ShiftLens Help Manual

This manual documents ShiftLens behavior for iPhone and iPad, including feature differences, calculations, limits, and troubleshooting.

1. App Overview

ShiftLens is a shift calendar app with three primary work areas:

• Calendar
• Stats
• Insights

It supports:

• Multiple calendars/jobs
• Shift templates and rotations
• Notes, tags, availability status
• Optional map/location data
• Optional iCloud sync
• In-app purchases for ShiftLens Pro

2. Navigation and Layout

iPhone

• Main navigation is a tab bar:
  • Calendar
  • Stats
  • Insights
• Top-right controls in main views:
  • Theme menu (...)
  • Settings (gear icon)
• Day details open as a bottom sheet/modal from Calendar.

iPad

• Uses NavigationSplitView with:
  • Sidebar (Calendar, Stats, Insights, Settings)
  • Detail content pane
• In Calendar landscape wide mode, the screen splits approximately:
  • 55% calendar pane (left)
  • 45% day details pane (right)
• In narrower iPad width, day details can appear in sheet-style flow.

3. Appearance and Theme

Theme is controlled by app settings and can be changed quickly:

• iPhone: ... menu in top bar
• iPad: Theme picker in sidebar

Theme choices:

• Light
• Dark

The app applies the selected theme globally using app-level color scheme preference.

4. Calendar Screen

4.1 Monthly Calendar

The month view includes:

• Month title with previous/next month controls
• Weekday headers
• Day grid
• Shift indicators per day
• Today shortcut
• Add Shift button

Each day can show:

• Shift indicators (visual dots/markers)
• Availability markers
• Other status hints (depending on your data)

4.2 Day Selection Behavior

• Tap a day to view/edit details.
• iPhone: opens Day Details sheet.
• iPad (wide): updates right-hand Day Details pane.

5. Day Details

Day Details is the operational center for one date.

Sections can include:

• Conflicts
• Calendar selector
• Shifts list
• Shift Actions
• Availability
• Custom Fields (Pro)
• Multi-day Plans/Blocks (Pro)
• Location (Pro)
• Tags
• Notes

5.1 Calendar Selector

Choose which calendar/job this day entry belongs to.

5.2 Shifts List

Shows all shifts assigned to the selected day.

You can:

• Add shift
• Delete shift

5.3 Shift Actions

Available actions include:

• Add Shift
• Duplicate Previous
• Bulk Apply
• Apply Template
• Apply Rotation
• Apply Pattern
• Clear All

Bulk Apply durations

Supported durations:

• 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, 28, 30, 45, 60 days

Free tier applies shorter limits; Pro unlocks full range.

5.4 Availability

Availability status options:

• Available
• Unavailable
• Sick Leave
• Time Off

5.5 Custom Fields (Pro)

Per-calendar custom fields can be configured and populated per date.

5.6 Multi-day Plans (Pro)

Create a work block spanning multiple days.

Supported durations:

• 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 21, 28, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 365 days

5.7 Location (Pro)

Add location text and optional map preview for a day.

5.8 Notes and Tags

• Add free-text notes to the day
• Add tags to classify shifts/day context

5.9 Clear All

Removes all day-specific content for selected date, including:

• Shifts
• Availability
• Active work blocks
• Tags
• Location data

6. Settings

Settings includes multiple operational sections.

6.1 Pro Section

Shows entitlement state:

• Free
• ShiftLens Pro

Actions:

• Upgrade
• Manage subscription (where applicable)
• Restore purchases

6.2 Profile

Set display name used in profile-related places.

6.3 Workflow Shortcuts

Navigation to managers:

• Manage Shifts
• Manage Templates
• Manage Rotations

6.4 Visible Calendars

Per-calendar controls:

• Rename calendar
• Toggle visibility

Free tier limits how many calendars can be actively visible/managed.

6.5 Appearance

Options include:

• Theme
• Calendar appearance mode
• Map preview toggle
• Chart animation toggle

6.6 Shift Notifications (Pro)

Options:

• Enable/disable notifications
• Lead time preset

Lead time presets include short and long windows up to 30 days.

6.7 Conflict Rules (Pro)

Configurable constraints:

• Conflict rules on/off
• Max shifts per day
• Minimum rest hours
• Maximum weekly hours

6.8 Custom Fields and Tags

• Configure custom fields per calendar
• Manage reusable tags

Some tag editing capabilities are Pro-gated.

6.9 Sync (Pro)

• iCloud sync can be enabled/disabled
• Local-only workflow is supported if sync is off

7. Manage Shifts

Create and edit shift types with:

• Name
• Color
• Start and end hour
• Break duration
• Optional SF Symbol icon

You can also set a default shift type for quick actions.

Free tier has a smaller shift-type limit; Pro raises this limit.

8. Manage Templates

Template fields typically include:

• Template name
• Shift type
• Optional location
• Optional tags

Use templates from Day Details to apply consistent entries quickly.

9. Manage Rotations

Build repeating sequences of shift types.

Workflow:

• Create rotation
• Add shift types to sequence in order
• Apply from Day Details

Free tier has a smaller rotation limit; Pro unlocks more.

10. Stats

Stats view provides workload analytics by period.

Content includes:

• Summary cards (total, night, weekend, overtime)
• Period bars
• Workload ring
• Metric detail sheet

Date-range options are broader in Pro.

Export

• Free: upgrade prompt
• Pro:
  • Share text report
  • Share ICS schedule
  • Generate/share PDF report

11. Insights

Insights are generated from your shift data and shown as cards.

11.1 Insight Card Actions

Each card supports:

• Help (?) button
• Dismiss

Help behavior

• iPad: popover anchored to card control
• iPhone: medium sheet presentation for readability

Dismiss behavior

• Dismiss hides the card from current visible set.
• Dismissed card state is local and tied to card identity/content.

11.2 How Insights Re-generate

Insights are re-generated automatically when underlying data changes.

A dismissed card can reappear when:

• Its underlying message changes due to new data
• You use Restore Insights when all visible cards are dismissed

Also:

• If all current cards are dismissed, a Restore Insights action is shown.

11.3 Free vs Pro Insights

Free tier shows a subset (up to 3 cards).

Current free set:

• Next 7 Days
• Monthly Summary
• Suggestions

Pro unlocks additional insights.

11.4 Insight Definitions and Calculation Basis

Next 7 Days

What it shows:

• Planned hours in next 7 days
• Number of planned shifts
• Longest run of consecutive work days in that 7-day window

How data is produced:

• Scans upcoming 7 calendar days
• Counts visible planned shifts
• Sums estimated shift hours
• Computes longest consecutive run of days containing at least one shift

Monthly Summary

What it shows:

• Current month total hours
• Night hours
• Weekend hours
• Overtime hours

How data is produced:

• Scans shifts in the current calendar month
• Classifies each shift by time/day rules
• Aggregates category totals

Suggestions

What it shows:

• Simple practical recommendation based on near-term schedule

How data is produced:

• Uses rule-based checks around upcoming/off days and load patterns
• Generates plain-language advice text

Patterns (Pro)

What it shows:

• Repetition hints in current month scheduling

How data is produced:

• Compares day-to-day shift signatures
• Detects repeated sequences or frequent identical patterns

Rest & Fatigue (Pro)

What it shows:

• Warning-style hints for long streaks or short rest windows

How data is produced:

• Evaluates consecutive work-day runs
• Evaluates gap between shift end/start times
• Applies configured thresholds

Conflicts (Pro)

What it shows:

• Potential schedule conflicts requiring review

How data is produced:

• Applies conflict rules (max/day, min rest, weekly limits)
• Summarizes any breaches

Longest Upcoming Streak (Pro)

What it shows:

• Maximum consecutive upcoming work-day run

How data is produced:

• Scans next 14 days
• Counts consecutive days with at least one planned shift
• Returns maximum streak length

Overtime Pace (Pro)

What it shows:

• Whether overtime is trending up/down this month
• Projected month-end overtime estimate

How data is produced:

• Reads overtime accumulated so far in current month
• Computes elapsed-day pace
• Projects end-of-month overtime using current pace

Weekend Load Trend (Pro)

What it shows:

• Weekend workload trend compared to previous month

How data is produced:

• Computes current month weekend hours
• Computes previous month weekend hours
• Reports difference and trend direction

12. Monetization and Plans

ShiftLens currently supports:

• Monthly subscription
• Yearly subscription
• Lifetime purchase

Use Restore Purchases when access is missing after reinstall/device change.

13. Known Platform Behaviors

• iPad layout adapts to available width; pane behavior changes with size class and width.
• Popovers and sheets differ between iPhone and iPad by system UI rules.
• Some iPad full-screen interactions are intentionally sidebar-first for native behavior.

14. Troubleshooting

14.1 Insights card missing

• Check if it was dismissed
• Use Restore Insights
• Ensure enough schedule data exists for that insight type
• Check Pro entitlement for Pro-only cards

14.2 Theme not changing

• Confirm selection in theme control
• Ensure no conflicting system overrides in current test mode

14.3 Missing Pro features after purchase

• Use Restore Purchases
• Reopen app
• Verify product environment (local StoreKit config vs App Store/TestFlight)

14.4 iPad detail pane too narrow/wide

• Behavior depends on window width and split layout mode
• In wider landscape, app uses explicit calendar/detail split

15. Feature Availability Summary

Free:

• 2 Shift types
• 1 Template
• 1 Rotation
• Bulk apply up to 7 days
• 3 Insights Cards
• Stats: This Week, This Month

Pro:

• Unlimited Shift types
• Unlimited Templates
• Unlimited Rotations
• Bulk apply up to 90 days
• Full Insights Suite
• Stats: This Week, This Month, This Year
• Exports (Share, Text, ICS, PDF Reports)
• Shift reminders
• Conflict rules
• iCloud sync
• Custom fields and Multi-Day plans

If you want, this manual can be split into an in-app Help Center format next (searchable sections + quick links + FAQ cards).

16. New Features and Setup Notes

16.1 Lock Screen Next Shift Widget

ShiftLens includes an inline Lock Screen widget that shows your next shift countdown.

How to activate:

1. Make sure at least one future shift exists.
2. Open ShiftLens once after creating/updating shifts.
3. On iPhone Lock Screen, long-press the screen.
4. Tap Customize → Lock Screen → Add Widgets.
5. Select ShiftLens and choose the inline widget.
6. Tap Done.

If the widget shows No upcoming shift:

• Verify future shifts are scheduled.
• Open the app once to refresh shared widget data.
• Remove and re-add the widget if it remains stale.

16.2 Weekly Overtime Threshold

The Weekly overtime threshold in Settings controls when overtime starts being counted in Stats.

• Example: if threshold is 40h, hours above that weekly pace contribute to overtime.
• You can tune this to match your contract or policy.
• In current plan rules, this threshold is Pro-only.

16.3 Pro Access and Paywall

ShiftLens uses StoreKit products for Pro:

• Monthly
• Yearly
• Lifetime

After purchase/restore:

• Pro status is applied automatically.
• Locked features become available immediately.
• If something remains locked, use Restore Purchases and reopen the app.

16.4 Free Plan Lock Behavior

When you hit a Free limit:

• Create actions are disabled in relevant screens.
• A lock message explains the limit and points to upgrade.
• Existing data remains visible; only gated actions are blocked.

16.5 Export Availability

Exports are Pro-only:

• Text report
• ICS schedule
• PDF report

In Free, Stats shows an upgrade prompt in the Export section.