REconnect User Guide

REconnect is a desktop application for Real Estate agents to manage their work via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Quick start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed.
   

   Mac users: Ensure you have the precise JDK version prescribed here.
   If you need help installing Java, you may find this guide by Oracle useful. You can navigate the sidebar of the linked page to find platform-specific instructions.

2. Download the latest REconnect.jar file from here.

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

4. Open a command terminal:

   • Windows: Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
   • Mac: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Enter.
   • Linux: Press Ctrl + Alt + T or search for "Terminal" in your Activities or Applications menu.

5. cd (change directory) into the folder you put the jar file in.

   Type cd␣ (with a space), and drag the folder into the terminal.

6. Enter the command java -jar REconnect.jar to start the application. A GUI similar to the one below should appear in a few seconds.
   Note: The app contains some sample data, and it may not correspond to the data shown in the image below.
   

   

7. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it.
   Some example commands you can try:

   • help : Opens the help window.

   • add_client name/John Doe phone/98765432 email/johnd@example.com addr/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 : Adds a client named John Doe to the client list panel.

   • delete_property 3 : Deletes the 3rd property shown in the current property list.

   • exit : Exits the application.

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

Features

UX Enhancement 1: Autocompletion for all commands

REconnect provides autocompletion for all commands. This allows users to quickly find the command they want to use without having to remember the exact syntax. It works by typing the first few letters of the command, choosing the command from the dropdown list, and pressing Enter to choose it. This works for command parameters as well. This is especially useful for long commands with many parameters, as it saves time and reduces the chance of errors.

UX Enhancement 2: Command history

REconnect keeps track of all the commands entered by the user during a session. To view this history, the cursor should be in the 0th position of the command box. The user can then use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the history of commands. At most 4 commands are shown at a time in the dropdown list to prevent cluttering the command box. This allows users to quickly re-enter previous commands without having to type them out again.

Note: The most recent command is shown at the top of the list, and the oldest command is shown at the bottom.
Commands that caused an error are also included in the history and appear in red.
The command history is cleared when the application is closed.

Viewing help : help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Client Commands

Adding a client: add_client

Creates a new client in REconnect.

Format: add_client name/NAME phone/PHONE_NUMBER [email/EMAIL] [addr/ADDRESS]

• 💡 The client's email and address are optional fields.
• The client's name must not be empty and must not exceed 50 characters.
• The client's name must be an alphanumeric string and can contain spaces, and the special characters /, \ and '. The name should not start with a special character.
• The client's phone number must start with either 6, 8 or 9, and must be exactly 8 digits long.
• Clients cannot have the same name or phone number, but they can share the same email address.
• Client names with different casings are allowed (i.e. "Bernice Yu" and "bernice yu" are distinct names).
• Duplicate names are not allowed.
• Multiple spaces in between names are accepted, similar to how you can do that in the contact list of your phone e.g. "John Doe".

Examples:

• add_client name/John Doe phone/98765432 email/johnd@example.com addr/John street, block 123, #01-01
• add_client name/John Doe phone/98765432

Editing a client : edit_client

Edits an existing client in REconnect at the specified index.

Format: edit_client INDEX [name/NAME] [phone/PHONE] [email/EMAIL] [addr/ADDRESS]

• 💡 At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list, and should be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• The restrictions in the add_client command also apply here.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.
• Editing a client's name will result in an update to his/her name if it exists in deals, listings, or events.

Examples:

• edit_client 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_client 2 name/Betsy Crower edits the name of the 2nd client to be Betsy Crower.

Finding clients: find_client

Displays all clients that match the given criteria.

Format: find_client [name_keywords/KEYWORDS] [addr/ADDRESS] [email/EMAIL] [phone/PHONE]

• 💡 Not all prefixes need to be used. You can use any combination of the above prefixes.
• All prefixes except for the first one must have a connective keyword prefix AND_ or OR_ (case-sensitive). The prefixes used must be of the same type: either all AND_, or all OR_.
• The order of the name keywords does not matter. e.g. Hans Bo will match Bo Hans.
• The following prefixes can be used:
  • name_keywords/KEYWORDS to search names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • addr/ADDRESS to search by address (case-insensitive)
  • email/EMAIL to search by email (case-sensitive)
  • phone/PHONE to search by phone number
• For the name keywords, only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans.
• The rest of the keywords will be matched as substrings.

Examples:

• find_client name_keywords/John returns John and John Doe.
• find_client name_keywords/Alice David returns Alice Yeoh, David Li.
• find_client name_keywords/John AND_addr/123 Main St AND_email/example.com returns clients with John being part of the name and address containing 123 Main St (case-insensitive) and email containing example.com.

Listing all clients : list_clients

Displays all clients in REconnect.

Format: list_clients

• Any extra arguments given will throw an error.

Deleting a client : delete_client

Deletes the specified client from REconnect.

Format: delete_client INDEX

• Deletes the client at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed client list.
• The index should be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• Extra parameters results in an error.
• Note: The client must not be involved in any existing deals, listings, or events. Else, the client cannot be deleted.

Examples:

• list_clients followed by delete_client 2 deletes the 2nd client in REconnect.
• find_client name_keywords/John followed by delete_client 1 deletes the 1st client in the results of the find_client command.

Property Commands

Adding a property : add_property

Creates a new property in REconnect.

Format: add_property prop/PROPERTY_NAME owner/OWNER_ID addr/ADDRESS price/PRICE [size/SIZE] [desc/DESCRIPTION]

• 💡 Size and description are optional fields.
• The property name must not be empty and must not exceed 50 characters.
• The property name must be an alphanumeric string and can contain spaces, and the special characters & and @. The property name should not start with a special character.
• Property names with different casings are accepted (i.e. "Maple Villa" and "maple villa" are distinct names).
• Multiple spaces in between names are accepted (i.e. "Maple Villa" and "Maple Villa" are distinct property names that are valid).
• The owner ID refer to the index numbers shown in the client list, and should be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• PRICE must be a positive integer and is in thousands of S$ and must have 3 to 6 digits.
• SIZE is in square feet and should range from 100 to 99999.
• Description should be between 1 and 50 characters (if provided).

Examples:

• add_property prop/Sunset Villa owner/1 addr/123 Sunset Way price/150 size/1200 desc/Beautiful sunset view
• add_property prop/Ocean Heights owner/2 addr/456 Marina Boulevard price/2800 size/1500

Editing a property : edit_property

Edits an existing property in REconnect at the specified index.

Format: edit_property INDEX [prop/PROPERTY_NAME] [owner/OWNER_ID] [addr/ADDRESS] [price/PRICE] [size/SIZE] [desc/DESCRIPTION]

• 💡 At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the property list, and should be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• The restrictions in the add_property command also apply here.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.

Examples:

• edit_property 1 price/1600 desc/Newly renovated edits the price and description of the 1st property in the list.
• edit_property 2 prop/Sunrise Villa addr/789 Morning Street edits the name and address of the 2nd property in the list.

Finding properties : find_property

Displays all properties that match the given criteria.

Format: find_property [name_keywords/KEYWORDS] [addr/ADDRESS] [price_</PRICE_BELOW] [price_>/PRICE_ABOVE] [size_</SIZE_BELOW] [size_>/SIZE_ABOVE] [owner/OWNER]

• 💡 Not all prefixes need to be used. You can use any combination of the above prefixes.
• All prefixes except for the first one must have a connective keyword prefix AND_ or OR_ (case-sensitive). The prefixes used must be of the same type: either all AND_, or all OR_.
• The order of the name keywords does not matter. e.g. Maple Villa will match Villa Maple.
• The following prefixes can be used:
  • name_keywords/KEYWORDS to search property names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • addr/ADDRESS to search by address (case-insensitive)
  • price_</PRICE_BELOW to search by price below a certain value
  • price_>/PRICE_ABOVE to search by price above a certain value
  • size_</SIZE_BELOW to search by size below a certain value
  • size_>/SIZE_ABOVE to search by size above a certain value
  • owner/OWNER to search owner name by keywords (case-insensitive)
• For the name keywords, only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans.
• The address keyword will be matched as a substring.
• The PRICE and SIZE keywords used must follow the restrictions defined in add_property command.

Examples:

• find_property owner/John Doe AND_price_>/500
• find_property addr/123 Main St OR_price_>/1000 OR_size_>/500

Listing all properties : list_properties

Displays all properties in REconnect.

Format: list_properties

• Any extra arguments given will throw an error.

Deleting a property : delete_property

Deletes the specified property from REconnect.

Format: delete_property INDEX

• Deletes the property at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed property list.
• The index should be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• Extra parameters results in an error.

Examples:

• list_property followed by delete_property 2 deletes the 2nd property in REconnect.
• find_property name_keywords/Villa followed by delete_property 1 deletes the 1st property in the results of the find_property command.

Deal Commands

Adding a deal : add_deal

Creates a new property deal in REconnect.

Format: add_deal pid/PROPERTY_ID buyer/BUYER_ID price/PRICE [status/STATUS]

• Creates a deal with the specified property, buyer and price details.
• 💡 Status is optional and indicates the deal progress (open, pending, closed) (case-insensitive), and defaults to pending if not specified.
• The property ID and buyer ID refer to the index numbers shown in the displayed lists.
• The IDs must be positive integers that do not exceed the property and client list sizes respectively.
• The property owner will automatically be set as the seller.
• The property must not be involved in another existing deal.
• The price must be a positive integer between 3 and 6 digits (in thousands).

Examples:

• add_deal pid/1 buyer/1 price/100 status/CLOSED creates a CLOSED deal for property #1 with buyer #1 at $100,000.
• add_deal pid/3 buyer/2 price/500 creates a deal for property #3 with buyer #2 at $500,000 with default status of PENDING.

Updating a deal : update_deal

Updates an existing deal in REconnect at the specified index.

Format: update_deal INDEX [prop/PROPERTY_ID] [buyer/BUYER_ID] [price/PRICE] [status/STATUS]

• 💡 At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed deal list, and should be a positive integer that does not exceed the deal list size.
• The specified property ID and buyer ID must refer to existing entities in REconnect.
• Price is in thousands and must have 3 to 6 digits.
• Status can be updated to indicate deal progress (OPEN, PENDING, CLOSED) (case-insensitive).
• Seller cannot be manually updated as it is automatically set based on the property owner.

Examples:

• update_deal 3 status/CLOSED changes the status of deal #3 to CLOSED.
• update_deal 1 price/500 buyer/2 updates deal #1 with a new price of $500,000 and changes the buyer to client #2.

Finding deals : find_deal

Displays all deals that match the given criteria.

Format: find_deal [prop/PROPERTY_NAME_KEYWORDS] [buyer/BUYER_NAME_KEYWORDS] [seller/SELLER_NAME_KEYWORDS] [status/STATUS] [price_</PRICE_BELOW] [price_>/PRICE_ABOVE]

• 💡 Not all prefixes need to be used. You can use any combination of the above prefixes.
• All prefixes except for the first one must have a connective keyword prefix AND_ or OR_ (case-sensitive). The prefixes used must be of the same type: either all AND_, or all OR_.
• The order of the name keywords does not matter. e.g. Maple Villa will match Villa Maple.
• The following prefixes can be used:
  • prop/PROPERTY_NAME_KEYWORDS to search property names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • buyer/BUYER_NAME_KEYWORDS to search buyer names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • seller/SELLER_NAME_KEYWORDS to search seller names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • status/STATUS to search by deal status (case-insensitive)
  • price_</PRICE_BELOW to search by price below a certain value
  • price_>/PRICE_ABOVE to search by price above a certain value
• For the name keywords, only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans.
• The PRICE keyword used must follow the constraints defined in add_deal command.

Examples:

• find_deal prop/Villa finds all deals involving properties with "Villa" in their names.
• find_deal status/CLOSED finds all closed deals.
• find_deal buyer/John AND_seller/Mary finds all deals with buyers containing "John" in their name AND sellers containing "Mary" in their name.
• find_deal prop/Ocean OR_status/PENDING finds all deals with properties containing "Ocean" in their name OR with PENDING status.

Listing all deals : list_deals

Displays all deals in REconnect.

Format: list_deals

• Any extra arguments given will throw an error.

Event Commands

Adding an event : add_event

Creates a new event in REconnect.

Format: add_event at/EVENT_DATE_TIME etype/EVENT_TYPE cid/CLIENT_ID pid/PROPERTY_ID note/NOTE

• Creates an event with the specified start date and time, event type, property, client, and note.
• Event start time must be in the format "DD-MM-YYYY HHmm" and be no earlier than 01-01-2025 0000.
• Event type must be one of the following: conference, meeting, workshop or others (case-insensitive).
• The client ID and property ID refer to the index number shown in the displayed lists.
• The IDs must be a positive integer that does not exceed the client list size.
• Event note can contain additional details about the event and has no character limit. If there is nothing to add to the note, it should be set to "N/A".

Examples:

• add_event at/30-04-2025 1700 etype/meeting cid/1 pid/1 note/Property viewing at 123 Main St
• add_event at/01-09-2026 1400 etype/others cid/3 pid/2 note/Thank client for successful deal

Editing an event : edit_event

Edits an existing event in REconnect at the specified index.

Format: edit_event INDEX [at/EVENT_DATE_TIME] [etype/EVENT_TYPE] [cid/CLIENT_ID] [pid/PROPERTY_ID] [note/NOTE]

• 💡 At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed event list, and should be a positive integer that does not exceed the event list size.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.
• The restrictions in the add_event command also apply here.

Examples:

• edit_event 1 at/01-05-2025 1200 note/Changed to 12pm edits the start time and note of the 1st event in the list.
• edit_event 2 etype/meeting cid/3 pid/2 edits the event type, client ID and property ID of the 2nd event in the list.

Finding events : find_event

Displays all events that match the given criteria.

Format: find_event [before/TIMESTAMP] [after/TIMESTAMP] [etype/EVENT_TYPE] [with/CLIENT_NAME_KEYWORDS] [about/PROPERTY_NAME_KEYWORDS]

• 💡 Not all prefixes need to be used. You can use any combination of the above prefixes.

• All prefixes except for the first one must have a connective keyword prefix AND_ or OR_ (case-sensitive). The prefixes used must be of the same type: either all AND_, or all OR_.

• The order of the name keywords does not matter. e.g. Maple Villa will match Villa Maple.

• The following prefixes can be used:

  • before/TIMESTAMP to search for events before a certain date and time
  • after/TIMESTAMP to search for events after a certain date and time
  • etype/EVENT_TYPE to search by event type (case-insensitive)
  • with/CLIENT_NAME_KEYWORDS to search client names by keywords (case-insensitive)
  • about/PROPERTY_NAME_KEYWORDS to search property names by keywords (case-insensitive)

• For the name keywords, only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans.

• The TIMESTAMP keyword(s) used must follow the constraints defined in add_event command.

Examples:

• find_event with/Alice Yeo AND_etype/meeting finds all meeting events with clients containing "Alice" or "Yeo" in their name.
• find_event before/05-04-2025 1200 AND_after/01-03-2025 1000 finds all events between 01-03-2025 1000 and 05-04-2025 1200.

Listing all events : list_events

Displays all events in REconnect.

Format: list_events

• Any extra arguments given will throw an error.

Deleting an event : delete_event

Deletes an event from REconnect.

Format: delete_event INDEX

• Deletes the event with the corresponding INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed event list.
• The index should be a positive integer that does not exceed the event list size.
• Extra parameters results in an error.

Examples:

• list_event followed by delete_event 2 deletes the 2nd event in REconnect.
• find_event etype/meeting followed by delete_event 1 deletes the 1st event in the filtered list.

Miscellaneous Commands

Listing all clients, listings, deals and events : list_all

Displays all data in REconnect.

Format: list_all

• Displays all clients, properties, deals and events in REconnect.
• Any extra arguments given will throw an error.

Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

Saving the data

REconnect 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

REconnect data are saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/addressbook.json. Users who know how JSON files work are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty JSON file it creates with the JSON file that contains the data of your previous AddressBook home folder.

Q: What happens to the existing deals if I update a property's owner?
A: When you update a property's owner, any existing deals involving that property will automatically have their seller updated to reflect the new owner.

Q: Can I bulk update multiple deals at once?
A: No, deals must be updated individually using the update_deal command with the specific index of each deal.

Q: How are deals sorted in the deals list?
A: Deals are displayed in the order they were created, with the oldest deals appearing first.

Q: Do closed deals still appear in the main list?
A: Yes, deals of all statuses (OPEN, PENDING, CLOSED) remain visible in the main list. Use the find_deal command to filter by status if needed.

Q: If I update a client's name, will it automatically update in all related deals?
A: Yes, updating a client's name will automatically update their name in all deals where they appear as a buyer or seller.

Q: Can I convert the price to a different currency?
A: No, REconnect currently only supports prices in Singapore dollars (S$). All prices are displayed and stored in thousands of S$.

Q: What's the difference between using AND_ and OR_ in deal searches?
A: Using AND_ means all conditions must be met (e.g., specific buyer AND specific status), while OR_ means any condition can be met (e.g., specific buyer OR specific status).

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.
3. Emojis not being shown on Linux devices: Emojis may not be displayed correctly on Linux devices. This is due to the default font used in JavaFX not supporting emojis.
4. Overlapping property names or addresses: Properties with different names but same addresses can be added, leading to potential overlaps. This will be fixed in a later release of the application.

Command summary

Client Commands

Property Commands

Deal Commands

Event Commands

Miscellaneous Commands