Welcome to the TAA User Guide!

TAA

Teaching Assistant Assistant (TAA) is a desktop app for Teaching Assistants (TA) to track student progress and tasks, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). If you can type fast, TAA can get your students and task management done faster than traditional GUI apps.

Using this guide

If you are viewing this for the first time, you may want to read the Getting Started section first.

  • Check out our Quick Start section for a quick overview of setting up the app for the first time.
  • If you are a new user, you may want to check out the Command Summary section for a quick overview of the commands.
  • If you have any questions, do check out our FAQ section for answers to common quest.ons.
  • If you are interested in helping to develop TAA, check out our Developer Guide.

Getting Started

If you are new to TAA, this section serves as an introduction to the app and its functionalities.

What is TAA?

TAA is a student developed, open source desktop application for Teaching Assistants (TAs) to track students’ progress and tasks.

Quick Start

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

  2. Download the latest TAA.jar from here.

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

  4. Double-click the file to start the app. The GUI appear in your app should be similar as the one shown below:
    TAA

  5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter or click the Send button to execute. Some example commands you can try:
    • task add tn/Assignment 1 i/Due ASAP d/12/12/2022: Creates a task called Assignment 1.
    • task edit 1 d/30/12/2022: Edits the task Assignment 1 to change its deadline to 30/12/2022.
    • task delete 1: Removes the task Assignment 1 from TAA.
  6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command. Alternatively, you may refer to the Command Summary section for a quick overview of the commands.

Command Summary

This section shows a quick summary of the list of commands that are available in TAA.

Student Management

Action Format, Examples
Add student student add n/<studentName> p/<phoneNumber> e/<email> g/<tutorialGroup>(optional) t/<tags>(optional) e.g. student add n/James Ho p/98765432 e/a@gmail.com g/T03 t/yearTwo
Remove student(s) student delete <indices> e.g. student delete 1 3
Edit student student edit <index> n/<studentName>(optional) p/<studentPhone>(optional) e/<studentEmail>(optional) g/<tutorialGroup>(optional) t/<tags>(optional) e.g. student edit 1 g/T05
List students student list

Task Management

Action Format, Examples
Add task task add tn/<taskName> i/<taskDescription> d/<taskDeadline> s/<student(s)>(optional) e.g. task add tn/Grade Mission 1 i/Due Tomorrow d/10/12/2022 s/James Ho
Remove task(s) task delete <indices> e.g. task delete 2 4
Edit task task edit <index> tn/<taskName>(optional) i/<taskDescription>(optional) d/<taskDeadline>(optional) s/<student(s)>(optional) e.g. task edit 1 d/11/12/2020
List tasks task list

Tutorial Groups

Action Format, Examples
Add tutorial group tutorial add g/<tutorialGroup> e.g. tutorial add g/T01
Remove tutorial group tutorial delete <index> e.g. tutorial delete 2
Enrol student student enroll <index> g/<groupName> e.g. student enrol 1 g/T03
Expel student student expel <index> g/<groupName> e.g. student expel 1 g/T03
Filter students by group tutorial filter g/<groupName> e.g. tutorial filter g/T03
Reset filters student unfilter

Grades

Action Format, Examples
Mark assignment as graded grade edit <studentIndex> <taskIndex> gr/T e.g. grade edit 1 1 gr/T
Mark assignment as ungraded grade edit <studentIndex> <taskIndex> gr/F e.g. grade edit 2 1 gr/F
View assignment grading status grade view <studentIndex> <taskIndex> e.g. grade view 3 7

General

Action Format, Examples
Display the user guide URL help me
Exit the app bye bye

Features

This section will explain in detail the functionality of each command in TAA.

Before we start, here are some definitions that will be used in this section:

:information_source: Notes about the command format:

  • Words surrounded in angled brackets (< >), e.g. <taskName> are the parameters to be supplied by the user.
    e.g. in tutorial add g/<tutorialGroup>, <tutorialGroup> is a parameter which can be used as tutorial add g/T03.

  • Optional parameters are indicated with (optional).
    e.g. task add tn/<taskName> i/<taskDescription> d/<taskDeadline> s/<student(s)>(optional) can be used as
    • task add tn/Assignment 6 i/Recursion d/31/12/2023 or
    • task add tn/Assignment 6 i/Recursion d/31/12/2021 s/Thomas Edison or
    • task add tn/Assignment 6 i/Recursion d/31/12/2021 s/Thomas Edison s/George Washington

  • Arguments with (s) after them can be used multiple times including zero times.
    e.g. See the above example regarding s/<student(s)>.

  • Parameters can be specified in any order.
    e.g. if the command specifies group expel g/<groupName> s/<studentName>, both of the following commands are equivalent:
    • group expel g/T03 s/Billy Boy
    • group expel s/Billy Boy g/T03

  • If a parameter is expected only once in the command, but you specified it multiple times, only the last occurrence of the parameter will be taken.
    e.g. if you specify p/80000000 p/88888888, only p/88888888 will be taken.

  • Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as help me, bye bye) will be ignored.
    e.g. if you enter help me pretty p/lease, it will be interpreted as help me.

  • For commands that take an index, you can parse multiple indexes at once to do the action for multiple items at once.
    • You can remove multiple students at once by separating the indices with a space. e.g. student delete 1 2 3

Student Management

Add students

Adds a student with the given phone number, email, tutorial group, and tags to the list of students

  • Command student add n/<studentName> p/<phoneNumber> e/<email> g/<tutorialGroup>(optional) t/<tags>(optional)

E.g. student add n/James Ho p/98765432 e/a@gmail.com g/T03 t/yearTwo

:information_source: Notes:

  • <studentName> should be alphanumeric and should not be blank
  • <phoneNumber> should only contain numbers, and it should be at least 3 digits long
  • <email> should contain in the format: local-part@domain
    • local-part should only contain letters, numbers, and the special characters +, _, ., and -
    • local-part should not start or end with the four special characters mentioned above
    • domain should be at least 2 characters long
  • <tutorialGroup> should follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank
  • <tags> should be alphanumeric with no white space

Remove students

Removes the indexed students(s) from the list of students

  • Command student delete <indices>

E.g. student delete 1 3

:information_source: Notes:

  • Each index must be a positive integer which corresponds to an existing student
  • You can delete multiple students at once by separating the indices with a space. e.g. student delete 1 2 3

Edit students

Edits the student by its given index with at least 1 variable specified to change.

  • Command: student edit <index> n/<studentName>(optional) p/<studentPhone>(optional) e/<studentEmail>(optional) g/<tutorialGroup>(optional) t/<tags>(optional)

E.g. student edit 1 g/T05

:information_source: Notes:

  • <index> must be a positive integer and must correspond to an existing student.
  • <studentName> should be alphanumeric and should not be blank
  • <phoneNumber> should only contain numbers, and it should be at least 3 digits long
  • <email> should contain in the format: local-part@domain
    • local-part should only contain letters, numbers, and the special characters +, _, ., and -
    • local-part should not start or end with the four special characters mentioned above
    • domain should be at least 2 characters long
  • <tutorialGroup> should follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank
  • <tags> should be alphanumeric with no white space
  • For commands that take an index, you can parse multiple indexes at once to do the action for multiple items at once.
    • You can edit multiple students at once by separating the indices with a space. e.g. student edit 1 2 3 g/T03

List students

Shows a list of all students

  • Command: student list

Student List

Task Management

Add new task

Adds a task to the list of tasks

The task is initially assigned to no students if no student variable is entered

  • Command: task add tn/<taskName> i/<taskDescription> d/<taskDeadline> s/<student(s)>(optional)

E.g. task add tn/Grade Mission 1 i/Due Tomorrow d/10/12/2022 s/James Ho

:information_source: Notes:

  • taskName should only contain alphanumeric characters and spaces, and it should not be blank
  • taskDescription should not be blank
  • taskDeadline should be in the format of DD/MM/YYYY with its days and months within range
  • student(s), referenced by their name, should exist

Remove task

Removes the indexed task(s) from the list of tasks

  • Command: task delete <indices>

E.g. task delete 2 4

:information_source: Notes:

  • Each index must be a positive integer which corresponds to an existing task
  • You can delete multiple tasks at once by separating the indices with a space. e.g. task delete 1 2 3

Edit task

Edits the task by its given index with at least 1 variable specified to change.

  • Command: task edit <index> tn/<taskName>(optional) i/<taskDescription>(optional) d/<taskDeadline>(optional) s/<student(s)>(optional)

E.g. task edit 1 d/11/12/2020

:information_source: Notes:

  • index must be a positive integer and valid
  • taskName should only contain alphanumeric characters and spaces, and it should not be blank
  • taskDescription should not be blank
  • taskDeadline should be in the format of DD/MM/YYYY with its days and months within range
  • student(s), referenced by their name, should exist

List tasks

Shows a list of tasks

  • Command: task list

Task List

Tutorial Groups

Add new tutorial group

Adds the tutorial group with the name tutorialGroup

  • Command: tutorial add g/<tutorialGroup>

E.g. tutorial add g/T01

:information_source: Notes:

  • tutorialGroup should follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank

List tutorial groups

Shows a list of tutorial groups

  • Command: tutorial list

Tutorial List

Remove tutorial group

Removes the tutorial group at the specified index

  • Command: tutorial delete <index>

E.g. tutorial delete 1

:information_source: Notes:

  • tutorialGroup should follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank

:bulb: Tips:

  • Before deleting a tutorial group, you may want to enter the tutorial list command first to see which index corresponds to the tutorial group meant to be deleted.

Enroll a student into a group

Enrolls the student at index i to the group named groupName

  • Command: student enroll <index> g/<groupName>

E.g. student enrol 1 g/T03

:information_source: Notes:

  • tutorialGroup must follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank

Expel a student from a group

Removes the student at index i from the group groupName.

  • Command: student expel <index> g/<groupName>

E.g. student expel 1 g/T03

:information_source: Notes:

  • tutorialGroup must follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank

View all students in a tutorial group

Displays only students from the group groupName in the GUI.

  • Command: tutorial filter g/<groupName>

E.g. tutorial filter g/T01

Tutorial Filter

:information_source: Notes:

  • tutorialGroup must follow the format Txx, where x is a numeric value, and it should not be blank
  • the specified tutorialGroup must exist

Reset filters and show all students

Undoes the tutorial filter command and displays all students in the GUI.

  • Command: student unfilter

Grades

Mark assignment as graded or ungraded

Marks the specified student’s assignment as graded (T) or ungraded (F)

  • Command: grade edit <studentIndex> <taskIndex> gr/<T or F>

E.g. grade edit 1 1 gr/T

:information_source: Notes:

  • Both studentIndex and taskIndex must be positive integers and valid indices

Display assignment grade status

Shows the grade status of the specified student’s assignment

  • Command: grade view <studentIndex> <taskIndex>

E.g. grade view 3 7

:information_source: Notes:

  • Both studentIndex and taskIndex must be positive integers and valid indices

General

Display user guide URL

Shows a popup with the user guide URL in it

  • Command: help me

Exit the app

Exit and close the app

  • Command: bye bye

FAQ

What if I forget the command format?

  • You can click on the help button to view the commands.

Why can’t I add a student?

  • Check the format of your add command. You can refer to the pop-up message or the help page for the command format.
  • Check if the name of the new student belongs to another student.

Why can’t I enroll a student to a tutorial group?

  • Check whether the specified student and tutorial group exists.
  • Check if you have entered the correct student name.