Linkline User Guide

Linkline is a desktop app for solo technicians to manage client details, 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, Linkline can get your contact management tasks done faster than traditional GUI apps.

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Quick start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed in your Computer.
   Mac users: Ensure you have the precise JDK version prescribed here.

2. Download the latest .jar file from here.

3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for Linkline.

4. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the jar file in, and use the java -jar linkline.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.
   

5. 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 contacts.

   • add --name=John Doe --phone=98765432 --email=johnd@example.com --address=John street, block 123, #01-01 : Adds a contact named John Doe to Linkline.

   • copyaddr 3 : Copies the address of the 3rd contact shown in the current list to user's clipboard.

   • clear : Deletes all contacts.

   • exit : Exits the app.

6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

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Features

Field constraints

The following constraints apply to command fields:

• NAME: must not be blank, up to 100 characters.
• PHONE_NUMBER: must contain 3 to 15 digits in total. Spaces and hyphens are allowed only between digits.
• EMAIL: must be in valid local-part@domain format and satisfy email length/rule checks.
• ADDRESS: must not be blank.
• TAG: must not be blank, 1 to 50 characters.
• NOTES: 0 to 200 characters.
• LOG_MESSAGE: must not be blank, 1 to 1000 characters.

Viewing help : help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

• This command does not accept any arguments.
• Entering help with additional parameters (e.g., help 123) will return an error message.

Adding a client: add

Adds a client to Linkline. List is automatically sorted lexicographically by NAME, followed by PHONE_NUMBER

• Client with the same email or phone number as an existing client in Linkline cannot be added as they are considered duplicated clients.

Format: add --name=NAME --phone=PHONE_NUMBER --email=EMAIL --address=ADDRESS [--tag=TAG]…​ [--notes=NOTES]

Examples:

• add --name=John Doe --phone=9876-5432 --email=johnd@example.com --address=John street, block 123, #01-01
• add --name=Betsy Crowe --tag=AC service --email=betsycrowe@example.com --address=123 Clementi Rd #04-05 --phone=9123 4567 --notes=Gate code 1234, beware of large dog

Listing all clients : list

Shows a sorted list of all clients in Linkline.

Format: list

• This command does not accept any arguments.
• Entering list with additional parameters (e.g., list 123) will return an error message.

Editing a client : edit

Edits an existing client in Linkline.

Format: edit INDEX [--name=NAME] [--phone=PHONE_NUMBER] [--email=EMAIL] [--address=ADDRESS] [--tag=TAG]…​ [--notes=NOTES]

• Edits the client at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.
• When editing tags, the existing tags of the client will be removed i.e adding of tags is not cumulative.
• You can remove all the client’s tags or notes by typing --tag= or --notes= respectively without specifying any tags after it.
• If the edited client duplicates another existing client in Linkline, the edit will fail.

Examples:

• edit 1 --phone=91234567 --email=johndoe@example.com Edits the phone number and email address of the 1st client to be 91234567 and johndoe@example.com respectively.
• edit 2 --name=Betsy Crower --tag= Edits the name of the 2nd client to be Betsy Crower and clears all existing tags.

Locating clients by personal details: find

Finds clients whose names / phone numbers / email address / physical address / tags are matched by the queried keywords specified per field. A sorted list of such clients is returned.

Any find operation is applied only to the currently displayed list, and multiple find / filter operations can be chained together to shorten the list.

For example, if there are 10 clients initially on the list, and a find / filter operations shortens it to 5 clients, any subsequent find / filter operations would only search within those 5 clients.

Format: find [--name=SUBNAME [--name=MORE_SUBNAMES] ...] [--phone=SUBNUMBER [--phone=MORE_SUBNUMBERS] ...] [--email=SUBEMAIL [--email=MORE_SUBEMAILS] ...] [--address=SUBADDRESS [--address=MORE_SUBADDRESS] ...] [--tag=TAG [--tag=MORE_TAGS] ...]

• Any preamble given will result in an error.
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• If a field is specified, it must not be empty.
• A field can be specified as many times as keywords are required.
• The order in which the fields are specified does not matter.
• Only the fields specified are searched against.
• In all fields, the search is case-insensitive. e.g. In name field, hans will match Hans.
• In all fields, the order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. In name field, Hans Bo will match Bo Hans.
• In name, phone number, email address, physical address fields, clients whose field matches at least one keyword in that specified field as a substring will be returned (i.e. OR search). e.g. In name field, Gru Ya will match Hans Gruber, Bo Yang.
• In tag field, clients whose field match at least one keyword in that specified field exactly will be returned (i.e. OR search) as a union with the other fields mentioned. e.g. In tag field AC-Service will match only AC-Service.

Examples:

• find is not a valid command as no fields are provided.
• find --name=Alice --phone= --email=gmail.com is not a valid command as phone field is specified but empty.
• find --name=Alice Bob will have 1 keyword Alice Bob.
• find --name=Alice --name=Bob will have 2 name keywords Alice and Bob.
• find --name=jon --name=Jack can return clients with names Jonathon Lee, Jon Doe, and Jack Black.
• find --phone=1234 can return clients with numbers 91234567 and 94561234.
• find --email=.edu can return clients with email addresses e123456678@u.nus.edu and f123456678@u.ntu.edu.
• find --address=Street can return clients with physical addresses Woodlands Street, Admiralty Street
• find --tag=wiring can return clients with tag Wiring, but not ElectricalWiring,
• find --name=James --name=Jake --phone=123 --phone=4567 --email=@yahoo.com --address=Street --address=Avenue --address=Boulevard --tag=Aircon-Repair is a valid combination of all fields.
• find --phone=123 --phone=4567 --name=James --name=Jake --tag=Aircon-Repair --email=@yahoo.com --address=Street --address=Avenue --address=Boulevard will return the same results as the previous command.
  

Deleting a client : delete

Deletes the specified client from Linkline with confirmation.

Format: delete INDEX

• Deletes the client at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• Two-step confirmation:
  • First run of delete INDEX: shows a confirmation message only (no deletion yet).
  • Second matching delete INDEX: completes the deletion.
• Any other command (including invalid command input) after the first delete will cancel the pending deletion.

Examples:

• list followed by delete 2
  • Shows confirmation message with the client's details (no deletion yet).
  • Typing delete 2 again confirms and deletes the 2nd client.
• find --name=Betsy followed by delete 1
  • Shows confirmation message for the 1st client in the search results, if exists (no deletion yet).
  • Typing delete 1 again deletes that client.
• delete 1 followed by list
  • The pending deletion is cancelled. The list command executes normally.

Copying a client's address: copyaddr

Copies the specified client's address from Linkline.

Format: copyaddr INDEX

• Copies the client's address at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Copying a client's edit command format: copyedit

Copies the edit command format for the specified client, allowing you to easily modify their details.

Format: copyedit INDEX

• Copies the edit command with all current details of the client at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​
• The copied format includes the client's name, phone, email, address, notes, and all tags.

Viewing client details: view

Shows the specified client's full details.

Format: view INDEX

• Shows the client's full details at the specified INDEX in the right-hand panel.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the current displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Examples:

• find --name=John Don followed by view 1
• add --name=John Doe --phone=9876-5432 --email=johnd@example.com --address=John street, block 123, #01-01 followed by view 1

Adding a client log: logadd

Adds a timestamped log entry to the specified client.

Format: logadd INDEX LOG_MESSAGE

• Adds a new log entry to the client at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, ...
• LOG_MESSAGE must be between 1 and 1000 characters.

Examples:

• logadd 1 Observed leakage beneath sink during site visit.
• logadd 2 Client requested follow-up call next Wednesday at 2pm.

Deleting a client log: logdelete

Deletes a specific log entry from the specified client with confirmation.

Format: logdelete CLIENT_INDEX LOG_INDEX

• Deletes the log at LOG_INDEX for the client at CLIENT_INDEX.
• CLIENT_INDEX refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• LOG_INDEX refers to the log number shown in the UI for that client.
• Log numbering note: Logs are displayed newest-first, but numbered oldest-to-newest. For example, if a client has 5 logs, the topmost (and the latest) log is Log 5.
• Both indices must be positive integers 1, 2, 3, ...
• Two-step confirmation:
  • First run of logdelete CLIENT_INDEX LOG_INDEX: shows a confirmation message only (no deletion yet).
  • Second matching logdelete CLIENT_INDEX LOG_INDEX: deletes the selected log.
• Any other command (including invalid command input) after the first logdelete will cancel the pending log deletion.

Examples:

• view 2 followed by logdelete 2 1
  • Shows confirmation message for log 1 of client 2 (no deletion yet).
  • Typing logdelete 2 1 again confirms and deletes that log.
• logdelete 2 1 followed by list
  • The pending log deletion is cancelled. The list command executes normally.

Filtering clients by tags: filter

Filters clients whose tags contain all the given keywords. If there is more than one client, the list returned is sorted.

Format: filter --tag=TAG_KEYWORD [--tag=MORE_KEYWORDS]…​

• Multiple keywords can be provided, separated by spaces
• The filter is case-insensitive. e.g Plumbing will match plumbing
• Only filters by tags.
• Only clients matching all one keyword will be returned (i.e. AND search).

Renaming a tag: renametag

Renames an existing tag to a new name across Linkline. All clients with the old tag will be updated with the new tag name.

Format: renametag --tag=OLD_TAG --tag=NEW_TAG

• Tags have to be in this specific order and only 2 parameters are accepted.
• The OLD_TAG must exist in Linkline.
• The NEW_TAG must be a valid tag name and should not already exist in Linkline.
• Tag names are case-insensitive. e.g., PLUMBING and plumbing are considered the same tag.

Examples:

• renametag --tag=AC-Service --tag=Aircon-Repair renames all instances of AC-Service to Aircon-Repair.
• renametag --tag=plumbing --tag=General-Maintenance renames the plumbing tag to General-Maintenance.

Deleting a tag: deletetag

Deletes a specific tag and removes it from all clients currently having it.

Format: deletetag TAG_NAME

• The TAG_NAME must exist in Linkline.
• Two-step confirmation:
  • First run of deletetag TAG_NAME: shows a confirmation message only (no deletion yet).
  • Second matching deletetag TAG_NAME: removes that tag globally from all clients.
• Any other command (including invalid command input) after the first deletetag will cancel the pending tag deletion.
• This operation cannot be undone.

Examples:

• deletetag plumbing
  • Shows confirmation message for deleting tag plumbing (no deletion yet).
  • Typing deletetag plumbing again confirms and removes it from all clients.
• deletetag plumbing followed by list
  • The pending tag deletion is cancelled. The list command executes normally.

Clearing all entries : clear

Clears all entries in Linkline.

Format: clear

• This command does not accept any arguments.
• Entering clear with additional parameters (e.g., clear 123) will return an error message.
• Two-step confirmation:
  • First run of clear: shows a confirmation message only (no clearing yet).
  • Second clear: clears all entries in Linkline.
• Any other command (including invalid command input) after the first clear will cancel the pending action.

Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

• This command does not accept any arguments.
• Entering exit with additional parameters (e.g., exit 123) will return an error message.

Saving the data

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

Editing the data file

LinkLine data are saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/linkline.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

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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 LinkLine home folder.

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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.

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Command summary