User Guide

TutorFlow is a desktop app for managing contacts, 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, TutorFlow can get your contact management tasks done faster than traditional GUI apps.

• Quick start
• Features
• Student Management
  • Adding a student : add student
  • Editing a student : edit student
  • Deleting a student : delete student
  • Viewing a student’s details : view
  • Listing all students : list
  • Locating students by name : find student
• Tag Management
  • Adding tags to a student : add tag
  • Editing a student’s tags : edit tag
  • Deleting tags from a student : delete tag
  • Locating students by tag : find tag
• Academic Management
  • Adding subjects to a student : add acad
  • Editing a student’s academics : edit acad
  • Deleting subjects from a student : delete acad
  • Locating students by subject : find acad
• Parent / Guardian Management
  • Editing parent details : edit parent
  • Locating students by parent : find parent
• Billing & Payment Management
  • Editing billing details : edit billing
  • Recording a payment : add payment
  • Deleting a payment record : delete payment
  • Finding students by payment due date : find payment
• Appointment & Attendance Management
  • Adding an appointment : add appt
  • Deleting an appointment : delete appt
  • Viewing appointments for a week : viewappt
  • Recording appointment attendance : add attd
• General Commands
  • Viewing help : help
  • Clearing all entries : clear
  • Exiting the program : exit
• Data Management
  • Saving the data
  • Editing the data file
• FAQ
• Known issues
• Command summary
  • Student Management
  • Tag Management
  • Academic Management
  • Parent / Guardian Management
  • Billing & Payment Management
  • Appointment & Attendance Management
  • General

Quick start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed in your Computer.
   Mac users: Ensure you have the precise JDK version prescribed here.

2. Download the latest .jar file from here.

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

4. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the jar file in, and use the java -jar tutorflow.jar command to run the application.
   A GUI similar to the below should appear in a few seconds. Note how the app contains some sample data.
   

5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.
   Some example commands you can try:

   • list : Lists all contacts.

   • add student n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com a/John street, block 123, #01-01 : Adds a contact named John Doe to the address book.

   • delete student 3 : Deletes the 3rd student shown in the current list.

   • clear : Deletes all contacts.

   • exit : Exits the app.

6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Features

Student Management

Commands for managing student records — adding, editing, viewing, finding and deleting students.

Adding a student : add student

Adds a student to the address book.

Format: add student n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL a/ADDRESS [t/TAG]…​

Tip: A student can have any number of tags (including 0). Use add tag to add tags after a student is created.

Examples:

• add student n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com a/John street, block 123, #01-01
• add student n/Betsy Crowe t/friend e/betsycrowe@example.com a/Newgate Prison p/1234567 t/criminal

Editing a student : edit student

Edits an existing student’s basic details in the address book.

Format: edit student INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [a/ADDRESS]

• Edits the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.

Examples:

• edit student 1 p/91234567 e/johndoe@example.com edits the phone number and email address of the 1st student.
• edit student 2 n/Betsy Crower edits the name of the 2nd student.

Deleting a student : delete student

Deletes the specified student from the address book.

Format: delete student INDEX

• Deletes the student at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Examples:

• list followed by delete student 2 deletes the 2nd student in the address book.
• find student Betsy followed by delete student 1 deletes the 1st student in the results of the find student command.

Viewing a student’s details : view

Selects and displays the full details of a student.

Format: view INDEX

• Selects the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Examples:

• view 1 displays the details of the 1st student.
• view 3 displays the details of the 3rd student.

Listing all students : list

Shows a list of all students in the address book.

Format: list

Locating students by name : find student

Finds students whose names contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find student KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]

• The search is case-insensitive. e.g hans will match Hans
• The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. Hans Bo will match Bo Hans
• Only the name is searched.
• Only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans
• Students matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search). e.g. Hans Bo will return Hans Gruber, Bo Yang

Examples:

• find student John returns john and John Doe
• find student alex david returns Alex Yeoh, David Li
  

Tag Management

Commands for managing the labels (tags) assigned to students.

Adding tags to a student : add tag

Adds one or more tags to an existing student. Existing tags are kept.

Format: add tag INDEX t/TAG [t/TAG]…​

• Adds tag(s) to the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one t/ prefix must be provided.
• Tags that already exist on the student will not be duplicated.

Examples:

• add tag 1 t/friends adds the tag friends to student 1.
• add tag 2 t/friends t/CS2103 adds two tags to student 2.

Editing a student’s tags : edit tag

Replaces all tags on a student with a new set of tags. Providing no tags clears all tags.

Format: edit tag INDEX [t/TAG]…​

• Edits the tags of the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• All existing tags are replaced by the provided tags.
• Providing one t/ prefix with no value clears all tags from the student.

Examples:

• edit tag 1 t/JC t/J1 sets the tags of student 1 to JC and J1.
• edit tag 2 t/ clears all tags from student 2.

Deleting tags from a student : delete tag

Deletes one or more tags from a student by their tag index numbers.

Format: delete tag INDEX t/TAG_INDEX [t/TAG_INDEX]…​

• Deletes tag(s) from the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• TAG_INDEX refers to the numbered position of the tag as shown in the student’s tag list in the app. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one t/ prefix must be provided.
• All specified tag indices must be valid (i.e. within the student’s tag list).

Examples:

• delete tag 1 t/2 deletes the 2nd tag from student 1.
• delete tag 1 t/2 t/3 deletes the 2nd and 3rd tags from student 1.

Locating students by tag : find tag

Finds students whose tags match any of the given keywords.

Format: find tag t/TAG [t/MORE_TAGS]…​

• At least one t/ prefix must be provided.
• Multiple t/ prefixes are allowed.
• Tags can contain spaces (e.g. t/Upper Sec, t/JC Year 1).
• The search is case-insensitive.
• Partial matching is supported (e.g. t/math matches Mathematics).
• Students matching at least one tag keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search).
• The displayed list is updated to show only matching students.

Examples:

• find tag t/JC returns all students tagged with any tag containing JC.
• find tag t/JC t/Sec1 returns all students with a tag matching JC or Sec1.

Academic Management

Commands for managing a student’s academic subjects and performance notes.

Adding subjects to a student : add acad

Adds one or more subjects to an existing student’s academics. Existing subjects are kept.

Format: add acad INDEX s/SUBJECT [l/LEVEL] [s/SUBJECT [l/LEVEL]]…​

• Adds subject(s) to the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one s/ prefix must be provided.
• l/LEVEL is optional and indicates the student’s proficiency level for the subject (e.g. Strong, Average, Weak).
• Subjects that already exist for the student will not be duplicated.

Examples:

• add acad 1 s/Math l/Strong adds Math (Strong) to student 1.
• add acad 1 s/Math l/Strong s/Science adds Math (Strong) and Science to student 1.

Editing a student’s academics : edit acad

Replaces a student’s academic subjects and/or performance description. Providing s/ with no value clears all subjects.

Format: edit acad INDEX [s/SUBJECT [l/LEVEL]]…​ [dsc/DESCRIPTION]

• Edits the academics of the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one of s/ or dsc/ must be provided.
• All existing subjects are replaced by the provided subjects. If no s/ prefixes are provided, existing subjects are retained. Providing s/ with no value clears all subjects.
• dsc/DESCRIPTION sets a free-text note about the student’s academic performance. Providing dsc/ with no value clears the description.
• l/LEVEL is optional and paired with the preceding s/SUBJECT.

Examples:

• edit acad 1 s/Math l/Strong s/Science sets student 1’s subjects to Math (Strong) and Science.
• edit acad 1 dsc/Good progress this semester updates the note for student 1 while retaining existing subjects.
• edit acad 2 s/Physics l/Weak dsc/Needs extra support sets a subject and description for student 2.
• edit acad 3 s/ clears all subjects for student 3.
• edit acad 3 (with no other prefixes) is invalid — at least one prefix must be supplied.

Deleting subjects from a student : delete acad

Deletes one or more subjects from a student by their subject index numbers.

Format: delete acad INDEX s/SUBJECT_INDEX [s/SUBJECT_INDEX]…​

• Deletes subject(s) from the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• SUBJECT_INDEX refers to the numbered position of the subject as shown in the student’s subject list in the app. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one s/ prefix must be provided.
• All specified subject indices must be valid (i.e. within the student’s subject list).

Examples:

• delete acad 1 s/2 deletes the 2nd subject from student 1.
• delete acad 1 s/2 s/4 deletes the 2nd and 4th subjects from student 1.

Locating students by subject : find acad

Finds students whose subjects match any of the given keywords.

Format: find acad s/SUBJECT [s/MORE_SUBJECTS]…​

• At least one s/ prefix must be provided.
• Multiple s/ prefixes are allowed.
• Subjects can contain spaces (e.g. s/Additional Math, s/Computer Science).
• The search is case-insensitive.
• Partial matching is supported (e.g. s/math matches Mathematics).
• Students matching at least one subject keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search).
• The displayed list is updated to show only matching students.

Examples:

• find acad s/Math returns all students with a subject containing Math.
• find acad s/Math s/Science returns all students with a subject matching Math or Science.

Parent / Guardian Management

Commands for managing the parent or guardian details associated with a student.

Editing parent details : edit parent

Sets or updates the parent/guardian details for a student.

Format: edit parent INDEX [n/PARENT_NAME] [p/PARENT_PHONE] [e/PARENT_EMAIL]

• Edits the parent details of the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• Existing parent fields that are not specified will be retained unchanged.
• n/PARENT_NAME is required if no parent name has been set previously; other fields are optional.

Examples:

• edit parent 3 n/John Lim p/91234567 e/johnlim@example.com sets all parent details for student 3.
• edit parent 1 p/81234567 updates only the parent’s phone number for student 1.

Locating students by parent : find parent

Finds students whose parent/guardian details contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find parent [n/NAME_KEYWORD]…​ [p/PHONE_KEYWORD]…​ [e/EMAIL_KEYWORD]…​

• At least one prefix (n/, p/, or e/) must be provided.
• Multiple prefixes of the same type are allowed.
• The search is case-insensitive.
• Students matching any of the given keywords across any of the specified fields will be returned (i.e. OR search).
• The displayed list is updated to show only matching students.

Examples:

• find parent n/Alice returns students whose parent’s name contains Alice.
• find parent n/Alice p/91234567 returns students whose parent’s name contains Alice or whose parent’s phone contains 91234567.

Billing & Payment Management

Commands for tracking tuition fees, recording payments, and finding students by payment due date.

Editing billing details : edit billing

Updates the tuition fee amount and/or payment due date for a student.

Format: edit billing INDEX [a/AMOUNT] [d/DATE]

• Updates the billing details for the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one of a/ or d/ must be provided.
• a/AMOUNT must be a non-negative number representing the tuition fee.
• d/DATE accepts ISO 8601 local date format (YYYY-MM-DD) and sets the next payment due date.
• This command updates billing configuration only and does not change payment history.

Examples:

• edit billing 1 a/250 updates the tuition fee for student 1 to $250.
• edit billing 1 d/2026-03-20 sets the payment due date for student 1.
• edit billing 1 a/250 d/2026-03-20 updates both the fee and due date for student 1.

Recording a payment : add payment

Records a tuition payment date for an existing student.

Format: add payment INDEX d/DATE

• Records payment for the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• d/DATE accepts ISO 8601 local date format (YYYY-MM-DD).
• This command records payment history and advances the billing due date based on the recurrence setting.

Examples:

• add payment 1 d/2026-03-05 records a payment on 5 March 2026 for student 1.

Deleting a payment record : delete payment

Deletes a recorded payment date for an existing student.

Format: delete payment INDEX d/DATE

• Deletes the payment record for the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• Exactly one d/ prefix must be provided.
• DATE must be in ISO 8601 local date format (YYYY-MM-DD).
• The date cannot be later than today.
• If the date is not recorded for the student, the command fails with an error.
• If the deleted date is the latest recorded payment date, the billing due date is rolled back by one recurrence cycle.
• If the deleted date is not the latest recorded payment date, the billing due date remains unchanged.

Examples:

• delete payment 1 d/2026-03-01 deletes the payment recorded on 1 March 2026 for student 1.
• delete payment 2 d/2025-12-15 deletes the payment recorded on 15 December 2025 for student 2.

Finding students by payment due date : find payment

Finds all students whose billing payment due date falls within the specified year-month.

Format: find payment d/YYYY-MM

• Exactly one d/ prefix must be provided.
• Duplicate d/ prefixes are invalid (e.g., d/2026-03 d/2026-04).
• YYYY-MM must be a valid year-month (e.g., 2026-03).
• The search matches any displayed payment due month (ignores day of month).

Examples:

• find payment d/2026-03 returns all students in the currently displayed list with payment due dates in March 2026.
• find payment d/2025-12 returns students with due dates in December 2025.

Appointment & Attendance Management

Commands for scheduling appointments, recording attendance, and viewing the weekly schedule.

Adding an appointment : add appt

Adds an appointment to an existing student.

Format: add appt INDEX d/DATETIME [r/RECURRENCE] dsc/DESCRIPTION

• Adds the appointment to the student at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• d/DATETIME accepts ISO 8601 local date-time format (e.g. 2026-01-29T08:00:00).
• r/RECURRENCE is optional. Supported values are NONE, WEEKLY, BIWEEKLY, and MONTHLY. If omitted, NONE is used.
• dsc/DESCRIPTION is required and stores a short description of the appointment.
• Adding a new appointment keeps any existing appointments for that student.

Examples:

• add appt 1 d/2026-01-29T08:00:00 dsc/Weekly algebra practice
• add appt 2 d/2026-02-02T15:30:00 r/WEEKLY dsc/Physics consultation

Deleting an appointment : delete appt

Deletes a selected appointment from an existing student.

Format: delete appt PERSON_INDEX APPT_INDEX

• Deletes the appointment at APPT_INDEX for the student at PERSON_INDEX.
• PERSON_INDEX refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list.
• APPT_INDEX refers to the numbered appointment shown for that student in the app.
• Both indexes must be positive integers 1, 2, 3, …​
• This command only works when the student has the selected appointment.

Examples:

• delete appt 1 1 deletes the 1st appointment of the 1st student.
• delete appt 2 3 deletes the 3rd appointment of the 2nd student.

Viewing appointments for a week : viewappt

Shows all students whose next appointment date falls within the Monday-to-Sunday week containing the given date.

Format: viewappt [d/DATE]

• If d/DATE is omitted, the current local date is used.
• DATE must be in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD).
• At most one d/ prefix may be provided.
• Text outside the optional d/ prefix is invalid.
• The displayed list switches to appointment view and shows the recorded appointment for each matching student.

Examples:

• viewappt shows appointments for the current week.
• viewappt d/2026-02-13 shows appointments for the week containing 13 February 2026.

Recording appointment attendance : add attd

Records attendance for a selected appointment of an existing student.

Format: add attd PERSON_INDEX APPT_INDEX [y|n] [d/DATE]

• Records attendance for the student at the specified PERSON_INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed student list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• APPT_INDEX refers to the numbered appointment shown for that student in the app. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• If y or n is omitted, y (attended) is assumed.
• y records that the student attended the selected appointment.
• n records that the student was absent for the selected appointment.
• If d/DATE is omitted, the selected appointment’s next date is used.
• d/DATE is only allowed together with y.
• d/DATE must be in ISO local date format (YYYY-MM-DD).
• Attendance cannot be recorded for a future date.
• Non-recurring appointments can only have attendance recorded once.

Examples:

• add attd 1 1 records attendance (present) for the 1st appointment of student 1.
• add attd 1 2 y same as above but explicit.
• add attd 1 2 y d/2026-01-29 records attendance on a specific date.
• add attd 1 3 n records an absence for the 3rd appointment of student 1.

General Commands

Viewing help : help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Clearing all entries : clear

Clears all entries from the address book.

Caution: This action is irreversible. All student data will be permanently deleted.

Format: clear

Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

Data Management

Saving the data

Address book data are saved in the hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the data file

Address book data are saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/tutorflow.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

Caution: If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, TutorFlow will discard all address book data and start with an empty data file at the next run. Hence, it is recommended to take a backup of the file before editing it.
Furthermore, certain edits can cause the address book to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is outside of the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous TutorFlow home folder.

Known issues

1. When using multiple screens, if you move the application to a secondary screen, and later switch to using only the primary screen, the GUI will open off-screen. The remedy is to delete the preferences.json file created by the application before running the application again.
2. If you minimize the Help Window and then run the help command (or use the Help menu, or the keyboard shortcut F1) again, the original Help Window will remain minimized, and no new Help Window will appear. The remedy is to manually restore the minimized Help Window.

Command summary

Student Management

Tag Management

Academic Management

Parent / Guardian Management

Billing & Payment Management

Appointment & Attendance Management

General