Docs
Docs for timetable constraints
Problem-first recipes for teacher, lesson, room, class, and validation constraints, plus a product reference area as Smootables docs expand.
Juho Isola, Smootables founder
Each recipe answers one scheduling question in plain language: what the problem means, what usually causes it, and what to check next in your timetable data. Steps work in any system, whether you plan in a spreadsheet, legacy software, or Smootables.
Product reference pages will document Smootables screens as they ship. For deeper planning theory, use Learn. For free calculators and converters, use Tools.
Constraint recipes
Short, practical answers when one constraint or validation error is blocking your timetable.
Teacher constraints
How to minimize teacher gaps in a school timetable
A free period between two lessons is usually a workload issue, not a clash. Here is how to count gaps, see what forces them, and shrink them without breaking availability or room rules.
Read recipeHow to cap a teacher's lessons per day
A daily lesson cap stops one teacher from carrying too much of the week on a single day. Check weekly totals and availability before you tighten the cap.
Read recipeHow to model teacher availability and unavailable periods
Separate periods a teacher cannot work from periods they would rather avoid. Mixing the two is a common cause of impossible timetables.
Read recipeHow to schedule part-time teachers on fixed days
Fixed working days remove whole days from the placement set. Check whether assigned lessons still fit in the days that remain.
Read recipeHow to limit consecutive lessons for teachers
A consecutive-lesson cap stops long teaching runs without a break. Balance it against double periods, labs, and daily workload.
Read recipe
Lesson placement
How to schedule double-period or block lessons
Double periods need two adjacent slots with the same teacher, class, and room. Place them before flexible single lessons.
Read recipeHow to avoid two lessons of one subject on the same day
This rule stops repeat lessons of one subject on the same day unless the curriculum needs a block or double period.
Read recipe
Classes and groups
Validation errors
What to do when a teacher is double-booked
One teacher cannot teach two classes at the same time. Trace both lessons to their source, then move, restaff, or delete the duplicate.
Read recipeHow to fix a room clash when a room is booked twice
Two lessons cannot use the same room at the same time unless you deliberately share the space and model it that way.
Read recipe
See how Smootables fits your school's constraints
Book a walkthrough. We will review your teacher load, rooms, and scheduling rules and show how they work in Smootables.