7. If something goes wrong
Start here when the planner did something you did not expect. First come the steps that cannot be undone, with what to do if one was a mistake. Then ten problems, in the words coordinators use, each with the reason and what to do.
When the planner refuses a press, nothing changes, and one sentence by the button says why. The sentences quoted here are the screen's own.
On this page
- Steps that cannot be undone
- A resident says the wish email never came
- My new draft is for the wrong year
- A resident shows as R1, but they are R2 or R3
- My pasted rows land in one column, or every row says Cannot be read
- Solve refuses to start
- The draft will not let me change anything, or Solve this table is greyed
- I want to change a posting after solving
- Filing refuses the block dates
- Residents say they cannot change their wishes
- I filed the wrong draft, or the year changed after filing
Steps that cannot be undone
| What you press | What it does at once | If it was a mistake |
|---|---|---|
| File in the Database, after typing FILE | Writes the draft's filled rows into the Database as that year, in place of what was there. Moves year groups and wish points. Fixes that year's wish lists for residents. | Correct boxes on the Database year; or file the right draft, or the corrected one, again; or take the year out. The draft stays. See File the year in the Database. |
| Close the round, after typing CLOSE | Closes the round now, drops unsent reminders, sets the Deadline to today, and emails everyone the round invited. The round cannot reopen. | Type late changes for residents on their pages, and tell residents by your usual channel. See Close the round. |
| Send, for a wish round date of today or earlier | Sends that email at once. | It cannot be recalled. Tell residents if it went early. |
| Delete, on a draft | Removes the draft, its saved version and autosave, and its newest solve. | It cannot be brought back. A year filed from it stays in the Database. Make a new draft, or duplicate another draft of that year. See Delete a draft. |
| Delete, on a Database year, after typing DELETE | Takes back everything the year gave: postings, wish points and year group changes. | File its draft again: the draft stays, no longer marked Filed. Paste a pasted year again. See Take a year out of the Database. |
| Remove, after Remove this resident | Erases the resident: name, email, every Database row and every wish list. | Add them again and paste their past years again. Their wishes are gone. For a leaver, use a Left box. See Remove a resident added by mistake. |
| Reset, after Reset the demo | Wipes the demo for everyone and starts it afresh. | Nothing brings it back. Start your practice again. See Reset the demo. |
| Solve this table, again | Replaces the last solve's result cards. | The earlier cards are gone. Next time, press Duplicate before solving to keep them. |
| Remove, on a wish | Takes the wish off at once, with no question. | Make the wish again, then move it with Up or Down. |
| The cross on one of your rules | Removes the rule at once, with no question. | Add it again with Add a rule. |
| Tap again to remove, on a department or hospital | Removes it. | Add it again, with its band and lengths. |
| Tap again to remove, on a Curriculum version | Removes the oldest version, when nobody follows it. | It cannot be added back: Add a version offers only later intake years. |
| Remove, on People | Takes the colleague off the planner at once. | Add them again. They get the added email again. |
| Leave, in Leave without saving? | Throws away a Database year's unsaved edits. | Make the edits again. |
A resident says the wish email never came
Why: the planner may hold no work email for them, or an old one. The day's 90 round emails may have run out, so theirs goes the next day. A reminder goes only to residents with no wishes yet. A resident expected to graduate, or who has left, is not in the round.
- On Wishes, find them under Not in yet. Their name shows no email, or sent and a date.
- If the address is missing or wrong, open their page. Under Who, press the pencil, correct the Work email, and press Save.
- Back on Wishes, press Send email beside their name, then Send.
- Ask them to look for an email from roster.sg rotation wishes whose subject starts [roster.sg] Your rotation wishes, in their junk mail too. It has no link: they go to roster.sg and sign in with that address.
- If it still does not reach them, type their wishes for them (see Type a resident's wishes for them).
My new draft is for the wrong year
Why: Plan a new year makes a draft of next year, whatever the month. At set-up, putting this year in through a draft needs this year instead. A name you typed yourself does not follow a change of year.
- On the draft, in Academic year, pick the year you want. A name in the planner's own form, such as AY 27/28 Draft 1, follows the year once the page has read the draft again.
- If the name is one you typed, press the pencil, type a name for that year, and press Done.
If the draft has been filed, its year is locked (Filed: the year cannot change.). Make a new draft instead. See Make next year's draft.
A resident shows as R1, but they are R2 or R3
Why: the planner reads each resident's years in order, and stops at the first year missing. A past year not pasted, or this year not yet in the Database, holds them at R1. Or they have not yet served 12 blocks of postings in their year group: Leave and a posting marked Failed count for nothing, so each puts the move later. A posting still to do never holds anyone back.
- On Existing residents, read the line under their name. file says R2, past years not entered yet means a year is missing. A line such as file says R3, planner reads R2 means fewer than 12 blocks of postings are served in that year group so far: press their name and check their Leave and any posting marked Failed.
- For a missing past year, or this year, paste it (see Add residents' past years). If this year comes in through a draft instead, file it (see Put the running year in through a draft).
- If their earlier years are refused with Not added: AY 24/25 is before R1 began, see that line under Add residents' past years.
- If a Database year lacks only their row, open their page, find that year, and press Edit in the Database. From a draft's lag line, Enter it opens the year in Edit with a blank row ready for each resident the line counts.
- On any draft made before the fix, press Duplicate, so the new draft sees it.
My pasted rows land in one column, or every row says Cannot be read
Why: the residents and past postings pastes split columns at tabs only. Text copied from a .csv file in a text editor has commas instead.
- Open your file in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- Select the rows there and copy them.
- Paste them into the box again.
- Check that the picker over each column names what it holds.
The departments paste also reads commas. See Add residents.
Solve refuses to start
Why: before solving, the planner checks everything it can know without a solve. A sentence by Solve this table says what is wrong, and nothing runs.
| The sentence | What to do |
|---|---|
| In some block, too few residents are free to meet every department's least. | Press block headings to find the block. Lower a band's least for those blocks with a band rule (see Add a rule of your own). Or change the band in Departments, then press Duplicate. Leave boxes also take residents away. |
| In some block, there are more residents than places. | Raise a band's most, with a band rule, or in Departments and then Duplicate. |
| A box in block 4 names a department this draft does not have. | The draft was not made with that department. Change or clear that box; for a department added since, press Duplicate and solve the duplicate. |
| A sentence naming a resident and a box, ending leaves no way to fit the postings owed this year. Clear it, or paint the whole posting. | Clear that box, or paint the whole posting. |
| A resident owes more blocks this year than they have open. | Too many of someone's boxes are filled, often with Leave. Clear some of them. |
| A sentence naming two of your rules, ending both set one department's band in the same blocks: change one of them. | Change one of the two band rules. |
| A sentence naming one of your rules, ending can no longer hold: change it in Settings. | Change or remove that rule. |
| A posting owed cannot fit as one run anywhere it may go. | Check the lengths each department takes, and any boxes placed by hand in the way. |
| The solving machine did not start. Try again in a minute. | Wait a minute, then press Solve this table again. |
The draft will not let me change anything, or Solve this table is greyed
Why: you may have opened the draft's last saved version, which is look only while the draft has unsaved changes. Or every open box is filled. Or a solve is running.
- If the page says Last saved copy, look only., press Open the autosave. Your latest work opens.
- If it says Every box is filled. Clear some boxes, or use Undo, to give the solver room., clear the boxes you want solved, or press Undo.
- If Solving shows, wait for the solve to end.
Next time, open a draft with unsaved changes from its row ending - autosave on Load previous draft.
I want to change a posting after solving
Why: once used, a result is ordinary boxes in the table. You change them like any other box.
- If you have not yet, press Use this solution.
- Press the box, then Change posting. Pick the Specialty and the Hospital, and press Change. Or press Clear.
- To let the solver refill around your change, clear the boxes it should redo, and press Solve this table. It fills only empty boxes.
- Press Save.
If the year is already filed, change the draft and file it again, or correct the box on the Database year. See Use a result, then adjust it.
Filing refuses the block dates
Why: two blocks overlap: a block starts on or before the day the block before it ends. Filing names it, such as Block 5 starts before block 4 ends., and Set the dates marks that block Starts before block 4 ends.
- On the draft, press Set the dates.
- Find the block marked Starts before block 4 ends.
- Move its start after the day the block before ends, or that block's end earlier. Press Back, and file again.
If filing says Not saved. Try again., wait a moment and try again. If it keeps failing, write to hello@roster.sg.
Residents say they cannot change their wishes
Why: the round has closed, by its Deadline or by hand. Or that year has been filed, which fixes its wishes: That year is filed: its wishes are fixed.
- If the round closed by its Deadline and you want it open again, move the Deadline later on Wishes. A round closed by hand cannot reopen.
- If the round has closed but the year is not filed, type the change on their page. See Type a resident's wishes for them.
- Next time, close the round before you file that year.
I filed the wrong draft, or the year changed after filing
Why: filing writes a draft's rows as the year, in place of what was there. Later changes reach the Database only when you correct it or file again.
- Filed the wrong draft: open the right one and file it. Its sheet shows what it replaces, including any Corrections made since then that this filing will undo.
- A few postings changed since: correct them on the Database year (see Correct a filed year).
- The year should not be in the Database at all: take it out (see Take a year out of the Database).