Import and export with Clipboard

Clipboard is a temporary storage area for text and graphics that you are copying or moving from one place to another; Clipboard is a common holding area for all Windows applications. Mimosa can use this useful feature extensively and bi-directionally. Note that it is also possible to import and add data into Mimosa and export data from Mimosa easily with the help of text files. See the chapter Import and export with text files.

Quick links how to import your basic data from the Clipboard:

You can copy the relevant content from your Mimosa file to the Clipboard by selecting "Edit|Copy to the Clipboard" in some of the Mimosa views or by clicking the "Copy" button in Mimosa dialog windows. Similarly, you can paste content from other applications with "Edit|Paste from the Clipboard" or clicking "Paste". Most of the selections work symmetrically: users can copy the content from Mimosa to the other application to be edited and then paste it back to Mimosa.

For instance, you can use your spreadsheet application in several ways with Mimosa and increase your productivity. Spreadsheet applications allow you to format your data very easily in several ways, and you can generate a test file or use the sample file(s) that come along with Mimosa.

How to import content from your spreadsheet application to Mimosa:

Select the content in your spreadsheet application and select from the menu Edit|Copy
Select the appropriate view in Mimosa and select from the menu Edit|Paste from the Clipboard

How to export content from Mimosa to your spreadsheet application:

Select the appropriate view in Mimosa and select from the menu Edit|Copy to the Clipboard
In your spreadsheet application, select from the menu Edit|Paste

Example:

In this small example the core contents in Components and Courses view are imported to Mimosa.

1. In your spreadsheet application, input the following table:

2. Paint the above area and select Edit|Copy (or equivalent) in your spreadsheet application to copy it to the Clipboard.

3. Go to Mimosa and activate Components view (click the button on top of the screen).

4. Select in Mimosa Edit|Paste from the Clipboard - 9 new components should appear.

5. Go to your spreadsheet application, input then the basic information of the following 7 courses:

6. Paint the above area and select Edit|Copy (or equivalent) in your spreadsheet application to copy it to the Clipboard.

7. Go to Mimosa and activate Courses view (click the button on top of the screen).

8. Select Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|1 Codes, names, categories and MAX - the list of 7 courses should now appear.

9. To add also the components to courses via Clipboard, go to your spreadsheet application and input the following table:

10. Paint the above area and select Edit|Copy (or equivalent) in your spreadsheet application to copy it to the Clipboard.

11. Select (in Courses view) Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|2 Replace collections to add components to the courses.

Note that in the last operation, the first column contains course codes and the next columns the corresponding components that should be added to that course. All course and component codes in this table must already exist in Mimosa.

After this operation, you should have 9 components and 7 courses. Steps 9-11 are often easier to perform in Courses window, since the application checks that the components to be added to courses are valid in cases when lectures already have been scheduled.

Perhaps the easiest way to see how Clipboard can help your work is to select Edit|Copy to the Clipboard command in Mimosa and then invoke your spreadsheet application. Use the Edit|Paste from the Clipboard command and see how the data will be transmitted via the Clipboard. You can also click [Ctrl+L] anytime to view and edit its content.

It is a good practice to have also your spreadsheet application opened simultaneously so that you can transmit data back and forth between these applications. Please note that some spreadsheet applications limit your matrix to 255 columns, and that the Clipboard capacity of Mimosa is 64 kilobytes (=about 65,000 bytes).

If you want to overcome the 64 kilobytes size limit, copy only a selected subset of the data to the Clipboard and import and export the your data incrementally. You can also alternatively export your content to a text file, by selecting the appropriate text file type in Options|Default Clipboard Target.

With the help of the Clipboard you can:

import all components from other Windows applications
import all courses with collections from other Windows applications
import weekly allocations of courses from other Windows applications
import timetable course schedules from other Windows applications
reorganise your codes
copy all data to the Clipboard and paste it to other Windows applications
utilise your spreadsheet extensively in planning, use its graphics features, make your own calculations or create your own reports from the data.

Note also that using the Clipboard

replaces the need of reports used to create lectures statistics
the used format is not necessarily the same that is used in your institution
you can combine several Clipboard reports or apply some of the spreadsheet functionsn to create the desired output

The Clipboard format supports a TAB-limited text or table type content, compatible with all Windows applications. This means that each field on a single line is separated by a TAB character (ASCII=9) and each line ends with the CRLF character combination (ASCII=13 and ASCII=10). The Clipboard content ends with the NUL character (ASCII=0). This format is very suitable when working with other windows applications having a table form data entry, just like the spreadsheet applications.

Symmetric Clipboard operations:

Note that the following selections produce symmetric data formats. You can copy data from a selected view in Mimosa to the Clipboard and then paste it back from the Clipboard using the following pairs of commands:

Weeks:

Edit|Copy to the Clipboard
Edit|Paste the Clipboard

Clipboard selections in Mimosa views:

Components view:

Edit|Copy to the Clipboard

Codes of all selected components are copied to the Clipboard. You then have the menu selections, where you can specify the content of the Clipboard. In each selection, you always have as the first field the component code, but the other fields in that row depend on the particular menu selection. Instead of category texts or letters in Clipboard columns, numbers 1-7 are used to avoid problems in cases when user has accidentally use the same shortcut character in one or more categories.

1 Codes and links - Creates 2-3 columns of components and courses they are linked to. You have the option to select whether you want to display codes, names or both. The selection below represents selection of both (=codes and names):

2 Codes, names and categories [Ctrl+C] - Creates columns of codes plus names and categories. Instead of category names, their numbers (1-7) are used.

This is the mirror selection for Edit|Paste from the Clipboard [Ctrl+V] which is used to import component data into Mimosa from other applications. Test these both selections with you data to confirm that they work identically.

3 Codes and lectures - This format has two variations (example below is taken from the first). It either creates a list of component codes plus the contents in columns MAX, SUM, DONE and LINKS or the lectures from the SUM column sorted by the components of the selected category.

4 Codes and course links - Creates a list of component codes plus those course codes that include this component in their collections.

5 Codes and lectures in weeks - Creates a list of component codes plus all lectures that have been allocated to weeks.

6 Codes and addable courses - Creates a list of components along with courses where the components can be added without causing timetable conflicts.

7 Codes, names and lectures of courses - Creates a list of courses that are linked with the current component plus their total lectures and links (columns MAX, SUM, DONE and LINKS). If dates are applied, the start and finish dates of courses are also supplied.

8 Codes, names and lectures of courses in weeks - Creates a list of courses that are linked with the current component plus their lectures in weeks. Note that the third column is the category number of the component or course, whereas the fourth denotes the total number of lectures of the weeks (=weighted sum of the remaining columns).

9 Timetables - Creates a list of all scheduled courses by components in order of their appearance.

10 Selection matrix - Creates a table of courses and components, with components as rows and courses as columns. Each component that is in the current course collection is denoted by the number of their lectures in the table cell. If the component can be added to the course, it is denoted by 0, and if it cannot be added, the cell is left blank.

Edit|Paste from the Clipboard [Ctrl+V]

Component codes, names and category numbers (1-7) can be pasted from the Clipboard and added to the component list, if their codes are not found from the list. If a matching component code is found, its name and category is replaced with the Clipboard content. The lines have the same format as in its mirror selection Edit|Copy to the Clipboard|2 Codes, names and categories [Ctrl+C].

Courses view:

Edit|Copy to the Clipboard

Codes of all selected courses are copied to the Clipboard. You then have menu selections, where you can specify the content of the Clipboard. In each selection, you always have as the first field the course code, but the other fields in that row depend on the particular menu selection. Many selections have analogous formats with the respective selections in Components view.

1 Codes and links - Creates 2-3 columns of courses and their components. You have the option to select whether you want to display codes, names or both. The sample below represents selection of both (=codes and names):

2 Codes, names, categories and MAX [Ctrl+C] - Creates a list of course codes plus names and categories. Instead of category names, their numbers are used.

This is the mirror selection for Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|1 Codes, names, categories and MAX [Ctrl+V] which is used to import course data into Mimosa from other applications. Test these both selections with you data to confirm that they work identically.

3 Codes and lectures - Creates a list of course codes plus lectures in columns MAX, SUM, DONE and LINKS.

4 Codes and collections - Creates a list of course codes plus the component codes belonging to the collection of that course.

This is the mirror selection for Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|2 Replace collections and Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|3 Add to collections which are used to import course collections into Mimosa from other applications.

5 Codes and lectures in weeks - Creates a list of course codes plus all lectures in all active weeks.

6 Codes and addable components - Creates a list of course codes along with those component codes that can be added to the course without timetable conflicts.

7 Codes, names and lectures of components - Creates a list of components that belong to the collection of the current course plus their total lectures and links (columns MAX, SUM, DONE and LINKS).

8 Codes, names and lectures of components in weeks - Creates a list of components that belong to the collection of the current course plus their lectures in weeks. Note that the third column is the category number of the component or course, whereas the fourth denotes the total number of lectures of the weeks (=weighted sum of the remaining columns).

9 Timetables - Creates a list of course timetables using the layout selections below:

1 Code + Week + Day + First slot + Last slot

The format above is identical with the format used in the selection Edit|Paste from the Clipboard|5 Timetables. You can use this format bi-directionally to copy and paste your timetables with your spreadsheet application.

If you have selected to Align Mimosa weeks with Calendar in Options|Time, you can also select to use the last formats below:

2 Code + Date + First slot + Last slot

This format is identical with the one above except that the Week and Day columns are combined to Date column.

3 Code + Name + Start + End + Room(s)

This format uses two columns to display Start with the Start date and Start time period and End with the End date and End time period. Next column contains the room(s) where the course is assigned to.

4 Extended format

Extended format copies each week and its content to its own column and displays the day of the week and the time period of each scheduled lecture plus its room.

10 Selection matrix - Creates a table of courses and components, with courses as rows and components as columns. Each component that is in the current course collection is denoted by the number of the lectures in the table cell. If the component can be added to the course, it is denoted by 0, and if it cannot be added, the cell is left blank.

Edit|Paste from the Clipboard

Course codes, names, category numbers (1-7), the maximum number of lectures and, optionally, course collections can be pasted from the Clipboard and added to the list of courses. If a matching course code is found, the name and category is replaced. If collections are also pasted, all those components which have not already been created and not found in the component list are automatically omitted. Collections can be pasted in various modes (Replace, Add, Remove).

1 Codes, names, categories and MAX - Pastes the three columns codes, names, categories identified by course code from the clipboard. MAX must be a positive number.

This is the mirror selection for Edit|Copy to the Clipboard|2 Codes, names, categories and MAX [Ctrl+C] which is used to export course data from Mimosa into other applications. Note that you can easily change the course names and categories by first copying the current course list to the Clipboard, pasting it into a spreadsheet application, editing the needed items therein and then pasting the data back to Mimosa.

2 Replace collections - Replaces the collections identified by the course code with the component codes stored in the Clipboard.

The first column in the selected area must consist of existing course codes, and the cells in the next columns are existing component codes. When this cell area is pasted, all components are first removed from the current course and the components found on the same row are then added to the course.

For instance, if the cell in the first column contains the course code "BAS358" and the following cells contain the component codes "Form-A", "Form-C", "HARRISON" and "R206", Mimosa first removes all current components from the course and then adds the four components in the order they are listed.

3 Add to collections - Adds the component codes stored on the Clipboard to the original collection identified by the course code. If the original lists of collections are empty (=courses do not have any components attached), this selection has the same effect as 2 Replace collections above.

In the selections 2 and 3 above, you can also select, how the possible conflicts are solved, if some of the lectures have already been scheduled. You can either prevent the application of accepting of components that would cause conflicts, or you can accept all components and remove the conflicting lectures afterwards.

4 Remove from collections - Removes from the collections all those components that are stored on the Clipboard and match with the collection identified by the course code.

The above three selections have the same format as Edit|Copy to the Clipboard|4 Codes and collections.

5 Timetables - Pastes course timetables from the Clipboard into Mimosa, adding all schedules which are not conflicting with the current timetables, using the following syntax below. All numbers in this format must be within the range of selected weeks and timetable matrix limits, and [First slot] must not be larger than [Last slot].

If you have defined more than one week, the scheduled lectures cannot by default exceed the lectures allocated to weeks view. If you have not entered these maximum weekly lectures in Weeks view, you can let Mimosa to increase those weekly lectures to be at least as large as the scheduled lectures. If this is the case, answer "Yes" to the question "Adjust weekly lectures automatically according to number of scheduled lectures?".

[Course code] [Week] [Day] [First slot] [Last slot]

Note that the format used here is identical with the one that can be created in selection Edit|Copy to the Clipboard|9 Timetables|Compact format.

If you add columns which contain existing component codes, they are added to the course on the same row, if they can be added without conflicts. After adding the components, they are scheduled when possible.

Weeks view:

Edit|Copy to the Clipboard - The list of course codes with their weekly allocation lectures is copied to the Clipboard starting from the active course. Lectures are always represented without multiplying them by the corresponding weekly lengths. Bookings in weeks are ignored.

Edit|Paste from the Clipboard - The weekly allocation table is pasted from the Clipboard in the same format as it is copied above. Only those lines, which have matching course codes with the currently existing course code list, are considered and updated, otherwise they are omitted. Pasting of allocation table does not affect those cells, which are booked.

Note that the formats of the two selections above are identical.

Timetables view:

Edit|Copy to the Clipboard

1 Master Timetable - Copies the current Master timetable.

2 Linked timetables - Copies the timetables of other components of the current course. For instance, if a course "PRI824" has components "Form-A", "DAWSON" and "R309", all three timetables are copied.

3 Timetables by category

Copies all timetables of the selected category and week to the Clipboard (line format selected, each row corresponds to a component timetable).

4 Timetables by weeks

Copies the Master timetable of all weeks to the Clipboard (line format selected, each row corresponds to a week).

5 Timetables of all courses - Copies the timetables all courses from selected timetables of the current week, stacked in a single timetable.

6 Free slots in timetables - Copies a table of free slots in timetables of the selected category and current week.

7 Comments by category - Copies all timetables of the selected category containing comments.

8 Cross tabulation - Copies a table with date and time across all components.

9 Slot load - Copies the load of each slot (daytime) by the number of occurrences in all timetables or by the capacity as indicated with the tag (#) in the component names. Slot load in each cell is a sum of all lectures and bookings of all components.

10 Calendar timetable Creates a table of the utilisation of the selected component category (classes, teachers, rooms) in timeline format, using the calendar that has been aligned with Mimosa weeks. This option is enabled only if you have selected [x] Align Mimosa weeks with calendar in Options|Time.

You can select, how many characters you want to view from the start of the course codes. If you are interested in having a compact availability report, you may select only one character.

Edit courses or components:

When you are in Components or Components view, you can easily manage the course-component relationships with the help of Clipboard, for example if you like to copy the same set of components from one course to another. Clipboard commands are attached to Copy, Cut and Paste buttons and they are associated with the selected codes in the box on the left.