1.0 Introduction

Holidays are specified calendar dates that determine if time schedules should be active or inactive. If a holiday is setup but is then not enabled for a time schedule, the time schedule will not activate on the days that are defined for that holiday. A holiday can be for a single day or for a consecutive range of days.

If your system uses multiple different hardware types you should be aware that the number of holiday 'types' and the maximum number of holiday dates differs per hardware platform and the system will limit itself to the lowest value of the controller types being used. For example; if your system uses PXL and NXT controllers the system holiday limitations will be based on the PXL controllers.

2.0 The Holidays Window

From the Home tab, click the  icon and the Holidays window appears.

3.0 Creating a New Holiday

1. Click the Add icon in the Holidays icon group.
2. A new holiday is added to the list with a generic name and no date assigned.
3. Click on the New Holiday list item to configure its properties.

4. Locate and click on the desired date on the calendar. The left/right arrows at the top of the calendar advance the calendar backward/forward by one month. The left/right double-arrows advance the calendar backward/forward by one year. You will be asked to verify the selected date.

Click the Yes Button. Once saved, the date is highlighted in bold text on the calendar.

5. Under Properties:
   

• Enter the description of the holiday, up to 50 characters.
• Select the Holiday Type (1 through 8) from the pull-down list. The Holiday Type drop down selection is a list of eight holiday types. Holiday types are used to categorize holidays into different groups and allow different weekly schedules intervals to be active on those groups. For example, you may define a Holiday Type 1 as a mandatory company holiday and a Holiday Type 2 as an optional company holiday. By combining the holiday types with the weekly schedule intervals, you can automatically deactivate all access groups on any holiday that is type 1 and selectively enable certain cardholder access on any holiday that is a type 2.
• Click in the Enabled check-box to activate the holiday.
• If desired, you can set the holiday to be a Special Event. This selection means it will not affect other schedules using the same holiday type. For example; If you set the holiday as a Special Event and set it to Type 1 it will not have any effect on time schedules that have Type 1 holidays enabled or disabled. The Special Event option is not supported by PXL and NXT hardware.

6. Click in the Show All Holiday Dates check-box to have all existing holidays highlighted in bold text on the calendar.
   
   

4.0 Setting a Holiday Date Range

A Holiday Date Range is a set of continuous dates treated as one holiday. For example, you can define December 24 and 25 as Christmas holiday.

To set a holiday date range, follow the instructions per the Creating a New Holiday section above, but in Step 4 click on the start date and drag the cursor to the end date. The selected range will be highlighted. Complete the steps as listed and the holiday date range will be saved.

5.0 Downloading Holidays to Controllers

Holidays can be immediately downloaded to controllers if desired.

1. Under the Downloads icon group, use the Controllers pull-down menu to select either all controllers or a specific controller to which the Holidays should be downloaded.
2. To download all Holidays, click the Download All icon.
3. To download one Holiday, select that Holiday from the list of schedules and click the Download Selected icon.
   

6.0 Removing Holidays

Removing a Holiday is simply a matter of selecting the desired item and clicking the Remove icon from the Holidays icon group.

7.0 Editing Holidays

Editing a Holiday is simply a matter of selecting the desired item, changing the appropriate values in the calendar and properties box, and then saving the changes.

Please keep in mind that changing a Holiday name if that interval has been assigned to Access Groups will have a drastic effect on the system.

8.0 Holiday Limitations

Depending on the hardware type you are using (or if you are using multiple hardware types) there are limitations related to the maximum amount of holidays that can be used. These limitations are as follows:

Holiday Schedule Limitations

(a) Total number that can be applied across all Holiday Schedules.

(b) Holiday schedules are treated the same as time schedules. Applying a holiday schedule will subtract one time schedule.

Note: When using multiple concurrent hardware platforms the software will limit the number of holiday schedules to the lowest value of the gateways used.

9.0 Enabling Holidays in Time Schedules

By default, when you setup a Time Schedule Interval all holiday types are set to No. Therefore if you want a Time Interval to be active on a Holiday Date you have to enable the holiday type within the interval settings.

1. Determine what type your holiday is set to (Type, 1, 2,3,4, etc).
2. Go to Home >> Time Schedules.
3. Double-Click a Time Schedule you wish to enable the holiday on.
4. Highlight the associated Time Interval.
5. In the interval properties on the right, scroll down until you find the 'Active on Holiday' setting.
6. If the holiday is type one set Holiday Type 1 to Yes.

7. Click save  to commit the change.