TAbby Dabby is a desktop app to help teaching assistants (TAs) with their administrative duties. It is optimised for TAs who are comfortable using a command line interface (CLI) but still want a graphical user interface (GUI). If you are a TA who can type fast, TAbby Dabby can get your administrative tasks done faster than traditional GUI apps.

Introduction

TAbby Dabby helps TAs with four main tasks:

  • Managing the contact details of students, co-TAs, and lecturers. TAbby Dabby calls these people Persons.
  • Managing the tutorial groups that you are a part of. TAbby Dabby calls these tutorial groups Groups.
  • Tracking the attendance of students in your tutorial groups. TAbby Dabby calls this Attendance.
  • Tracking the assignments of your tutorial groups. TAbby Dabby calls these Assignments.

This User Guide uses the terms Persons, Groups, Attendance, and Assignment frequently to refer to these entities.

:information_source: Relationship between each entity

  • Each Group can have multiple Persons (members) in it, and each Person can be a member of multiple Groups.
  • Each Group can have multiple Assignments in it, but each Assignment can only belong to one Group.
  • Each Person has an Attendance record for each Group they belong to, and each Group has an Attendance record for each Person in it.

There are two separate lists in this app: the person list and the group list. The person list contains all the persons, while the group list contains all the groups.

Quick start

  1. Install the Java Development Kit version 17.
    Windows users: Install JDK 17 installed from here
    Mac users: Ensure you have the precise JDK version specified here.

  2. Ensure that your installation works.
    • Open a command terminal (Windows: search for cmd , Mac: use Spotlight to find Terminal )
    • Verify installation by typing java -version in your terminal; it should successfully output JDK version 17.

  3. Download the latest TAbbyDabby.jar file from here.

  4. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your TAbby Dabby.

  5. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the jar file in, and use the java -jar TAbbyDabby.jar command to run the application.
    The following GUI should appear in a few seconds. Note how the app contains some sample data.
    Ui

  6. 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.
    Some example commands you can try:

    • add n/Jensen Huang p/98765432 e/jensenh@nvidia.com a/21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119077 : Adds a person named Jensen Huang to the list of persons.

    • delete 3 : Deletes the 3rd person shown in the current person list.

    • list : Lists all persons.

    • clear : Deletes all persons.

    • add-group n/CS2103T T12 : Adds a new group named CS2103T T12 to the list of groups.

    • exit : Exits the app.

  7. Refer to the next section for more details on how to use the app.

General notes about using the app

Command formats

:information_source: Notes about command format

  • Fields in square brackets are optional; every other field is compulsory.
    e.g You can fill in n/NAME [t/TAG] as n/Jensen Huang t/friend or as n/Jensen Huang, but not as t/friend.

  • Fields with …​ after them can be used multiple times including zero times.
    e.g. [t/TAG]…​ can be used as   (i.e. 0 times), t/friend, t/friend t/family etc.

  • You can fill in fields in any order.
    e.g. if the command specifies n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER, p/PHONE_NUMBER n/NAME is also acceptable.

  • Redundant parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as help, list, exit and clear) will be ignored.
    e.g. if the command specifies help 123, it will be interpreted as help.

  • If you type a command with a wrong format, TAbby Dabby will display an example to guide you to re-input the command correctly.

  • If you are using a PDF version of this document, be careful when copying and pasting commands that span multiple lines as space characters surrounding line-breaks may be omitted when copied over to the application.

Common fields

Many of our commands also share similar fields. Here are some notes on them:

:information_source: Notes about common fields

  • NAME-related and TAG fields are case-sensitive, and must contain only alphanumeric characters, spaces, apostrophes, slashes, and dashes. This includes the n/, g/, and t/ fields.
    e.g. Jensen-Huang s/o Michael O'Neil and jensen-huang s/o michael o'neil are valid and distinct names and tags.

  • NAME-related fields must be unique within the same category.
    e.g. If you add a person with the name Jensen Huang, you cannot add another person with the same name. Same goes for groups.

  • Duplicate TAGs are merged.
    e.g. If you add a person with the fields t/friend t/friend, the person will only have one tag friend.

  • INDEX fields refer to the index number of the person (resp. group) in the person (resp. group) list that was last displayed. It must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …, up till the number of persons (resp. groups) in the list.

Commands

General commands

Viewing help: help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Expected output

Format: help

Expected output

The GUI displays a pop-up window with a link to this User Guide.

Example result of help:

help message

Exiting the program: exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

Expected output

The GUI closes and the app terminates.

Person commands

Adding a person: add

Adds a person to the person list. Useful for adding details of your students.

Format: add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…​

Notes

  • Phone numbers must have between 3 and 15 digits; they need not be unique.

Examples

  • add n/Jensen Huang p/98765432 e/jensenh@nvidia.com a/21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119077 t/friend
  • add n/Jeff Bezos p/12345678 t/friend e/jeffb@amazon.com a/21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119077

Expected output

The GUI displays the person list with the new person added to the end of it.

Example result of add n/Jensen Huang p/98765432 e/jensenh@nvidia.com a/21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119077 t/friends:

Add command

Known Limitations

Common names that contain slashes like S/O and D/O are supported, but not all slashes are supported, i.e., p/ a/ t/ e/, as they are not typically used in names. We plan to extend support for rarer names in the future.

Deleting a person: delete

Deletes the specified person from the person list. Useful for removing the details of someone who is no longer a student.

Format: delete INDEX

Examples

  • list followed by delete 2 deletes the second person in the person list.
  • find Jensen followed by delete 1 deletes the first person in the results of the find command. Find out more about the find command here.

Expected output

The GUI displays the person list command, but with the specified person removed from it. The persons that came after the deleted person will shift up to fill the gap and their indices will be updated accordingly. See add for a similar example of the expected output.

Before running delete 1:

Before delete

After running delete 1:

After delete

Editing a person: edit

Edits the details of the specified person in the person list.

Format: edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…​

Notes

  • You must fill in at least one of the optional fields.
  • Existing values will be updated to the input values.
  • When editing tags, the existing tags of the person will be removed, e.g., if the person at index 2 currently has the tag frenemy, and we run the command edit 2 t/enemy, the tag frenemy will be removed, and a new tag enemy will be added.
  • You can remove all the person’s tags by typing t/ without specifying any tags after it.

Examples

  • edit 1 p/91234567 e/jensenh@yahoo.com Edits the phone number and email address of the 1st person to be 91234567 and jensenh@yahoo.com respectively.
  • edit 2 n/Jeff Bezos t/ Edits the name of the 2nd person to be Jeff Bezos and clears all existing tags.
  • edit 2 n/Jeff Bezos t/friend Edits the name of the 2nd person to be Jeff Bezos, clears all existing tags, and adds the tag friend.

Expected output

Example result of edit 1 p/91234567 e/jensenh@yahoo.com t/buddy:

Result for `edit 1 p/91234567 e/jensenh@yahoo.com`

Listing all persons: list

Shows a list of all persons in the person list.

Format: list

Expected output

The GUI displays a list of all persons in the person list.

Finding persons by name: find

Finds persons whose names contain any of the specified keywords.

Format: find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...

Notes

  • The search is case-insensitive, e.g., jensen will match Jensen.
  • The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. Huang Jensen will match Jensen Huang.
  • Only the name is searched.
  • Only full words will be matched, e.g., Jen will not match Jens.
  • Persons matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search), e.g., Jensen Bezos will return Jensen Huang and Jeff Bezos.

Examples

  • find huang jensen may output huang jensen, jensen huang, and Jensen Huang.
  • find huang bezos may output Jensen Huang and Jeff Bezos.

Expected output

The GUI displays a list of persons whose names contain any of the specified keywords.

Example result of executing the find huang bezos command:

Result for 'find huang bezos'

Deleting all persons: clear

Deletes all persons from the person list.

Format: clear

Expected output

The GUI displays an empty person list.

Group commands

Adding a new group: add-group

Adds a new group to the group list. Useful for adding new tutorial groups.

Format: add-group n/GROUP_NAME [t/TAG]...

Examples

  • add-group n/CS2103T T12 t/CS creates a group with name CS2103T T12 and the tag CS.

Expected output

The GUI displays the group list with the new group added to the end of it.

Example result of add-group n/CS2103T T12 t/CS:

Result of add-group

Deleting a group: delete-group

Deletes the specified group from the group list. Useful for removing a tutorial group that is no longer needed.

Format: delete-group INDEX

Examples

  • delete-group 2 deletes the group with index 2 in the last shown group list.

Expected output

The GUI displays the group list, but with the specified group removed from it. See add-group for a similar example of the expected output.

Editing a group: edit-group

Edits the specified group details in the group list.

Format: edit-group INDEX [n/GROUP_NAME] [t/TAG]…​

Notes

  • At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
  • Existing values will be updated to the input values.
  • When editing tags, the existing tags of the group will be removed, e.g., if the group at index 2 currently has the tag gaming, and we run the command edit-group 2 t/study, the tag gaming will be removed, and a new tag study will be added.
  • You can remove all the group’s tags by typing t/ without specifying any tags after it.

Examples

  • edit-group 1 n/CS2103T T12 Edits the name of the first group to be CS2103T T12.
  • edit-group 2 n/CS2103T T12 t/ Edits the name of the second group to be CS2103T T12 and clears all existing tags.
  • edit-group 2 n/CS2103T T12 t/study t/friends Edits the name of the second group to be CS2103T T12, clears all existing tags, and adds the tags study and friends.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details. See show-group-details for a similar example of the expected output.

Note: this differs from the output of the analogous edit command for persons, which displays the person list instead.

Example result of edit-group 1 n/CS2103T T12 t/study t/friends:

Result of edit-group

Listing all groups: list-group

Shows a list of all groups in the group list along with their information, e.g., indices and names.

Format: list-group

Expected output

The GUI displays a list of all groups in the group list.

Example result of list-group:

Result of list

Finding a group by name: find-group

Finds groups whose names contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find-group KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]

Notes

  • The search is case-insensitive, e.g., cs2103t t12 will match CS2103T T12.
  • The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. T12 CS2103T will match CS2103T T12.
  • Only the name is searched.
  • Only full words will be matched, e.g., CS210 will not match CS2103T.
  • Groups matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search), e.g., CS2103T T13 will return CS2103T T12 and CS2101 T13.

Examples

  • find-group T12 may output T12, t12, and CS2103T T12.
  • find-group t12 t13 may output CS2103T T12 and CS2103T T13.

Expected output

The GUI displays a list of groups whose names contain any of the specified keywords.

Example result of executing the find-group t12 t13 command:

Result of find-group

Adding a person to a group: add-to-group

Adds the specified person to the specified group.

Format: add-to-group n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME

Examples

  • add-to-group n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 adds the person named Jensen Huang to the group named CS2103T T12.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified person added to it.

Example result of add-to-group n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12:

Result of add-to-group

Known limitations

  • The person is assumed to be a student for now. We plan to support the addition of co-TAs and lecturers in the future.

Removing a person from a group: delete-from-group

Removes the specified person from the specified group.

Format: delete-from-group n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME

Examples

  • delete-from-group n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 removes the person named Jensen Huang from the group named CS2103T T12.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified person removed from it. See add-to-group for a similar example of the expected output.

Showing group details: show-group-details

Shows the key details regarding the specified group.

Format: show-group-details INDEX

Examples

  • show-group-details 2 shows all the details of the group with index 2 in the last shown group list.

Expected output

The GUI shows the details of the specified group, including:

  • Group name and tags
  • Number of students, TAs, lecturers, and assignments
  • Name, role, and attendance of every group member

Example result of show-group-details 1:

Result of show-group-details

Attendance commands

Marking the attendance of a person: mark-attendance

Marks the attendance of the specified person in the specified group for the specified week.

Format: mark-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME w/WEEK_NUMBER

Notes

  • WEEK_NUMBER must be a positive integer between 1 and 13 (inclusive).

Examples

  • mark-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 w/10 marks the attendance for Jensen Huang in CS2103T T12 for week 10.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified person’s attendance marked for the specified week. See show-group-details for a similar example of the expected output.

Unmarking the attendance of a person: unmark-attendance

Removes the attendance record of the specified person in the specified group for the specified week.

Format: unmark-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME w/WEEK_NUMBER

Notes

  • WEEK_NUMBER must be a positive integer between 1 and 13 (inclusive).

Examples

  • unmark-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 w/10 unmarks the attendance for Jensen Huang in CS2103T T12 for week 10.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified person’s attendance unmarked for the specified week. See show-group-details for a similar example of the expected output.

Showing the attendance records for a person: show-attendance

Displays the attendance record of the specified person in the specified group.

Format: show-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME

Examples

  • show-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 displays the attendance for Jensen Huang in CS2103T T12.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified person’s attendance record for the specified group.

Example result of show-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12:

Result of show-attendance

Assignment commands

Adding an assignment in a group: add-assignment

Adds a new assignment in the specified group.

Format: add-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT_NAME g/GROUP_NAME d/DEADLINE

Notes

  • ASSIGNMENT_NAME is the name of the assignment.
  • GROUP_NAME is the name of the group.
  • DEADLINE is the deadline of the assignment in the format DD-MM-YYYY.

Examples

  • add-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 d/21-04-2025 adds an assignment named HW 1 to the group CS2103T T12 with a deadline of 21-04-2025.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the new assignment added to it.

Example result of add-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 d/21-04-2025:

Result of add-assignment

Deleting an assignment in a group: delete-assignment

Deletes an assignment in the specified group.

Format: delete-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT_NAME g/GROUP_NAME

Notes

  • ASSIGNMENT_NAME is the name of the assignment.
  • GROUP_NAME is the name of the group.

Examples

  • delete-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 deletes the assignment named HW 1 in the group CS2103T T12.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified assignment removed from it. See add-assignment for a similar example of the expected output.

Editing an assignment in a group: edit-assignment

Edits details of the specified assignment in the specified group.

Format: edit-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT_NAME g/GROUP [N/NEW NAME] [d/DEADLINE]

Notes

  • ASSIGNMENT_NAME is the name of the assignment.
  • GROUP_NAME is the name of the group.
  • NEW NAME is the new name of the assignment.
  • DEADLINE is the new deadline of the assignment in the format DD-MM-YYYY.

Examples

  • edit-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 N/Assignment 1 d/21-04-2025 renames the assignment named HW 1 in the group CS2103T T12 to Assignment 1 with a deadline of 21-04-2025.

Expected output

The GUI displays the specified group’s updated details with the specified assignment updated. See add-assignment for a similar example of the expected output.

Saving the data

TAbby Dabby’s data is saved in your computer’s hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the data file

You can find TAbby Dabby’s data as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/addressbook.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

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

FAQ

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 TAbby Dabby home folder.
:bulb: Refresher: You can find the data file in TAbby Dabby’s home folder at /data/addressbook.json.

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 minimise 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 minimised, and no new Help Window will appear. The remedy is to manually restore the minimised Help Window.

Command summary

Action Format, Examples
Help help
Add add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…​
e.g. add n/Jensen Huang p/98765432 e/jensenh@nvidia.com a/21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119077
Delete delete INDEX
e.g. delete 3
Edit edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE_NUMBER] [e/EMAIL] [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…​
e.g. edit 2 n/Jensen Huang e/jensenh@yahoo.com
List list
Find find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]
e.g. find huang jensen
Clear clear
Add Group add-group n/GROUP_NAME
e.g. add-group n/CS2103T T12
Delete Group delete-group INDEX
e.g. delete-group 1
Edit Group edit-group INDEX [n/GROUP_NAME] [t/TAG]…​
e.g. edit-group 1 n/CS2103 T12 t/study
List Group list-group
Find Group find-group KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]
e.g. find-group CS2103T T12
Add to Group add-to-group n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME
e.g. add-to-group n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12
Delete from Group delete-from-group n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME
e.g. delete-from-group n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12
Show Group Details show-group-details INDEX
e.g. show-group-details 1
Mark Attendance mark-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME w/WEEK_NUMBER
e.g. mark-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 w/10
Unmark Attendance unmark-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME w/WEEK_NUMBER
e.g. unmark-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12 w/10
Show Attendance show-attendance n/PERSON_NAME g/GROUP_NAME
e.g. show-attendance n/Jensen Huang g/CS2103T T12
Add Assignment add-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT_NAME g/GROUP_NAME d/DEADLINE
e.g. add-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 d/21-04-2025
Delete Assignment delete-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT_NAME g/GROUP_NAME
e.g. delete-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12
Edit Assignment edit-assignment n/ASSIGNMENT NAME g/GROUP [N/NEW NAME] [d/DEADLINE]
e.g. edit-assignment n/HW 1 g/CS2103T T12 N/Assignment 1 d/21-04-2025
Exit exit