Following are answers to some frequently asked questions about ESP 5.

If you don't find your question below or the answer does not solve your issue, contact us by e-mail or phone. NOTE: when sending a question by e-mail, please include your name, phone number, location name and number.

Frequently asked questions

Editing

• How do I enter a multi-station shift?
• I've started a new schedule by accident - how do I get back to the correct schedule week?
• I can't see all the information because the columns are too wide (or too narrow) - how do I fix this?

General

• Where is ESP's Reference Manual?
• How do I know when updates are available?

Printing reports

• My schedule has violations so I can't print it, what can I do?
• The date on my printed schedule does not display the day of the week. How can I change it to display the day also?
• My reports aren't displayed correctly on the screen or when printed - how do I fix them?

Registering your ESP license

• How do I register my ESP license?
• My license expired, why?

Setup data and file management

• How do I backup my data files?
• How do I add a department (secondary) location?
• How do I setup my data to schedule a single day holiday?
• How do I change the start day of the schedule?

Making backups

Backing up your valuable scheduling data is the most important step in producing your schedule each week. ESP automatically creates a back up of your data when you exit the program. It is important, however, to also backup your data onto a removable source, such as USB key, because if your computer were to crash, you would not be able to access any of the automatic backups ESP made. In that case, if you don't have a removable source backup you would have to re-enter all of your information - a time-consuming task; with a removable source backup your data can be restored in a matter of moments. 

Automatic backups to hard drive

ESP makes a backup every time you exit from the program. By default the program saves a backup of the last five times you exited from the program. When you exit the program the sixth time, the oldest of the five backups is overwritten.

You may increase or decrease the number of backups that ESP retains. To do that:

1. Go to the HOME form
2. Choose the menu option TOOLS then OPTIONS
3. Choose the OPERATION tab
4. Choose the option NUMBER OF AUTOMATIC BACKUPS TO RETAIN and enter a number between 3 and 10. Keep in mind that each backup is the same size as your data file so the number you choose will depend on the disk space available on your hard drive.

These automatic backups are saved on your hard drive, which is why it is important to also backup a copy onto a removable source, such as a USB key.

Backing up to a removable source

You can back up your data to a removable disk each week after completing your schedule. At a minimum, you should make a removable backup at least once a month. The more often you back up your data the less information you lose if your computer crashes. To begin,

1. Open the data you want to backup
2. Go to the HOME form
3. Choose the menu option TOOLS
4. Choose BACKUP/RESTORE... and a new window will open
5. Choose BACKUP YOUR ESP DATA and click NEXT
6. Select the drive you want to save the backup to and click NEXT

The file will be backed up to the drive you have chosen. When the backup is completed store it in a safe place.

Due to the size of the ESP file you must choose either a thumb drive or network drive. You cannot write the file to a CD using the program's backup feature. To write the ESP file to a CD you must use Windows explorer and ensure you have a writable CD drive installed.

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How do I register my ESP license?

Select the pdf document below (available in English and Español) and follow the instructions to send the information we need to register your license by e-mail:

• Registering your ESP license (English)
• Registrando tu Licencia ESP (Español)

Alternatively, you may contact us by phone to register your license. To speed up the phone process, make sure that ESP is open with the Licensing screen displayed. To open the Licensing screen, go to the Home form and select Tools then Options and then the Licensing tab.

 

Related questions:
My license expired, why?

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My license expired, why?

If you are not able to generate a schedule and receive the Scheduling option cancelled message, it is because ESP does not recognize your license. There are a variety of reasons why this may happen, the most common reasons include:

• you reinstalled the program after a computer crash
• you are testing ESP and the trial period has expired
• the version of ESP that you use has a time issue during which the license would expire

To solve this problem you need to Register your license; the instructions for registering your license are available in English and Español:

• Registering your ESP license (English)
• Registrando tu Licencia ESP (Español)

 

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Adding a secondary department to your data

The number of departments you schedule is part of your license so you must contact ThoughtWorks to add a secondary department.

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Entering one shift to include two or more stations

Before generating the schedule
This can be entered on the Fixed shifts form or on the Availability screen of the employee who will be working the shift. You will follow the same steps regardless of the form you are entering this on.

• Enter the shift information as normal to include one of the STATION that the shift will include and then press ENTER or select the POST button to add the shift.
• Once the shift is posted, move to it and select the STATION field, which will activate the [...] button. Select this button to open the SHIFT SEGMENT window.
• Modify the entry to include all the stations that the shift will include and press OK to close the SHIFT SEGMENT WINDOW and return to the main SCHEDULE form.

After generating the schedule
You may edit or enter multi-station shifts on the Schedule form following the steps above.

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Delete the current schedule

Once you delete the current schedule you will not have access to it again.

Only use this option if you have an error that can only be corrected by removing the current schedule or if you have used the wrong date for the current schedule. To delete the current schedule:

1. Go to the HOME form
2. Select TOOLS on the menu bar
3. Select UTILITIES
4. Select DELETE CURRENT SCHEDULE
5. Type YES in the box and click on the OK button.

The schedule will be deleted and you are ready to start the schedule again.

Access to this option is restricted in some configurations. Users with restricted access will need to contact their support or ThoughtWorks for assistance.

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Holiday scheduling

One of ESP's nicest features is the ease that it allows you to schedule holidays.

There are two types of holidays that you may encounter: Holidays that only affect a single day, such as Thanksgiving or Easter; and holidays that affect a complete week, such as Christmas.

Single day holidays

For schedule weeks that include only one Holiday day you must tell ESP which day is the holiday by going to the Hours of Operation form and checking the Hol box beside the one day that is a holiday.

You also must ensure three areas of your data are setup correctly to allow ESP to generate shifts for that holiday day:

1. Shift length charts must be active on HOL so that ESP can generate the correct shift lengths. In general, you would make sure that any shift length chart that has Saturday on it includes the HOL day and is active for the same hours as Saturday.
2. Positioning guides must be active on HOL so that ESP knows what stations are required to be scheduled. As above, make sure that any positioning guide that is active on Saturday includes HOL for the same hours.
3. Employees' availability screen should include HOL for all employees who can work on a HOL day. When generating shifts for employees available on the HOL, ESP will replace the employee's usual availability for the day with the employee's HOL availability.

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My schedule has errors so I can't print it, what can I do?

ESP will not print a schedule with errors that cause violations.

To correct a violation causing error, return to the Schedule form and View the schedule by Errors. This will list all shifts that have an error and or violation associated with them.

The status box on the places panel will display the reason for the error, which will help you correct it. You have two options for correcting errors:

1. If the employee should be allowed to work the shift: update the employee's information to remove the cause of the error. For example if the error is because the person is not qualified to work the station, add the station to the employee's information. That will remove the error right away.
2. If the employee should NOT be allowed to work the shift: change the person assigned to someone who is qualified to work the station and is available to work during the time of the shift.

After all the errors and violations have been corrected you will be able to print the schedule and reports.

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Changing ESP to display your preferred date format

ESP uses the date format from your computer settings; to change the display in ESP you must change the setting on the computer's Control panel.

To do that,

1. On the computer, select the START button in the bottom left corner of the computer screen
2. Select the CONTROL PANEL
3. *Choose the option that includes REGION or REGIONAL OPTIONS
4. Choose REGIONAL AND LANGUAGE OPTIONS
5. The next window will display different options including LONG and SHORT DATES. Select the box displaying the CURRENT FORMAT and find the option that displays your preferred date format
6. Press OK and then close the CONTROL PANEL

*Note: some users will skip step 3.

The next time you open ESP your date preference will be applied.

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Where is ESP's Reference Manual?

The REFERENCE MANUAL for ESP is saved to your computer during installation of ESP's program file.

You can quickly access the manual by choosing the START button in the bottom left of your computer screen and then navigate from START to ALL PROGRAMS| THOUGHTWORKS | ESP FOR WINDOWS.

Alternatively, you can download a pdf copy of the Reference Manual.

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My reports aren't displayed properly on the screen or when printed, why?

The most common cause is that the print settings have been changed. In earlier versions of ESP an update overwrote custom settings; this has been corrected in later releases of ESP.

To correct the screen and print display:

1. Go to the REPORTS section
2. Choose the report that is not printing correctly
3. Select the MENU option FILE then PRINT SETUP
4. Choose ORIENTATION and select the opposite of what is display; if LANDSCAPE is selected choose PORTRAIT, or vice versa.
5. Choose PAPER and ensure the paper size is set to LETTER
6. Press the OK button.

If the report is still not displayed correctly then close the program and reopen it; if the report is still not displayed correctly then contact ThoughtWorks.

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How do I change the day that each schedule starts on?

The default start day in ESP is Monday but this may be changed.

New user changing date for the first schedule

If this is the first schedule you will simply change the date before you start your first schedule.

First, change the first day of the week in ESP:

• Go to the HOME form
• Select the MENU option TOOLS then OPTIONS...
• On the OPERATIONS tab, in the OPTIONS section, you will see FIRST DAY OF WEEK box; select the day that you want your schedule to begin on.
• Click the OK button.

Now you are ready to start your first schedule:

• Select the TOOLBAR option START A NEW SCHEDULE...
• *Uncheck the box SCHEDULE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE LAST WEEK, this will activate the STARTING DATE box
• Change the STARTING DATE to the day and date that you want the first schedule to begin on
• Click the OK button.

*Note: you only need to do this for the first schedule as future schedules will begin immediately following the last week.

Already generating schedules; changing the first schedule day

If you have already been generating schedules and you want to change the day that future schedules start on you need to do a few steps:

1. print the current schedule;
2. delete the current schedule;
3. change the first schedule day in ESP; and
4. start your next schedule on the new day.

These steps are outlined below.

1. Print two copies of the current schedule:

You need to print TWO copies the current schedule because you will not have access to this information after you start the next schedule.

• Go to the REPORTS section
• Print two copies of the SCHEDULE
• Print two copies of other reports that you often refer to

2. Delete the current schedule

Because the next schedule begins on a day in the current schedule and ESP does not allow you to generate a schedule for a day that already exists, you must delete the current schedule so that you can start the next one on the preferred day. To delete the current schedule:

• Go to the HOME form
• Select the MENU option TOOLS then UTILITIES
• Select DELETE CURRENT SCHEDULE
• Type YES in the box
• Click the OK button.

3. Change the first day of the week in ESP

In order for your reports to begin on your preferred day you must change the first day of week in ESP.

• Go to the HOME form
• Select the menu option TOOLS then OPTIONS...
• On the OPERATIONS tab, in the OPTIONS section, you will see FIRST DAY OF WEEK box, select the day that you want your schedule to begin on
• Click the OK button.

4. Start your next schedule on the new day

You are now ready to begin the first Schedule that will begin on your preferred day.

• Select the TOOLBAR option START A NEW SCHEDULE...
• Uncheck the box SCHEDULE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE LAST WEEK; this will activate the STARTING DATE box
• Change the STARTING DATE to the day and date that you want the schedule to begin
• Click the OK button.

The current schedule will open beginning on the day and date you selected. Future schedules will start immediately following the last week.

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Resizing form columns

This can be used for any form that displays columns; this example uses the Schedule form.

If the information is either stretched or crunched together so that you can't see one or more of the columns, you can correct the display by resizing the columns.

To resize the columns, move your mouse into the right side of the column that needs to be resized and you will see a left/right arrow displayed. The example below is selected to resize the Station column.

When you see this arrow, click and hold the mouse button, and then drag the mouse in the direction that you want to resize the column to. In the example above, you would move the Station column to the left to shrink it. You would also resize the Start and Finish time columns as they are currently too narrow to see all the information.

After resizing the columns described above the information will be displayed correctly, as shown below.

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How do I know when updates are available?

When a major update is released owners are informed by e-mail or regular mail and instructed on how to obtain the update.

No formal announcement is sent when minor updates are available. Minor updates are posted on our website where they are available for download. You can check the website for updates or you can use ESP's built in update feature called CHECK FOR UPDATES.

To check for updates in ESP:

1. Go to the HOME form
2. Select the MENU option HELP then CHECK FOR UPDATES...
3. The ESP UPDATE window will open, press START
4. The next screen will tell you if there is an update available. If there is no update simply close the window. If there is an update you will see the GET UPDATE button, press this to begin
5. Simply follow the prompts to update your version of ESP

You can use the check for updates feature anytime but we recommend you do this before you begin a schedule.

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