1. User support:
   • Full context sensitive on-line help (try the F1 key)
   • Full colour electronic manual in PDF format which can be freely copied and printed
   • 24 hour email support (free in the first year, free for all evaluations, and a small optional annual subscription thereafter)
   • All updates free for the first year (then included in the cost of annual support thereafter)
   • Get updates to the software automatically, or your request, by enabling "AutoUpdate" (while your support is current). Smartroster was the first product in it's class to include this great time-saving feature!
2. User interface
   • An elegant and intuitive, cutting-edge, easy-to-use interface, great for both novice and power user
   • Uses an intuitive spreadsheet like grid. Just drag and drop names in the spreadsheet from the various role-member and people lists always present on screen, or use the "right mouse button" click to access context sensitive menus in most panels * exclusive to SmartRoster compared to other similar products
   • Mouse over any name in the grid to see everywhere that person is scheduled *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • Double-click on any name to access the properties of that person
   • Lock down rows, columns, or cells with a single click to prevent the autofill overwriting *exclusive to SmartRoster
3. Absences
   • Set absences for an individual or for a group or household
   • SmartRoster never schedules a person when absent
   • Absences can be arbitrary date ranges or a complex repeating pattern
4. Auto Scheduling
   • Set scheduling frequency preferences - which can be "average over the whole period" or exactly so many times in each consecutive period (week, month) *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • Co-worker and Family work-together (or apart) preferences - no other product has the same degree of control as SmartRoster! 
   • eg. ensure families are all scheduled to the same service in a weekend, allow for childcare requirements (so both parents are NOT scheduled at the same time); make sure trainees are scheduled with someone more experienced, etc
   • Set scheduling limits for an individual, household or group eg 2 times total for the whole schedule
   • Define enforced breaks - global, per-person, per-group, or per role-member *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • Define restrictions for role/event combination such as: *exclusive to SmartRoster 
   • "at least x [members of group y]" or "at most x [members of group y]" or 
   • "all [members of group y] or none of [members of group y]" - no other product has this feature
   • Automatically fills the schedule based on user preferences, role/event requirements, restrictions, absences - evens out usage frequency automatically
   • User defined Look-back period allows SmartRoster to consider previous schedules (as far back as desired) when building the current schedule, a feature pioneered by SmartRoster!
   • Define complex event patterns (no limit on complexity)
   • Pre-assign individauls according to complex patterns
   • Selectively schedule a subset of roles and/or events and/or people
   • You decide whether to optimise for frequency targets, to reduce vacancies, or to meet association preferences, etc *exclusive to SmartRoster
5. Communication features
   • Built-in emailer, and ability to email personalised schedules to each member, or to each family (containing the highlighted names of each person in the family) - and no extra annual charges!
   • Full email management - preview emails before sending, view sent emails, archive emails, re-send emails *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • Easy email reminders generated each time SmartRoster is started, or on demand
   • Send bulk email to selected individuals, or all members of a selected group or household
   • Seamlessly Share a single data file across your LAN, or across the world via SmartRoster WebShare - all you need is an Internet connection! (At least two licenses are required. Annual support must be maintained to use server)
6. Reporting
   • Build-in report previewer - MS Word® or equivalent not required!
   • Provides a rich collection of report formats including: schedules, address-book or lists, rosters, inventory, address and reminder labels, absences, analysis of usage frequency
   • Advanced filters allow you to search and display only the people that match your query *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • All reports can be exported to MS Word® (or equivalent), or exported in adobe PDF format for easy printing or publishing to the web - as easy as a single click!
   • Attendance monitoring and reporting - record "after the fact" who actually performed their tasks, and reasons for non-performance (user-definable) *exclusive to SmartRoster
7. Minimal required hardware and software
   • Has very modest minimum system requirements
   • Does not require an external word processor (but can use one)
   • Does not require annual subscriptions to run the program (but is available for support)
   • Does not require the internet (but can use it if available)
   • Does not require annual payments or an "optional module" for email functionality
   • Does not require an external database management system such as MS Access® or SQL
8. Data access and integrity
   • Stores all data in a single tiny file which can be encrypted for maximum security - one file, one file extension, nothing else to consider - and easy to email or backup *exclusive to SmartRoster
   • Import and export your personnel data easily in industry standard tab-delimited format
   • Auto-save and backup-reminder options reduce the likelihood of accidental data loss.
9. Costing features (for commercial version) *exclusive to SmartRoster 
   • Set hourly base and penalty rates, for a person, group, role, event, and report total cost of a schedule
   • See how much the current schedule will cost you
   • Optimise the schedule to reduced total cost

• Use + and - keys (or schedule menu) to enlarge or shrink the schedule grid (fit more or less on screen)
• Can right-click "copy cell" in any schedule cell to copy the text of the cell to the clipboard
• New + and - buttons in the mail window to add or remove the respective item
• New "Email Tech-support" under the Help menu (assumes email is configured and working)
• Word reports now work with vb script files
• Consistent "+" and "-" buttons for adding or removing from lists
• Change the to [Schedule] field code. Can now include the date format in the code, eg [Schedule:d-mmm-yyyy]
• Hovering the mouse over a name in the People panel will highlight the person in the schedule (if in visible area)
• New report "Personal Profile" allows sending selected details ("on file") to individuals for review/correction/return
• New Shortcuts: "e" = hide/show Events panel, "p" = hide/show People panel, 
• "r" = hide/show Roles panel, "s" = hide/show Schedules panel,

Requirements:

• The minimum requirements are as follows:
• • IBM compatible PC running Windows 98 or newer (including Win98/NT/Me/2000/XP)
  • 64MB RAM
  • Pentium 100MHz
  • XVGA monitor running 256 colors at 800x600 resolution
  • CD ROM drive (for installation)
  • 10MB disk space for initial installation (or 20MB to allow for Adobe Acrobat reader)
  • Mouse or equivalent pointing device.
• The recommended improvements to the above are as follows:
• • Pentium 500MHz or better running Windows 2000 or newer
  • 512MB RAM or more
  • Connection to the Internet for sending bulk email and reminders, and for downloading from this website new features as they are introduced to SmartRoster