User Guide

Managing dozens of guests, AB3 My Guest is your go-to wedding planner which supports bulk tagging, layer filtering, and a dedicated RSVP field to track your wedding’s attendees!

AB3 My Guest is a desktop app for managing wedding guests, 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, AB3 My Guest can get your guest management tasks done faster than traditional methods of managing guest lists!

• Quick start
• Features
  • Viewing help : help
  • Listing all guests : list
  • Adding a guest : add
  • Deleting a guest : delete
  • Editing a guest : edit
  • Creating a new tag : newtag
  • Deleting an existing tag : deletetag
  • Renaming a tag : renametag
  • Tagging a guest : tag
  • Removing a tag from a guest : untag
  • Setting RSVP status for a guest : setrsvp
  • Filtering using RSVP status or tags : filter
  • Locating guests by name : find
  • Undoing latest command : undo
  • Clearing all entries : clear
  • Exiting the program : exit
  • Saving the data
  • Editing the data file
  • Archiving data files [coming in v2.0]
• FAQ
• Known issues
• Command summary

Quick start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed in your computer. To check, open a command terminal, and type java -version.

2. Download the latest .jar file from here.

3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your AB3 My Guest application.

4. To open the application,

   • Open a command terminal in your computer.
   • cd into the folder you put the jar file in (e.g If the jar file is stored in /Desktop/TestFile, then the command should be cd /Desktop/TestFile).
   • Use the java -jar ab3myguest.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.
     

1. 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 guests.

   • add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johndoe@example.com : Adds a guest named John Doe to the guest list.

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

   • clear : Deletes all contacts.

   • exit : Exits the app.

2. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.
3. Do note that users should open only one AB3 My Guest at a time.

Features

Viewing help : help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Listing all guests : list

Shows a list of all guests in the guest list.

Format: list

Adding a guest : add

Adds a guest to the guest list.

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

• Names cannot be more than 100 characters long.
• Names are case-sensitive, for increased flexibility. e.g. ‘John Doe’ is different from ‘john doe’.
• Names can only consist of alphanumeric characters and spaces.

• Duplicate guests (with the exact same name) cannot be added to the guest list. Users are advised to add their guests’ last names or other identifiers if needed.

• Phone numbers must be exactly 8 digits.
• Tags must be created before they can be assigned to a guest. Refer to newtag on how to create a tag.

Tip: A guest can have any number of tags (including 0).

Examples:

• add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com t/groom's side
• add n/Betsy Crowe p/81234567 e/betsycrowe@example.com t/bride's side
• add n/Zeon p/81234567 e/zeon@example.com

Deleting a guest : delete

Deletes the specified guest from the currently displayed guest list.

Format: delete INDEX

• Deletes the guest at the specified INDEX.
• Only one guest can be deleted in each delete command.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed guest list.
• The index must be within the index boundaries of the guest list. i.e. If there are 10 guests, INDEX accepts values from 1 to 10.

Examples:

• list followed by delete 2 deletes the 2nd guest in the guest list.
• find yu followed by delete 2 deletes the 2nd guest in the results of the find command.

Editing a guest : edit

Edits an existing guest in the currently displayed guest list.

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

• Edits the guest at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed guest list.
• The index must be within the index boundaries of the guest list. i.e. If there are 10 guests, INDEX accepts values from 1 to 10.
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• Fields which are not provided will not be edited.
• Editing the guest without changing the fields is allowed. e.g. The guest at index 1 of the displayed list is Alex Yeoh. Running edit 1 n/Alex Yeoh will be successful though none of the fields are changed.
• All optional fields must adhere to the restrictions specified in the add command.
• If the input values are valid, existing values will be updated to the input values.
• Tags associated with a guest cannot be edited using this command. Use tag or untag to do so instead.

Examples:

• edit 1 p/91234567 e/johndoe@example.com
• edit 1 n/Alan Yeoh

Creating a new tag : newtag

Creates new tag(s) that can be used to tag guests with.

Format: newtag t/TAG1…​

• Each tag name cannot be more than 50 characters long.
• Tag name can only contain alphanumeric characters, apostrophes, parenthesis and whitespaces.
• Tag name cannot be empty, or consist of only whitespaces.
• Duplicate tags are not allowed.
• Tag names are case-insensitive. e.g. newtag t/BRIDE'S SIDE is the same as newtag t/Bride's Side
• Only 30 (or fewer) tags can exist in the tag list at any point. Attempts to add tags that could exceed this limit will not be allowed.
• Additional leading entries will be ignored. e.g. newtag 1 t/bride's side is the same as newtag t/bride's side.
• Duplicate tags (with the same name) are not allowed.
• Tag names are case-insensitive. e.g newtag t/BRIDE'S SIDE is the same as newtag t/Bride's Side
• Only 30 (or fewer) predefined tags can exist at any point.
• Attempting to add tags with a mix of invalid and valid names at once will result in an error.
• Attempting to add tags with a mix of duplicate and non-duplicate names at once will only allow the non-duplicate tags to be added.

Tip: You may add any number of tags at once (as long as the total number does not exceed 30). e.g. newtag t/bride's side t/groom's side t/friends

Examples:

• newtag t/bride's side
• newtag t/bride's side t/groom's side

Deleting an existing tag : deletetag

Deletes existing tag(s) defined previously.

Format: deletetag [-force] t/TAG1…​

• Each tag name cannot be more than 50 characters long.
• Tag name can only contain alphanumeric characters, apostrophes, parenthesis and whitespaces.
• Tag name cannot be empty, or consist of only whitespaces.
• User cannot delete a tag that has not been added via newtag before.
• Tag names are case-insensitive. e.g. deletetag t/BRIDE'S SIDE is the same as deletetag t/Bride's Side.
• Additional leading entries will be ignored. e.g. deletetag 1 t/bride's side is the same as deletetag t/bride's side.
• If any guest currently has the tag friends, deletetag t/friends will not work. To force delete the tag and remove it from all guests, use deletetag -force t/friends.
• Tag names are case-insensitive. e.g deletetag t/BRIDE'S SIDE is the same as deletetag t/Bride's Side.
• Attempting to delete tags with a mix of invalid and valid names at once will result in an error.
• Attempting to delete tags with a mix of existing and non-existent tags at once will only allow the existing tags to be deleted.

Tip: You may delete any number of tags at once. e.g. deletetag t/bride's side t/groom's side t/friends

Examples:

• deletetag t/bride's side
• deletetag t/bride's side t/groom's side
• deletetag -force t/bride's side

Renaming a tag : renametag

Renames a tag currently in the tag list.

Format: renametag t/TAG1 t/TAG2

• Renames the tag TAG1 (target) to become TAG2.
• Only one tag can be renamed in each rename command.
• The new tag name cannot be a tag already in the current tag list.
  e.g. friends and colleagues already exist in the tag list. renametag t/friends t/colleagues is an invalid command.
• The target tag must be a tag that is already in the current tag list.
  e.g. friends already exists in the tag list but colleagues does not. renametag t/colleagues t/friends is an invalid command.
• Extra parameters are not allowed.

Examples:

• renametag t/friends t/colleagues

Tagging a guest : tag

Tags a guest with the specified tag.

Format: tag INDEX…​ t/TAG…​

• Tag must have already been defined using newtag before tagging it to a guest.
• There is a limit of 10 indexes that can be tagged in a single tag command.
• The index(es) must be within the index boundaries of the guest list. ie. If there are 15 guests, INDEX accepts values from 1 to 15.
• Duplicate tags in the input will be ignored. e.g. tag 1 t/friends t/friends will successfully execute assuming the guest at index 1 does not already have the tag friends.
• Attempting to tag guests with an invalid tag will not halt tagging of valid tags.
  e.g. friends is a tag not created while bride's side is. The command tag 1 t/friends t/bride's side will still successfully tag bride's side on the guest indexed at 1.
• Attempting to tag guests with a tag already on some will not halt tagging of the tag on other guests.
  e.g. friends is a tag on guest indexed at 1 but not on guest indexed at 2. The command tag 1 2 t/friends will still successfully tag friends on the guest indexed at 2.

Examples:

• tag 1 t/bride's side
• tag 1 2 3 t/bride's side
• tag 1 t/bride's side t/friends
• tag 1 2 3 t/bride's side t/friends

Removing a tag from a guest : untag

Removes a tag from a guest.

Format: untag INDEX…​ t/TAG…​

• A guest must already have the tag for it to be removed.
• Index(es) of the guest(s) must be within valid range (i.e. greater than 0 and less than or equals to the current shown list length)
• Duplicate tags in the input will be ignored. e.g. untag 1 t/friends t/friends will successfully execute assuming the guest at index 1 has the tag friends.
• Attempting to untag guests with an invalid tag will not halt untagging of valid tags.
  e.g. friends is a tag not created while bride's side is. The command untag 1 t/friends t/bride's side will still successfully untag bride's side on the guest indexed at 1.
• Attempting to untag guests with a tag already on some will not halt untagging of the tag on other guests.
  e.g. friends is a tag on guest indexed at 1 but not on guest indexed at 2. The command untag 1 2 t/friends will still successfully untag friends on the guest indexed at 1.

Examples:

• untag 1 t/bride's side
• untag 1 2 3 t/bride's side
• untag 1 t/bride's side t/friends
• untag 1 2 3 t/bride's side t/friends

Setting RSVP status for a guest : setrsvp

Toggles the RSVP status for a guest between Coming, Not Coming and Pending.

Format: setrsvp INDEX s/STATUS_INDEX

• Toggles the RSVP status of the guest at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed guest list.
• The index must be within the index boundaries of the guest list. i.e. If there are 10 guests, INDEX accepts values from 1 to 10.
• STATUS_INDEX accepts 3 possible values:
  • 1 represents Coming
  • 2 represents Not Coming
  • 3 represents Pending
• By default, the RSVP status for all guests is Pending.

Note: You may only set one guest’s RSVP status in each command. i.e. Setting multiple guests’ statuses at once is not supported.

Example:

• setrsvp 1 s/1
• setrsvp 2 s/3
• setrsvp 1 s/2

Filtering using RSVP status or tags : filter

Filters the currently shown list based on RSVP status or tag. Filter predicates are displayed in the filter panel.

Format: filter [s/STATUS_INDEX] [t/TAG]…​

• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• STATUS_INDEX accepts 3 possible values:
  • 1 represents Coming
  • 2 represents Not Coming
  • 3 represents Pending
• The filter accepts multiple predicates. For example, filter t/bride's side t/neighbours and filter s/3 t/neighbours are both valid commands.
• Note that filter s/3 t/neighbours is equivalent to stacking the commands filter s/3 and filter t/neighbours into a single command, or running filter t/neighbours s/3.
• Only one RSVP status can be used for filtering in each command, but multiple tags can be used. i.e. filter s/1 s/2 is not a valid command.
• The command will not be executed if one or more parameters are invalid.

Tip: You can clear all filters by running the list command.

Known Issue: Currently, running an add command while being in a filtered list returns the list displaying all the guests, though the filters are not cleared from the filter panel. For now, you may clear the filters using the list command.

Example:

• filter s/1
• filter t/bride's side t/neighbours
• filter s/3 t/neighbours
• filter s/1, filter s/2 (will always return an empty list)

Locating guests by name : find

Finds guests whose names contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find KEYWORD…​

• The search is case-insensitive. e.g. alex will match Alex.
• The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. Alex Yu will match Yu Alex.
• Only the name is searched.
• Only full words will be matched e.g. Ale will not match Alex.
• Guests matching at least one keyword will be returned. i.e. OR search. e.g. Alex Yu will return Alex Yeoh, Bernice Yu and Terrence Yu.
• Find will apply to the whole list, not the currently filtered list, ignoring all previous filter and find commands. i.e. find alex bernice is not the same as find alex followed by find bernice.

Examples:

• find alex
• find alex yu

Undoing latest command : undo

Undoes the changes made from the last command if it was successfully executed, partially or fully.

Format: undo

• Commands that can be undone:
  • add
  • delete
  • newtag
  • deletetag
  • renametag
  • tag
  • untag
  • edit
  • filter
  • find
  • setrsvp
• Only the latest command can be undone, if it was successfully executed.

Examples:

• tag 1 2 t/friends successfully tagged the guest at index 1 but not the guest at index 2. Then undo will untag the guest at index 1.
• filter s/3 t/friends followed by filter s/3 (shows an error message since the filter predicate is already applied). Then undo will not revert the first filter command filter s/3 t/friends since the last command, filter s/3 was not successfully executed.
• tag 7 t/neighbours successfully tagged the guest at index 7.

Clearing all entries : clear

Clears all entries from the guest list. i.e deleting all guests.

Format: clear

WARNING: This command will permanently delete all guests in your guest list.
Ensure that you have saved a copy of the guest list somewhere else.

Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

Saving the data

AB3 My Guest data is saved in the hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the data file

AB3 My Guest data is saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/ab3myguest.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, AB3 My Guest will discard all data and start with an empty data file during the next run. Hence, it is recommended to make a backup of the file before editing it.
Furthermore, certain edits can cause the AB3 My Guest application to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is outside the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

Archiving data files [coming in v2.0]

A future development is archiving data files to protect against accidental clear commands or corrupted data files which cannot be recovered.
This feature will allow users to archive data files, acting as a backup.

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 AB3 My Guest home folder.

Q: I accidentally entered the command clear and removed my entire list of guests. How do I recover it?
A: Unfortunately, there is no way to recover the list. Hence, we recommend occasionally copying the JSON file at [JAR file location]/data/ab3myguest.json into a separate file saved in your computer.

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