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Scheduling Overview

The scheduling system is the heart of InSched. It provides a powerful, flexible interface for managing appointments, procedures, and other events in your practice.

Core Concepts​

Events​

An Event is the fundamental scheduling unit. An Event can represent:

  • An appointment for an office visit or consultation
  • A scheduled surgery or procedure
  • A note for a given day
  • A vacation day or time off
  • A call coverage period

Every Event has an Event Type, which defines its behavior: color, default duration, default resources, and other characteristics. Setting up Event Types thoughtfully is one of the most important setup tasks, because it determines how easily your staff can schedule and understand the schedule at a glance.

Blocks​

A Block is a special kind of Event that sets aside time for specific types of appointments. Blocks are central to InSched's ability to show, at a glance, what times are available for scheduling.

For example, if you set up a "Cosmetic Consult Block" in purple for Monday mornings, your staff can immediately see that purple time slots are available for cosmetic consultations. When they schedule a consultation in that time, the block fills up, and the remaining available time is visible.

See Blocks for details.

Resources​

A Resource is anything used, usually exclusively, by an Event at a given time. Common examples:

  • Each provider (doctor, aesthetician)
  • Operating rooms
  • Specialized equipment (lasers, etc.)

Events can use up to eight Resources. When two Events require the same Resource at the same time, InSched identifies the conflict visually on the schedule.

Locations​

A Location is similar to a Resource but is used to group Events rather than identify conflicts. An Event can use zero or one Location. Multiple Events can share the same Location without conflict.

Common uses include separating schedules for different office locations (e.g., "Mesa" vs. "Scottsdale").

The Main Screen​

The main InSched screen consists of:

  • Menu Bar - Access to all functions
  • Toolbar - Quick access to common actions
  • Calendar - Date navigation in the upper left
  • Scheduling Grid - The central display showing events in a time-based grid
  • Detail Panel - Shows details of the selected event, below the Calendar
  • Status Bar - Shows the logged-in user, active initials, and hints

Key Design Principles​

Dynamic display: Unlike most schedulers, InSched dynamically adjusts what it shows. Days without events are hidden. The time range expands and contracts to show exactly what's needed. This means no wasted screen space and no hidden events.

Keyboard and mouse: Every function can be accomplished with either the keyboard or the mouse. Expert users appreciate the keyboard shortcuts for speed; new users can use the mouse-driven menus and context menus.

Guidance without restriction: InSched warns about conflicts and scheduling outside of blocks, but never prevents you from doing what you need to do. Sometimes rules need to be broken, and InSched respects that.

Complete audit trail: Every change is tracked with the date, time, station, logged-in user, and initials of the person who made the change. See Audit & History.