, and the list of enrolled students (if any). All students in the new tutorial will initially be unmarked (displayed with their IDs in grey color).

Deleting a tutorial: delete_tutorial

Deletes the specified tutorial from TAbs.

Format: delete_tutorial t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Deletes the tutorial with the specified TUTORIAL_ID.
• TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.

Examples:

• delete_tutorial t/T2 deletes the tutorial with ID T2 in TAbs.

Copying a tutorial: copy_tutorial

Creates a copy of an existing tutorial with a new tutorial ID and date.

Format: copy_tutorial t/NEW_TUTORIAL_ID from/EXISTING_TUTORIAL_ID d/DATE

• Copies an existing tutorial identified by the existing tutorial’s ID and creates a new tutorial with a new ID and the specified date.
• NEW_TUTORIAL_ID must not already exist in TAbs.
• The EXISTING_TUTORIAL_ID must exist in TAbs.
• All students from the existing tutorial will be copied to the new tutorial with their attendance reset to being unmarked.
• The module code will be copied from the existing tutorial.

Examples:

• copy_tutorial t/C2 from/C1 d/2025-04-10 copies the tutorial C1 to create a new tutorial C2 with the date 2025-04-10.
• copy_tutorial t/T202 from/T201 d/2025-05-15 copies the tutorial T201 to create a new tutorial T202 with the date 2025-05-15.

Below is an example of the copy command being used.

Editing a tutorial: edit_tutorial

Edits the details of an existing tutorial in TAbs.

Format: edit_tutorial from/EXISTING_TUTORIAL_ID [t/NEW_TUTORIAL_ID] [m/NEW_MODULE_CODE] [d/NEW_DATE]

• Updates the details of the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID specified after from/.
  • Attempting to edit a non-existent tutorial will result in an error: Tutorial ID not found.
• You may change one or more of the following:
  • Tutorial ID (t/)
  • Module code (m/)
  • Date (d/)
• At least one editable field (t/, m/, or d/) must be specified.
• Editing student lists (i.e., using id/) is not allowed here — use add_student or delete_student instead.

Examples:

• edit_tutorial from/T123 t/T456 renames the tutorial with ID T123 to T456.
• edit_tutorial from/T456 m/CS2103T d/2025-10-25 updates the tutorial with ID T456 to have module code CS2103T and date 2025-10-25.
• edit_tutorial from/T123 t/T789 m/CS2040S d/2025-08-20 updates the tutorial with ID T123 to:
  • Have new ID T789
  • Change its module code to CS2040S
  • Set its new date to 2025-08-20

Below is an example of the edit command being used.

Finding tutorials by keyword: find

Finds tutorials whose tutorial ID and/or module code contain any of the given keywords.

Format:

1. Search by one field: find t/KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]… or find m/KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]…
2. Search by both fields (AND condition): find m/KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]… t/KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]…

• Each keyword must contain only alphanumeric characters (letters and digits).
• You can search by tutorial ID (t/), module code (m/), or both.
• Within each field, tutorials matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e., OR search).
• When searching by both fields, tutorials must match at least one keyword from each field (i.e., AND between fields, OR within each field).
• The search is case-insensitive (e.g., t01 will match T01).
• Tutorial IDs or module codes which contain the keyword partially will also be matched (e.g., CS2103 will match CS2103T).
• Note: The find command does not enforce strict format validation on Tutorial IDs or Module Codes. Keywords only need to be alphanumeric, allowing for more flexible searching compared to other commands that require exact format compliance.

Examples:

• find m/CS2103T CS2101 returns tutorials with module code CS2103T OR CS2101
• find t/A101 B202 returns tutorials with tutorial ID A101 OR B202

• find m/CS2103T t/A101 returns tutorials with module code CS2103T AND tutorial ID A101

  

Listing all the students in a tutorial: list_students

Display a list of all the students enrolled in a specific tutorial on TAbs.

Format: list_students t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Lists all the students in a tutorial with the specified tutorial ID.
• It shows a numbered list of all the student IDs of the students in that tutorial (e.g., 1. A1234567X). TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.

Examples:

• list_students t/T2 lists all the students in the tutorial with ID T2 in TAbs.

The list of students will be displayed in the output box as shown below.

Adding students to a tutorial: add_student

Adds one or more students to a specified tutorial in TAbs.

Format: add_student id/STUDENT_ID… t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Adds one or more students, identified by their student IDs, to the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID.
• You can specify multiple student IDs in a single command, separated by spaces.
• TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.
• Maximum limit: Each tutorial can have a maximum of 100 students. Adding students that would exceed this limit will be rejected.

Examples:

• add_student id/A1231231Y t/T1 adds a student A1231231Y to tutorial T1.
• add_student id/A1231231Y id/A3213213Y id/A2223334B t/T2 adds students A1231231Y, A3213213Y and A2223334B to tutorial T2.

Behaviour and duplicate handling:

• If all specified students already exist in the tutorial, TAbs will reject the command and show an error message:

  The following student(s):
    [[A1231231Y], [A3213213Y]]
  are already in tutorial T2!
  

• If some students already exist but others are new, TAbs will:

  • Add the new students successfully.
  • Notify the user that certain students were already in the tutorial. Example:

  The following student(s):
    [[A2223334B]]
  were added to tutorial T2.
  
  The following student(s):
    [[A1231231Y], [A3213213Y]]
  are already in tutorial T2!
  

Deleting a student from a tutorial: delete_student

Deletes the specified student from the specified tutorial from TAbs.

Format: delete_student id/STUDENT_ID t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Delete a single student, identified by the student ID, from the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID.
• The TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.

Examples:

• delete_student id/A1231231Y t/T2 deletes the student with ID A1231231Y from the tutorial T2.

Marking students in a tutorial as present: mark

Marks specified students in a tutorial in TAbs as present.

Format: mark id/STUDENT_ID… t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Marks one or more students, identified by their student ID, in the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID as present.
• You can specify multiple student IDs in a single command, separated by spaces.
• The TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.

Examples:

• mark id/A1231231Y t/C456 marks student A1231231Y in tutorial C456 as present.
• mark id/A1231231Y id/A3213213Y t/T123 marks students A1231231Y and A3213213Y in tutorial T123 as present.

When a student has been marked as present, the GUI will update the student’s ID within the tutorial to green as shown below.

Behaviour:

• After the mark command has been run, the students in the input will be categorised into 3 groups: successfully marked, already marked, and not in the tutorial.
• If no students were successfully marked, TAbs will display the message as an error.
• If at least one student was successfully marked, TAbs will display a success outcome.
• The following are messages that will be conditionally displayed based on whether any students fall in the respective groups.
  • Students who were successfully marked as present:

    The following student(s):
    [[A1231231Y], [A3213213Y]]
    were marked as present in tutorial T2.
    

  • Students who have already been marked:

    The following student(s):
    [[A1231231Y], [A3213213Y]]
    were already marked as present.
    

  • Students who do not exist in the tutorial:

    The following student(s):
    [[A1231231Y], [A3213213Y]]
    are not in tutorial T2.
    

• If there are no students in that particular group, the message for that group will not be shown.

Marking ALL students in a tutorial as present: mark_all

Marks all students in a tutorial in TAbs as present.

Format: mark_all t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Marks all the students as present in the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID.
• The TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.
• Note: Unlike mark, mark_all does not notify the user as to which students have already been marked, since such a notification is unlikely to be meaningful.

Examples:

• mark_all t/C456 marks every student in the tutorial with ID C456 as present.

Unmarking students in a tutorial: unmark

Unmarks specified students in a tutorial in TAbs.

Format: unmark id/STUDENT_ID… t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Unmarks one or more students, identified by their student ID, in the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID.
• You can specify multiple student IDs in a single command, separated by spaces.
• The TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.

Examples:

• unmark id/A1231231Y t/C456 unmarks student A1231231Y in tutorial C456.
• unmark id/A1231231Y id/A3213213Y t/T123 unmarks student A1231231Y and student A3213213Y in tutorial T123.

Behaviour:

• The behaviour of unmark is similar to that of mark. Kindly refer to the behaviour section of the mark command above.

Unmarking ALL students in a tutorial: unmark_all

Unmarks all students in a tutorial in TAbs.

Format: unmark_all t/TUTORIAL_ID

• Unmarks all the students in the tutorial identified by the tutorial ID.
• The TUTORIAL_ID must already exist in TAbs.
• Note: Unlike unmark, unmark_all does not notify the user as to which students have already been unmarked, since such a notification is unlikely to be meaningful.

Examples:

• unmark_all t/C456 unmarks every student in the tutorial with ID C456.

Clearing all tutorials: clear

Removes all tutorials from TAbs.

Format: clear

Exiting the program: exit

Exits the TAbs application.

Format: exit

Saving the data

TAbs 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

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

Caution: If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, TAbs will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run. Hence, it is recommended to take a backup of the file before editing it.
Furthermore, certain edits can cause TAbs to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is beyond the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

Future plans (current version: v1.6; coming in v2.0)

We intend to release an even more user-friendly version to the wider NUS community, featuring a proper user interface without the need of a CLI.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another computer?
A: Install the app on the other computer and run it once to generate the initial data file. Close the app, then overwrite the TAbs.json file it creates (which contains sample data) with the TAbs.json file that contains your data from your previous TAbs home folder. The file can be found at [JAR file location]/data/TAbs.json. After replacing the file, run the app again to use your transferred data.

Known issues

1. When using multiple screens, if you move the application to a secondary screen, and later switch to using only the primary screen, the GUI will open off-screen. The remedy is to delete the preferences.json file created by the application before running the application again.
2. If you minimize the Help Window and then run the help command (or use the Help menu, or the keyboard shortcut F1) again, the original Help Window will remain minimized, and no new Help Window will appear. The remedy is to manually restore the minimized Help Window.

Command summary