HKU Auto Course Planner

• What is it? A tool that allows students to choose the courses they want to take and select the subclasses they prefer, in order to automatically generate possible timetables.

• Why use it? So that you don't have to bang your head against the computer trying to figure out how to fit all your courses without clashes!

• Features

  • Load course data downloaded from HKU's portal, or use the built-in data (may not be up-to-date).
  • Quickly search for courses by course code.
  • Ability to select subclasses you want to take for each course.
  • Ability to see who teaches each subclass (if provided).
  • Add blockout times to prevent scheduling during specific time slots.
  • Automatically generate all possible combinations of timetables based on your selected courses, subclasses, and blockouts.
  • View plans with course distribution across both semesters.
  • Interactive weekly timetable view with semester filtering.

• How to use it? See the following guide: HERE

How to use?

1. Go to the tool's website on your desktop or tablet. Mobile devices are not supported.

2. Choose ONE of the following:

   • OPTION A: Download the latest course data from HKU's portal (RECOMMENDED)

     On HKU portal, click on the left side menu Timetables -> Class Timetable -> Download Class Timetable (for 20XX-XX) (updated on 20YYMMDD HH:MM).

     You should get a file in .xlsx format.

     In the tool, under "Upload your own XLSX file", choose the file your just downloaded. The tool will start reading the file and bring you to the next step when it's done.

   • OR OPTION B: Use the built-in course data

     Click on the green button "Use Default Timetable".

Warning

During course selection period, the University will update the course data frequently. The built-in data may be outdated. It is recommended that you download the latest data EACH TIME you use the tool.

3. On the left side, you can type in the course code to search for a course.

   Click on the course to expand it. You will see a list of available subclasses for that course along with the instructor names (if provided). Click on "All Subclasses" if you don't have a preference, or select the specific subclass(es) you want to enroll.

   Added courses will appear in the shopping cart on the right side. You can further adjust the subclass selections there, or remove the course by clicking the "Remove" button.

Tip

You can add blockout times by clicking the purple "Add Blockout" button at the bottom. This allows you to mark specific time slots (e.g., tutorials, day-offs, part-time work, etc.) when you don't want classes scheduled. Blockouts will appear in the shopping cart and can be removed if needed.

Tip

The system supports adding at most 12 courses in the same year. Each semester will get up to 6 courses. Full year courses (suffixed with "FY") are not supported at this time.

4. When you're done selecting courses and blockouts, click on the green "Solve" button in the bottom right corner.

   The system will calculate all possible combinations of timetables based on your selections. Plans that conflict with your blockout times will be automatically excluded. If it is not possible to fit your selected courses without clashes, a red error message will appear. You can try selecting more subclasses or removing some courses.

5. On the next screen, you will see a list of possible plans on the left side.

   Each plan shows the course distribution (e.g., "5+6 courses" means 5 courses in Semester 1 and 6 in Semester 2). Courses are organized by semester within each plan. Click on a plan to see its weekly timetable on the right side.

Tip

You can switch between semesters using the buttons at the top of the timetable to view each semester's schedule separately. Blockout times appear as purple blocks on the calendar.

6. Explore the plans and choose the one that fits all your needs, or click on "← Back to Search" to modify your course selections and try again.