# Best program for creating a weekly schedule? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 4, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979 "2005-01-04T03:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/1 "2005-01-04T03:57:11Z")
I need to make a class schedule to stick into my new 2005 agenda, which, for some reason, does not already have a page for that. I could draw a bunch of squares on white paper and do it by hand, but I’d rather use the computer. I need a grid, with days across the top and hours down the side in half-hour intervals. I need to be able to write in the names of my classes, and their location. Last year I did one using Microsoft Word but it took _forever_. Actually, I should have saved it, because then I could have just gone back and tweaked it for this year… Does anyone know of a faster way to do it using another program, or maybe a website that offers a free schedule-builder? ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/2 "2005-01-04T04:05:22Z")
I used Excel, every semester, for this purpose. It is, basically, pre-drawn squares. And it has added bonuses like straight lines (unlike the squares I draw), easy formatting options, resizable squares, and more! As an added bonus, you can frequently cut and paste the schedule the school’s student info system displays for you directly into an Excel spreadsheet, so that it will require only minimum formatting on your part. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/3 "2005-01-04T07:24:36Z")
Oooh, I love doing stuff like this! **StephenG** is right. Excel is perfect for this. It wouldn’t even take long to do if you use auto-fill. It’s really a snap. Need some help? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/4 "2005-01-04T23:00:02Z")
Ok, I used Excel and got a half-decent schedule. The copy-paste worked, sorta, but the formatting went all wonky. And the rows aren’t all the same height and I can’t fix that. Oh well, it’s good enough for my needs, I guess, but I’ll keep looking for a better way! ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/5 "2005-01-04T23:15:29Z")
Highlight all the rows whose height you want to change, and go to Format\>Rows\>Height. You can manually enter a height (fiddle with it until you get the look you want). Or if you want, email it to me and I’ll make it look all spiffy. I do forms like this at work all the time. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/6 "2005-01-05T03:30:23Z")
I just did mine in Excel. It’s color coded and everything. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/7 "2005-01-05T03:53:15Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Ok, I used Excel and got a half-decent schedule. The copy-paste worked, sorta, but the formatting went all wonky. And the rows aren’t all the same height and I can’t fix that. Oh well, it’s good enough for my needs, I guess, but I’ll keep looking for a better way! Double-clicking the bottom edge of a row or the right edge or a column will make it auto-size itself to fit properly. If it’s not behaving, highlight the problematic cell(s), go to Format, Cells, Alignment, and make sure Wrap Text isn’t checked. Then do it again. Do what **Dante** said for the heights. Or email me the spreadsheet, and I’ll send you back a spiffy-looking version, colour-coded or not, depending on your preference. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/8 "2005-01-05T03:58:32Z")
I think my problem is that it’s trying to keep the formatting from the school’s website. I know _how_ to make the rows the same height but it won’t _let_ me. So I’ll start over tomorrow from scratch. I was trying to save time and look smarter by using the copy-paste, but it ended up being more trouble. Thanks for the offers of help, but I want to be able to do it. I mean, it’s not brain surgery or anything. If I can’t get it to work tomorrow, though, I may take one of you up on it! ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/9 "2005-01-05T04:03:19Z")
It’s probably the word-wrap I mentioned. Feel free to email me questions during the day, if you’d like. I certainly respect your wanting to do it yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/10 "2005-01-05T04:33:14Z")
**Antigen** , sorry if my post made you feel inadequate or in any way bad. I should no better than to treat something I’ve done for years as a cinch to someone who may never have done it at all. That was rude. Suffice it to say, I’m sure you’ll be able to get it done. What you want is not too difficult to achieve and it’s probably something you’re just overlooking. You’ll :smack: yourself once you figure it out. We’ve all been there. When I first started doing things like this, I found that just starting from scratch and formatting it the way I wanted it, usually made it easier to do and I learned a bit about the app in the process. If you need help, even just to ask, “How do I do this?” we’re here for ya. I’ll try not to be an ass again. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/11 "2005-01-05T05:00:44Z")
Is it just for one person (you)? Or do you want to handle multiple people’s schedules and be able to view scheduled events for other folks to see who’s free when etc? If the latter, FileMaker. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/12 "2005-01-05T23:06:33Z")
> [@Cinnamon Girl](#): > > **Antigen** , sorry if my post made you feel inadequate or in any way bad. Never even crossed my mind! I started from scratch using Excel and it was much easier to get everything to line up properly. I was just looking for a quicker way using a special, magical program… but hey, this works too. Thanks for the help, all! ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-program-for-creating-a-weekly-schedule/282979/13 "2005-01-06T01:39:56Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I think my problem is that it’s trying to keep the formatting from the school’s website. I know _how_ to make the rows the same height but it won’t _let_ me. So I’ll start over tomorrow from scratch. I was trying to save time and look smarter by using the copy-paste, but it ended up being more trouble. BTW, what format are you pasting in? If you haven’t done so already, go to Edit \> Paste Special and choose to paste in text format.