An updated version of the scheduling module was unveiled during the month of August, 2008 which should help to greatly streamline the efforts of the scheduler.  For a video tour of the changes, check out this video (coming soon).  Some of the changes include:

• Add New..." from anywhere - All of the buttons for adding new items (such as practices or games) have been removed from each individual page and instead have been replaced with a drop-down located as the first item in the pages menu.  The Add New... drop down is context-aware so that if you are looking at a team-specific page the form will open with that team already pre-selected.
• "Schedule By Team" and "Schedule By Venue" have been re-named to "Filter By Team" and "Filter By Venue" - This change was made for two reasons.  First, this is a more accurate description of the process that is taking place on the corresponding pages.  Second, you are now able to schedule directly from the Dashboard page (and will likely do most of the scheduling there) and the filtered pages are more likely to be used to verify accuracy.
• View As Calendar / View As Lists - All three pages that allow for scheduling to happen (Dashboard, Filter By Team, Filter By Venue) are available in two modes: Calendar Mode and List Mode.  In the previous version there was a combination of both, but in doing so the pages loaded slowly in some cases.  By separating the two modes the pages now load much quicker.  In addition, the Calendar Mode has been greatly enhanced to show items that span multiple days (Tournaments, Playoff Rounds, and some Events) across those days in the calendar.  Everything that the scheduler is allowed to edit is "double-click-able" in either Calendar Mode or List Mode.
• Context-Aware Calendar Mode - There will be a large amount of difference in the number of items that are displayed while in Calendar Mode depending on which Filter (if any) is applied.  Therefore, the Dashboard page will show two weeks worth of scheduling information across the entire organization.  The Filter By Team page will show the entire month, and the Filter by Venue page will once again show two weeks at a time (but also showing availabilities).  All calendars can be navigated by clicking the "Next/Previous Week" and "Next/Previous Month" links, respectively.
• Context-Aware List Mode - Similar to the Calendar Mode, the default Lists on any of the three pages may be shortened by default depending on the number of expected items in that list.  For example, the default list for the "Recent & Upcoming Practices" on the Dashboard page will show practices up to two weeks in advance.  However, if you wish to see an entire list, simply click the "Show More" link to remove the restriction (and click "Show Less" to bring it back).  Click the image to the right to see the default lists for the Dashboard page.
• Interactive Message Centre - The previous version of the scheduling module was capable of indicating whether or not there were unused venue time (eg. "Open Ice Time" or "Open Field Time"), scheduled items without a venue time (now called "Over-Booking"), and conflicts; however, this only happened when availabilities were scheduled.  Now, conflict detection will happen regardless of whether or not availabilities have been scheduled and will also include detailed notes about the nature of the conflict, should one occur.  If availabilities have been scheduled, the new message centre will detect any unused availabilities and provide a list with options to schedule a new practice in the time that is available.  If an over-booking has occured it will be listed with specific notes about the period of time(s) where the over-booking has occured.  Click the image to the right to see this feature in action.
• General Availabilities Enhancements - In addition to providing much more detailed and interactive messages on each of the three scheduling pages (previously these only showed up on the Dashboard page), the Filter By Venue page - while in Calendar Mode - will now allow for double-clicking of the availability directly in the calendar.
• Hidden Delete Icons - To save space on the screen, the delete (or "trash-can") icons are now hidden on the page until you hover your mouse over an item that is allowed to be deleted.  When this happens, the icon will show on top of that item, in the top-right corner of the item.  When deleting an availability, you will be prompted to delete either a single availability, or all future similar ones.  All other items will continue to ask for confirmation before deleting.