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                         ACADEMIC PLANNER v1.0
                   AI-Powered Academic Workload Management
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Thank you for downloading Academic Planner! This application helps students
manage assignments, schedule study time, and track their academic workload
with optional AI-powered features.


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                              QUICK START
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1. FIRST TIME SETUP
   
   a) Run AcademicPlanner.exe
   b) Go to the "SETUP" tab
   c) Add your courses (e.g., "Math 101", "English Literature")
   d) Set your weekly study availability for each day
   e) Click "SAVE PROFILE"

2. ADD YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT

   a) Go to the "+ ADD" tab
   b) Select a course
   c) Enter assignment name and description
   d) Set the due date
   e) Click "SUBMIT & ESTIMATE"
   f) The app will estimate hours and create a study plan!

3. VIEW YOUR SCHEDULE

   a) Go to "CALENDAR" tab to see your daily study plan
   b) Go to "ASSIGNMENTS" tab to see all assignments
   c) Double-click any assignment to see detailed progress

4. LOG YOUR WORK

   a) Go to "DAILY LOG" tab
   b) Select the assignment you worked on
   c) Describe what you completed
   d) Enter hours spent
   e) Click "SAVE SESSION"


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                            MAIN FEATURES
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✓ COURSE MANAGEMENT
  - Add/remove courses
  - Color-coded organization

✓ ASSIGNMENT TRACKING
  - Store assignment details and due dates
  - AI-powered time estimation
  - Automatic deadline tracking

✓ SMART SCHEDULING
  - Distributes work across available study time
  - Respects your weekly availability
  - Avoids overloading specific days

✓ CALENDAR VIEW
  - Visual overview of your study schedule
  - See what to work on each day
  - Color-coded by course

✓ DAILY WORK LOGGING
  - Track actual time spent vs. estimated
  - Record what you accomplished
  - Builds personalized study patterns

✓ AI-POWERED FEATURES (Optional - requires API key)
  - Automatic daily task breakdown
  - Intelligent progress tracking
  - Adaptive scheduling based on your work patterns


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                    ENABLING AI FEATURES (OPTIONAL)
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The Academic Planner includes powerful AI features that can:
  • Generate specific daily task breakdowns for each assignment
  • Automatically update remaining work based on your daily logs
  • Provide personalized study recommendations

These features are OPTIONAL and require an Anthropic API key.

TO ENABLE AI FEATURES:

1. Get an API Key
   
   a) Visit: https://console.anthropic.com/
   b) Sign up for an account (free tier available)
   c) Go to "API Keys" section
   d) Create a new API key and copy it

2. Add Your API Key to the App

   a) In the same folder as AcademicPlanner.exe, create a new file
   b) Name the file: .env
   c) Open it with Notepad
   d) Add this line (replace with your actual key):
      
      ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-xxxxxxxxxxxxx

   e) Save and close the file
   f) Restart AcademicPlanner.exe

3. Verify It's Working

   When you add a new assignment, you should see:
   "AI Estimation Active" in the top-right corner

   The app will now:
   ✓ Generate detailed daily task breakdowns automatically
   ✓ Update progress intelligently when you log work
   ✓ Provide smarter time estimates


NOTE: The app works perfectly fine WITHOUT an API key! You'll still get:
- Manual time estimates
- Study scheduling
- Work logging
- Calendar view
- All core features


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                          HOW TO USE EACH TAB
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SETUP TAB
─────────────
Purpose: Configure your courses and weekly study availability

Steps:
1. Add courses using the "+" button
   - Enter course name (e.g., "Biology 101")
   - Click "ADD COURSE"

2. Set weekly availability
   - Check/uncheck days you can study
   - Set hours available per day
   - Click "SAVE PROFILE"

Tips:
• Be realistic about your availability
• Account for classes, work, and commitments
• You can update this anytime


 ADD ASSIGNMENT TAB
─────────────────────
Purpose: Create new assignments

Steps:
1. Select the course from dropdown
2. Enter assignment name (e.g., "Chapter 5 Essay")
3. (Optional) Add description with specific requirements
4. Set the due date
5. (Optional) Manually enter estimated hours, or click "SUBMIT & ESTIMATE"

What Happens:
• App estimates time needed (or uses your manual estimate)
• Automatically schedules work sessions
• Creates daily task breakdown (if AI is enabled)
• Updates your calendar

With AI Enabled:
• Generates specific tasks for each study session
• Provides detailed work plan from now until due date
• Adapts plan based on your availability


 CALENDAR TAB
───────────────
Purpose: View your study schedule

Features:
• Visual calendar showing scheduled work
• Color-coded by course
• Click any day to see details
• Shows hours planned per day

Tips:
• Check this daily to stay on track
• Green = light workload, Red = heavy workload
• Schedule updates automatically when you add/complete work


📚 ASSIGNMENTS TAB
──────────────────
Purpose: View all assignments and their status

Features:
• List of all assignments
• Due dates and time remaining
• Estimated hours left
• Delete assignments
• Refresh to see updates

DOUBLE-CLICK any assignment to see:
 ✓ Completed work summary (if AI enabled)
 → Remaining work details (if AI enabled)
📅 Daily work plan breakdown (if AI enabled)
🔄 Regenerate plan button

Tips:
• Assignments turn RED when due in 3 days or less
• YELLOW = due within a week
• Delete old assignments to keep list clean


📖 DAILY LOG TAB
────────────────
Purpose: Record your actual study sessions

Steps:
1. Select the date (defaults to today)
2. You'll see scheduled tasks for that day
3. For each task you worked on:
   - Describe what you accomplished
   - Enter actual hours spent
   - Click "SAVE SESSION"

What Happens:
• Updates remaining hours on assignment
• Builds your personal work history
• Improves future time estimates
• Updates calendar automatically

With AI Enabled:
• Analyzes your log entry
• Updates "Completed Work" summary
• Adjusts "Remaining Work" intelligently
• Adapts future task breakdowns


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                          DATA & PRIVACY
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WHERE IS MY DATA STORED?

All your data is stored locally on your computer in the "data" folder:

  data/
  ├── assignments.csv    (your assignments)
  ├── courses.csv        (your courses)
  ├── profile.csv        (weekly availability)
  ├── schedule.csv       (planned work sessions)
  ├── daily_log.csv      (work history)
  └── work_history.csv   (performance patterns)

PRIVACY:
• Nothing is stored in the cloud
• Your data never leaves your computer
• No account required
• No tracking or analytics

BACKUP:
• Copy the entire "data" folder to backup your information
• Restore by copying the folder back


IF USING AI FEATURES:
• Your assignment descriptions are sent to Anthropic's API for processing
• Only sent when generating task breakdowns or updating progress
• Anthropic's privacy policy applies: https://www.anthropic.com/privacy
• You can opt out anytime by removing the .env file


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                          TROUBLESHOOTING
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PROBLEM: "AI Estimation Off" shows in top-right corner
SOLUTION: 
  • You haven't set up an API key (this is okay! App still works)
  • To enable AI: Create .env file with your Anthropic API key
  • See "ENABLING AI FEATURES" section above


PROBLEM: App won't start / crashes immediately
SOLUTION:
  • Make sure you extracted ALL files from the zip
  • Run AcademicPlanner.exe from the extracted folder
  • Check you have required Visual C++ redistributables
  • Try running as Administrator


PROBLEM: "No courses found" error when adding assignment
SOLUTION:
  • Go to SETUP tab first
  • Add at least one course
  • Then return to ADD tab


PROBLEM: Schedule looks empty
SOLUTION:
  • Make sure you've added assignments
  • Check that weekly availability is set in SETUP
  • Try refreshing the calendar
  • Verify due dates are in the future


PROBLEM: Data disappeared after closing app
SOLUTION:
  • Check the "data" folder exists next to AcademicPlanner.exe
  • Make sure app has write permissions to that folder
  • Don't run the app from a temporary location (extract the zip first)


PROBLEM: AI features not working even with API key
SOLUTION:
  • Verify .env file is in the same folder as AcademicPlanner.exe
  • Check file is named exactly ".env" (not ".env.txt")
  • Verify API key format: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
  • Check your API key is valid at console.anthropic.com
  • Restart the application


PROBLEM: Antivirus blocking the app
SOLUTION:
  • This is normal for PyInstaller-built apps
  • Add exception in your antivirus for AcademicPlanner.exe
  • The app is safe - it's just flagged due to packaging method


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                          TIPS FOR SUCCESS
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 BE REALISTIC
   • Set achievable daily study hours
   • Don't overestimate your availability
   • Account for breaks and other commitments

LOG REGULARLY
   • Record your work sessions daily
   • Builds accurate patterns
   • Improves future estimates
   • Helps you stay accountable

REVIEW WEEKLY
   • Check calendar every Sunday/Monday
   • Adjust availability if schedule changes
   • Delete completed assignments
   • Plan for upcoming busy periods

START EARLY
   • Add assignments as soon as you get them
   • App spreads work across available time
   • Avoid last-minute cramming
   • Reduces stress

USE DESCRIPTIONS
   • Add detailed assignment descriptions
   • Helps AI generate better task breakdowns
   • Reminds you of requirements
   • Makes logging easier

BE SPECIFIC IN LOGS
   • "Read pages 45-67, took notes on key concepts"
   • Better than just "studied"
   • Helps AI understand your progress
   • Useful for review later


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                        KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
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General:
  Ctrl+R     -  Refresh current view
  Ctrl+Tab   -  Switch to next tab
  ESC        -  Close popup windows

Calendar:
  ← / →      -  Previous/Next week
  T          -  Jump to Today

Daily Log:
  ← / →      -  Previous/Next day
  T          -  Jump to Today


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                          SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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Operating System:
  • Windows 7 or later (64-bit)
  • Windows 10/11 recommended

Hardware:
  • Minimum: 2 GB RAM
  • Recommended: 4 GB RAM
  • 200 MB free disk space

Network:
  • Optional: Internet connection for AI features
  • Works offline without AI features


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                          VERSION INFORMATION
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Version: 1.0
Release Date: 2025
Built with: Python, Tkinter
Packaged with: PyInstaller

AI powered by: Anthropic Claude
API Documentation: https://docs.anthropic.com/


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                          SUPPORT & FEEDBACK
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Questions? Issues? Suggestions?

This is a student-built project. For support:

• Check the TROUBLESHOOTING section above
• Review the HOW TO USE EACH TAB section
• Try the tips in TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Known Limitations:
• No mobile version (desktop only)
• No cloud sync between devices
• No collaboration features
• Data stored locally only


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                             LICENSE
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This software is provided for educational purposes.
All data is stored locally on your device.
No warranty is provided - use at your own risk.

If using AI features:
• Anthropic API usage subject to their terms of service
• You are responsible for your API key and usage costs
• Free tier available, check console.anthropic.com for pricing


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                         ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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Built with:
• Python - Programming language
• Tkinter - GUI framework  
• Anthropic Claude - AI capabilities
• PyInstaller - Executable packaging
• tkcalendar - Calendar widget


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Thank you for using Academic Planner!

We hope this tool helps you stay organized and succeed in your studies.

Good luck with your academic journey! 

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