User Guide

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1. Introduction

(Contributed by Tan Yu Li, James)

Welcome to the User Guide of HairStyleX.

Today, many budding hair salons still resort to using pen and paper to keep track of their appointments, clients, and hairdressers due to their tight budget. While suitable for a small client base, this is not sustainable in the long run as their client base increases, since recording and searching for information manually would be slow and prone to human errors. Our salon management application HairStyleX is designed to make this process much easier for salon managers who have at least a laptop at their front desk.

This application uses a Command Line Interface (CLI); this means that you operate the application by typing commands into a Command Box. If you are fast at typing, you can manage your appointments faster than other Graphical User Interface (GUI) applications; GUI applications allow users to interact with the application through graphical icons such as buttons.

The purpose of this user guide is to provide you with an in-depth documentation on how to install and use our application. If this is your first time using this document, we recommend you to first visit Section 2, “About” to familiarise yourself with the terminology related to this user guide.

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2. About

(Contributed by Tan Yu Li, James)

2.1 Structure of this document

There are many things you can do with HairStyleX. Thus, we have structured this user guide in such a way that you can easily find what you need. In the next subsection, Section 2.2, “Reading this Document”, you will find useful tips on reading this document. It is then followed by Section 3, “Quick Start” where installation details will be provided, and then Section 4, “Features” where the four main features of HairStyleX and their commands are documented:

• Client Management

• Hairdresser Management

• Appointment Management

• Shortcut Management

2.2 Reading this document

Before moving on to the next section, you may want to familiarise yourself with some technical terms, symbols and syntax that are used throughout the document. In this subsection, you can find all the information you need to know when reading this document.

2.2.1 Terminology related to the Graphical User Interface (GUI)

The following figure shows the GUI of HairStyleX. It is annotated with the name of the GUI components.

2.2.2 General Symbols and Syntax

The table below explains the general symbols and syntax used throughout the document.

Symbol/Syntax	Meaning
command	A light blue highlight (called a code-block markup) indicates that this is a command that can be typed into the command box and executed by the application.
	An information icon indicates that the enclosed text are notes regarding this section.
	A warning sign indicates that the enclosed text is important, and usually entails details about potential errors.
	A light bulb indicates that the enclosed text is a tip.

2.2.3 Command Syntax and Usage

Since HairStyleX is a CLI application, knowing how to use commands is very important. The following subsection will teach you how to read and use commands in HairStyleX. All commands in HairStyleX follow similar formats as described below and examples will be provided to help you understand their usage. Examples of commands and their formats will be written in code-blocks.

The table below explains some important technical terms. An example will be provided to help you visualize these terms.

Technical Term	Meaning
Command word	The first word of a command. It determines the action that HairStyleX should perform.
Parameter	The word or group of words following the command word. They are values given to a command to perform the specified action.
Prefix	The letter(s) that at the start of a parameter. It distinguishes one parameter from another.

Breakdown:

Command Word - add_hairdresser

Parameters - NAME, PHONE, EMAIL

Prefix - n/, p/, e/

The following four points explain how you can use a command with the provided format. More examples will be provided for each command in Section 4, “Features”.

1. Words in the upper case are the parameters which are required.

   • Format given: delete_client CLIENT_ID

   • Acceptable input: delete_client 1

2. Items in square brackets are optional.

   • Format given: edit_client ID [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [g/GENDER] [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…

   • Acceptable input: edit_client 1 n/Aileen e/aileenlam@email.com

3. Items with … after them can be used zero or multiple times.

   • Format given: add_client n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL g/GENDER a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…

   • Acceptable input 1 (no tags): add_client n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com g/M a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25

   • Acceptable input 2: (two tags): add_client n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com g/M a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 t/friends t/owesMoney

4. Parameters with prefixes can be supplied in any order.

   • Format given: add_client n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL g/GENDER a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…

   • Acceptable input 1 (same order as given format): add_client n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com g/M a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 t/friends

   • Acceptable input 2 (different order as given format): add_client p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com n/John Doe g/M a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 t/friends

With the above information, you can now move on to Section 3, “Quick Start” to install our application and Section 4, “Features” to learn all the features of the application and start using the commands.

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3. Quick Start

To get started with using HairStyleX, you can follow these steps:

1. Ensure you have Java 11 or above installed in your Computer.

2. Download the latest HairStyleX.jar from here.

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

4. Double-click the file to start the app. The GUI similar to the one shown below should appear in a few seconds. Note how the app contains some sample data.
   

5. At the top of the screen, type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.
   

6. Refer to Section 2.2.3, “Command Syntax and Usage” on how to use commands and Section 4, “Features” below for details of each command.

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4. Features

This section contains all the information you need to know about the features of HairStyleX. To use each feature or sub-feature, you will need to enter the command into the Command Box.

4.1 General commands

(Contributed by Tan Yu Li, James)

The commands in this section allow you to perform operations on the entire system. They include:

• Viewing help
• Clearing all entries
• Exiting from the application
• Exporting entries to CSV

4.1.1 Viewing help : help

You can use this command to view the online user guide, which contains information about all the instructions in HairStyleX.

Format:

help

Example:

In this example, you want to view the user guide to get information about the various commands in HairStyleX.

4.1.2 Clearing all entries : clear

You can use this command to clear all entries in HairStyleX.

Format:

clear

Example:

In this example, you want to clear all current data and start with an empty HairStyleX.

4.1.3 Exiting from the application: exit

You can use this command to exit HairStyleX.

Format:

exit

Example:

In this example, you want to exit HairStyleX.

4.1.4 Exporting entries to CSV: print

You can use this command to export all hairdressers, clients and appointments from the application to CSV files.

Format:

print

Example:

In this example, you want to export all current data into CSV files. Assume you have HairStyleX.jar currently stored in a folder called test, as illustrated below.

4.2 Client Management

(Contributed by Yao Yuan)

This feature allows you to manage the information of clients in your salon. You can record the following information about clients:

• Name
• Gender
• Phone
• Email
• Address
• Tags

4.2.1 Client Management Command Parameters

Before you jump right into using this feature, you may want to learn about all the common command parameters used in this feature. The table below shows the list of common command parameters that will be used for this feature.

Parameter Name	Description
NAME	The name of the client. It should only contain at most 50 alphanumeric characters and spaces, and it should not be blank. E.g. Yao Yuan
PHONE	The phone number of the client. It should only contain numbers, should be at least 3 digits long, and should be at most 15 digits E.g. 96757525
EMAIL	The email of the client. Emails should be of the format local-part@domain and adhere to the following constraints: 1. The local-part should only contain alphanumeric characters and these special characters: !#$%&'*+/=?{}~^.- . 2. This is followed by a ‘@’ and then a domain name. The domain name must be at least 2 characters long, start and end with alphanumeric characters, consist of alphanumeric characters, a period or a hyphen for the characters in between, if any. The entire email should be at most 50 characters long. E.g. yaoyuan@example.com
GENDER	The gender of the client. Gender should be either F or M or f or m. E.g. F
ADDRESS	The address of the client. It should only contain a maximum of 50 characters E.g. 6 College Avenue East #12-01D
TAG	The tag of the client. A tag can only be one word with no space in between. It should only contain at most 20 alphanumeric characters. It is optional. There can be more than one tag for each client. E.g. shortHair
ID	The unique client ID cid that is assigned to each client. The ID is unique to each client, and the ID will not be assigned to another client even if one is deleted from the database. Thus, the ID displayed in the list may not be sequential.
KEYWORD	Keyword for filter_client. It should only contain alphanumeric characters.

4.2.2 Adding a client: add_client

You can use this command to add a client to the database.

Format:

add_client n/NAME p/PHONE e/EMAIL g/GENDER a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…

Examples:

In the example below, you will register a male client called John Doe with phone number 98765432, email johnd@example.com, address 311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25, who has short hair and owes the salon money, into the HairstyleX.

• add_client n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com g/M a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 t/shortHair t/owesMoney

4.2.3 Listing all clients : list_client

You can use this command to show a list of all clients in the database. This command is especially useful if you used filter_client command to search for clients- list_client will restore the full list to view.

Format:

list_client

Example:

4.2.4 Editing a client : edit_client

You can use this command to edit an existing client in the database.

Format:

edit_client ID [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [g/GENDER] [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…

Examples:

Assume that the client with ID 1 changed his/her phone number and email and you wish to update it in the database. You will perform the following steps:

4.2.5 Deleting a client : delete_client

You can use this command to remove a specific client from the database.

Format:

delete_client ID

Example:

Assume that the information of client with ID 2 is no longer needed and you wish to delete him/her from the database. You will perform the following steps:

4.2.6 Filtering clients : filter_client

You can filter the list of clients in the database with a keyword search that matches their names.

Format:

filter_client KEYWORD...

Example:

You wish to find the client Ivan from the database and check his phone number. You will perform the following steps:

4.3 Hairdresser Management

(contributed by Zhang Yifan)

This feature allows you to manage the information of hairdressers in your salon. You can record the following information about hairdressers:

• Name
• Title
• Gender
• Phone
• Email
• Specialisations

4.3.1 Hairdresser Management Command Parameters

Parameter Name	Description
NAME	The name of the hairdresser. It should only contain at most 50 alphanumeric characters and spaces, and it should not be blank. E.g. Anna Sue
TITLE	The title of the hairdresser. It should only contain at most 20 alphanumeric characters and spaces, and it should not be blank. E.g. Senior Stylist
GENDER	The gender of the hairdresser. Gender should be either F or M or f or m. E.g. F
PHONE	The phone number of the hairdresser. Phone numbers should only contain numbers, should be at least 3 digits long, and should be at most 15 digits long. E.g. 81526354
EMAIL	The email of the hairdresser. Emails should be of the format local-part@domain and adhere to the following constraints: 1. The local-part should only contain alphanumeric characters and these special characters: !#$%&'*+/=?{}~^.- . 2. This is followed by a ‘@’ and then a domain name. The domain name must be at least 2 characters long, start and end with alphanumeric characters, consist of alphanumeric characters, a period or a hyphen for the characters in between, if any. The entire email should be at most 50 characters long. E.g. johnd@example.com
SPECIALISATION	The specialisation of the hairdresser. Specialisations should be one of the following options and are case-sensitive: Color, Perm, HairExtension, Styling, HairConditioning, Straightening, ScalpTreatment, HairLossTreatment. E.g. Color
ID	The unique hairdresser ID hid that is assigned to each hairdresser. The ID is unique to each hairdresser, and the ID will not be assigned to another hairdresser even if one is deleted from the database. Thus, the ID displayed in the list may not be sequential.
KEYWORD	Keyword for filter_hairdresser. It should only contain alphanumeric characters.

4.3.2 Adding a hairdresser : add_hairdresser

You can use this command to add a hairdresser to the database.

Format:

add_hairdresser n/NAME p/PHONE e/EMAIL g/GENDER ti/TITLE [s/SPECIALISATION]…

Example:

In the example below, you will register a female Senior Stylist called Helen Lim with phone number 82716252, email helenlim@example.com, who is specialised in Perm and Color, into the HairstyleX.

4.3.3 Listing all hairdressers : list_hairdresser

You can use this command to show a list of all hairdressers in the database. This command is especially useful if you used filter_hairdresser command to search for hairdressers- list_hairdresser will restore the full list to view.

Format:

list_hairdresser

Example:

4.3.4 Editing a hairdresser : edit_hairdresser

You can use this command to edit an existing hairdresser in the database.

Format:

edit_hairdresser ID [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [g/GENDER] [ti/TITLE] [s/SPECIALISATION]…​

Example:

Assume that the hairdresser with ID 3 changed his/her contact details and you wish to change them in the database. You will perform the following steps:

4.3.5 Deleting a hairdresser : delete_hairdresser

Removes a specific hairdresser from the database.

Format:

delete_hairdresser ID

Example:

Assume that the hairdresser with ID 3 left the salon and you wish to delete him/her from the database. You will perform the following steps:

4.3.6 Filtering hairdressers : filter_hairdresser

You can filter the list of hairdressers in the database with a keyword search that matches their names.

Format:

filter_hairdresser KEYWORD...

Example:

You wish to find the hairdresser Bella from the database and check her full name and specialisations. You will perform the following steps:

4.4 Appointment Management

(contributed by Nicholas Toh)

This feature allows you to manage appointments between hairdressers and clients. You can record the following information about appointments:

• Client
• Hairdresser
• Date
• Time
• Status

4.4.1 Appointment Management Command Parameters

Parameter Name	Description
CLIENT_ID	The ID of the client cid
HAIRDRESSER_ID	The ID of the hairdresser hid
DATE	The date of the appointment. It must be in the format of YYYY-MM-DD, following the ISO8601 standard. E.g. 2020-12-13 This example means 13th December 2020.
TIME	The time of the appointment. It must be in the format of HH:MM. E.g. 17:30 This example means 5.30 pm.
STATUS	The status of the appointment, which can be ACTIVE, COMPLETED, or MISSED
ID	The appointment ID aid that represents the appointment.

4.4.2 Adding an appointment : add_appt

You can use this command to add an appointment to the database.

Format: add_appt cid/CLIENT_ID hid/HAIRDRESSER_ID d/DATE t/TIME

• CLIENT_ID must be a valid client ID (cid)
• HAIRDRESSER_ID must be a valid hairdresser ID (hid)
• DATE must be entered in YYYY-MM-DD format
• TIME must be entered in 24 Hour HH:MM format

Example: In the example below, you will create an appointment between client 1 and hairdresser 2 on 12th December 2020 at 5.30pm. (This assumes that the client and hairdresser currently exist.) You will perform the following steps:

4.4.3 Listing appointments : list_appt

You can use this command to show a list of all hairdressers in the database. This command is especially useful if you used filter_appt command to search for appointments - list_appt will restore the full list to view.

Format:

list_appt

Example:

Assume that you have previously filtered the list of appointments, and now wish to view all appointments. You will perform the following steps:

4.4.4 Editing an appointment : edit_appt

You can use this command to edit an existing appointment in the database.

Format:

edit_appt ID s/STATUS

• Edits the appointment with the specified ID.

• CLIENT_ID must be a valid appointment ID (aid).

• Only the status of the appointment can be updated. If you wish to change other aspects of an appointment, such as the client/hairdresser/time, simply delete the appointment and create a new one.

Example:

Assume that an appointment with ID 2 was successfully completed. You wish to update the database to reflect this appointment as COMPLETED. You will perform the following steps:

4.4.5 Deleting an appointment : delete_appt

Removes a specific appointment from the database.

Format:

delete_appt ID

Example:

Assume that a client has contacted the salon to cancel the appointment with ID 2 so you wish to delete it. You will perform the following steps:

4.4.6 Filtering appointments : filter_appt

You can filter the list of appointments in the database with a keyword search.

Format:

filter_appt [cid/CLIENT_INDEX] [hid/HAIRDRESSER_INDEX] [d/DATE_OF_APPT] [s/APPT_STATUS]

Example 1:

You wish to find appointments with status MISSED in the database. You will perform the following steps:

Example 2:

You wish to find appointments with date 2021-06-02 in the database. You will perform the following steps:

4.5 Shortcut commands

(Contributed by Aloysius)

This feature allows you to customise command shortcuts. You can add, delete and list shortcuts for longer commands. This is very helpful as it allows for a shorter time when typing out the commands. For example, instead of edit_hairdresser, you can add a shortcut and use eh instead as an example.

4.5.1 Shortcut Command Parameters

Parameter Name	Description
OLD_SHORTCUT	The name of an original command provided by HairStyleX. E.g. add_client, edit_appt, etc.
NEW_SHORTCUT	Your preferred shortcut name for the OLD_SHORTCUT. It should only contain at most 20 alphanumeric characters, hyphens -, or underscores _. E.g. a_c, ea, a-h, etc.

4.5.2 Add a new shortcut : add_shortcut

You can use this command to add a new shortcut to the program.

Format:

add_shortcut old/OLD_SHORTCUT new/NEW_SHORTCUT

Example 1:

You want to create a shortcut aa for add_shortcut.

Creating a new shortcut:

1. Type add_shortcut old/add_shortcut new/aa into the Command Box.

2. Press Enter to execute. Outcome:

3. The Result Display will show a success message.
4. You can now see your new shortcut.

You can now use the shortcut

And it works!

4.5.2 Delete a shortcut: delete_shortcut

You can use this command to delete a shortcut to the program.

Format:

delete_shortcut SHORTCUT

Example 1:

You want to delete a shortcut aa.

Deleting a shortcut:

1. Type delete_shortcut aa into the Command Box.
2. Press Enter to execute.

Outcome:

1. The Result Display will show a success message.

.Outcome of a successful delete_shortcut command

4.5.3 List all shortcuts : list_shortcut

You can use this command to list all your shortcuts.

Format:

list_shortcut

You can use this command to show all your shortcuts.

5. FAQ

(Contributed by Tan Yu Li, James)

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous HairStyleX home folder.

Q: Why aren’t I allowed to edit my date or time for the appointment?
A: Editing the date or time may cause conflicts in your schedule if the change results in two appointments with the same hairdresser occuring concurrently. However, we are working on a feature that will allow you to resolve these conflicts in the upcoming version of HairStyleX.

Q: What do I do if I want to change my appointment’s date or time since I cannot edit them?
A: Unfortunately, you have to delete the appointment and create a new one.

Q: What happens if I schedule 2 of my appointments with the same hairdresser on the same date and time? Will HairStyleX detect it?
A: Yes, HairStyleX will detect such cases and prevent you from creating such an appointment.

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6. Command summary

(Contributed by Tan Yu Li, James)

6.1 General Commands

Action	Format, Examples
View user guide	help
Clear all entries	clear
Exit the application	exit
Export to CSV	print

6.2 Client Commands

Action	Format, Examples
Add Client	add_client n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL g/GENDER a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]… e.g., add_client n/Nicholas Toh p/12345678 e/niktoh@example.com g/M a/123, Clementi Rd, 1234665 tr/colouring p/female stylist t/frequent
List Clients	list_client
Edit Client	edit_client ID [n/NAME] [p/PHONE_NUMBER] [e/EMAIL] [g/GENDER] [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]… e.g.edit_client 2 n/James Tan p/Female Stylist
Delete Client	delete_client ID e.g. delete_client 3
Filter Client	filter_client KEYWORD...

6.3 Hairdresser Commands

Action	Format, Examples
Add Hairdresser	add_hairdresser n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL g/GENDER ti/TITLE [s/SPECIALISATION]… e.g., add_hairdresser n/James Ho p/22224444 e/jamesho@example.com g/M ti/senior s/colouring t/colleague
List Hairdressers	list_hairdresser
Edit Hairdresser	edit_hairdresser ID [n/NAME] [p/PHONE_NUMBER] [e/EMAIL] [ti/TITLE] [s/SPECIALISATION]… e.g.edit_hairdresser 2 n/James Lee ti/senior
Delete Hairdresser	delete_hairdresser ID e.g. delete_hairdresser 3
Filter Hairdresser	filter_hairdresser KEYWORD...

6.4 Appointment Commands

Action	Format, Examples
Add Appointment	add_appt cid/CLIENT_ID hid/HAIRDRESSER_ID d/DATE t/TIME e.g. add_appt cid/1 hid/1 d/2020-12-12 t/17:30
List Appointments	list_appt
Edit Appointment	edit_appt ID s/STATUS e.g. edit_appt 1 s/COMPLETED
Delete Appointment	delete_appt ID e.g. delete_appt 3
Filter Appointment	filter_appt [cid/CLIENT_INDEX] [hid/HAIRDRESSER_INDEX] [d/DATE_OF_APPT] [s/APPT_STATUS] e.g. filter_appt s/missed

6.5 Shortcut Commands

Action	Format, Examples
Add Shortcut	add_shortcut old/OLD_SHORTCUT new/NEW_SHORTCUT e.g. add_shortcut old/add_shortcut new/aa
Delete Shortcut	delete_shortcut SHORTCUT e.g. delete_shortcut aa
List Shortcut	list_shortcut