Temporal Expressions Tutorial

Log into your local copy of OFBiz as admin. To create or modify temporal expressions, you will need to go to Web Tools -> Configuration -> Temporal Expression. To create calendar events based on temporal expressions, you will need to go to Work Effort -> Work Effort -> Create Work Effort. You should locate these screens and familiarize yourself with these applications before starting the tutorial.

Create A Frequency Expression

Let's say you want to keep track of your pay days - which occur every two weeks on Friday. To do that you will need a Frequency temporal expression.

In the Find Temporal Expression screen, click Create. In the Temporal Expression Maintenance screen, find the Frequency section. Type PAYDAY in the Expression ID field. Click the Calendar icon next to the From field to bring up a popup calendar. Select January 8, 2010 08:00. Click OK. Select Day Frequency Type and select 14 in the Frequency Count field. Click the Save button.

In the Create Work Effort screen, type "Pay Day" in the Name field. Select Event for the Type, select Confirmed for the Status, select General for the Scope, and use the Calendar icon to set Estimated Start Date to January 1, 2010. Scroll down the screen to find the Temporal Expression field. Select PAYDAY. Click Save. The Pay Day calendar event has been created. To view it, click the Calendar tab, then select Month View. You will see the pay day appear every two weeks on Friday.