| Version | 5.20.2 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Liviu Lalescu |
| Release date | Nov 11, 2013 |
| Date added | Nov 11, 2013 |
| Os requirements | Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 7, Windows XP |
| Requirements | None |
| Total downloads | 54,913 |
| Downloads per week | 4 |
| Price | Free |
Description
FET is free, open source GNU/GPL software. It's localized to English, Arabic, Catalan, German, Greek, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, and Turkish. It include fully automatic generation algorithm, allowing also semi-automatic or manual allocation. It also include powerful flexible modular XML format for the input file, allowing editing with an XML editor or by hand. The resulted timetables are exported into XML and HTML formats. Very flexible student's structure, organized into sets: years, groups and subgroups. FET allows overlapping years and groups and non-overlapping subgroups. There is a large and flexible palette of time and space constraints. FET works with a heuristic algorithm, based on swapping activities recursively to make space for new activities. Usually, FET is able to solve a complicated timetable in maximum 5-20 minutes. For simpler timetables, it may take under 3 minutes (in some cases, a matter of seconds).
Review
FET - Free Timetabling Software is a timekeeping tool that helps schools manage their teacher and classroom schedules. This program and its interface are so basic that a visit to the Help file is required to get started.
When we opened the program for the first time, a plain window appeared with no directions for how to begin. The Help section provides instructions for how to use the program, but be prepared to spend some time reading the lengthy text. The instructions would be easier to follow if there were step-by-step screenshots. We tried entering some dummy data into the program with just a cursory visit to the Help file. When we tried to create a timetable, we discovered that every variable of the timetable had to be filled out for it to generate. The lack of flexibility is a drawback, and the learning curve required to use this program is just not practical for busy teachers and administrators.
FET - Free Timetabling Software is accessible after extraction, so there is no need to install the program. The application is free, so if you have the patience and the free time to spend hours with the program's instructions and Help file, then FET-Free Timetabling Software might be a solution for you. However, we have seen much better programs out there that perform the same functions in a much more intuitive package.
