User Guide

ClientSquare is a desktop app built for freelance property agents. It helps you track buyers and sellers, manage appointments, and organize appointments with your clients - all in one place!

By typing commands instead of clicking through menus, you’ll be able to complete your tasks faster, allowing you to manage more clients in less time.

• Quick start
• Features
  • Viewing help : help
  • Adding a person: add
  • Listing all persons : list
  • Listing all appointments : lap
  • Editing a person : edit
  • Locating persons by name: find
  • Deleting a person : delete
  • Adding an appointment : ap
  • Deleting an appointment : dap
  • Clearing all entries : clear
  • Toggling UI theme : toggle
  • Exiting the program : exit
  • Saving the data
  • Editing the data file
• FAQ
• Known issues
• Command summary

Quick start

Set up ClientSquare and start managing your clients within minutes!

1. Install Java 17 or later

   ClientSquare runs on Java, so make sure your computer has Java 17 or newer installed. To check if Java is installed, you will have to open a command terminal. You may follow the respective instructions for your operating system to do so.

   Windows:

   1. Press Windows + R to open the Run window.
   2. Type cmd and press Enter.

   macOS:

   1. Open Spotlight Search by pressing Command + Space.
   2. Type Terminal and press Enter.

   Linux:

   1. Press Ctrl + Alt + T to open the Terminal.

   Now, run java -version. If you see a version number lower than 17, download and install the latest version.

   Mac users: Follow the step-by-step guide here to install the correct JDK version.

2. Download ClientSquare
   Go to the releases page and download the latest .jar file. This file contains everything you need to run the app.

3. Choose where to keep the app
   Move the downloaded file into any folder where you want ClientSquare to store your data.
   This will be your home folder for ClientSquare.

4. Open and run the app
   Open your command terminal and go to the folder where you saved the file using the cd command.
   Then, start ClientSquare by typing: java -jar clientsquare.jar. Alternatively, you may double-click the jar file to launch the application.
   Within a few seconds, the app window will appear with some sample client data for you to explore.
   

5. Try a few basic commands
   Type a command in the command box and press Enter to see it in action.
   Here are a few examples:

   • list : Lists all contacts.

   • add n/Jane Smith p/92345768 e/janesmith@example.com r/buyer a/239, Hougang Ave 2, #01-13 pt/HDB_3 t/friends t/Neighbour : Adds a contact named Jane Smith to the Address Book.

   • delete 3 : Deletes the 3rd contact shown in the current list.

   • clear : Deletes all contacts.

   • exit : Exits the app.

6. Explore more features
   Once you’re comfortable with the basics, check out the Features section below to learn more about what ClientSquare can do!

Features

Viewing help : help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Adding a person: add

Adds a client to the client square app. Details to include when adding a client:
(i) Name,
(ii) Phone Number,
(iii) Email,
(iv) Role,
(v) Address,
(vi) Property Type,
(vii) Tags (Optional)

Format: add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL r/ROLE a/ADDRESS pt/PROPERTY_TYPE [t/TAG]…​

Tip: A person can have any number of tags (including 0)

Examples:

• add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com r/buyer a/John street, block 123, #01-01 pt/HDB_4
  
  
• add n/Betsy Crowe p/87654321 e/betsycrowe@example.com r/seller a/Clementi Ave 1, Block 442 #19-203 pt/HDB_5

Listing all persons : list

Shows a list of all clients in the client square app.

Format: list

Example:

• list

Listing all appointments : lap

Shows a list of all appointments in the client square app, sorted by date and time (earliest at the top to latest at the bottom).

Format: lap

• Displays all appointments from all clients
• Each appointment shows the date/time, location (seller client’s address), and the buyer/seller names
• Appointments are sorted chronologically from present to future
• Use list to switch back to the person list view

Example:

• lap displays all appointments sorted by date and time

Editing a person : edit

Edits an existing person in the client square app.

Format: edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [r/ROLE] [a/ADDRESS] [pt/TYPE] [t/TAG]…​

• Edits the person at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed person 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 person will be removed i.e adding of tags is not cumulative.
• When editing address or property type, it is compulsory to provide both address and property type input values i.e address and property type cannot be edited independently
• You can remove all the person’s tags by typing t/ without specifying any tags after it.

Examples:

• Before the following edit commands
  
  
• edit 1 p/91234567 e/johndoe@example.com Edits the phone number and email address of the 1st person to be 91234567 and johndoe@example.com respectively.
• edit 2 n/Betsy Crower t/ Edits the name of the 2nd person to be Betsy Crower and clears all existing tags.
• edit 3 r/seller Edits the role of the 3rd person to seller
• edit 4 a/59 Jalan Besar Road pt/COMMERCIAL_FH Edits the address and property type of the 4th person to 59 Jalan Besar Road and COMMERCIAL_FH respectively.
  
  
• After the above edit commands

Locating persons by name: find

Finds persons whose details contain any of the keywords you provide. Details include (i) name, (ii) role, (iii) email, (iv) address, (v) address type, or (vi) phone number.

Format: find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...

• The search is case-insensitive. e.g hans will match Hans
• The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. Hans Bo will match Bo Hans
• Only full words will be matched e.g. Han will not match Hans
• Persons matching at least one keyword will be returned e.g. Hans Bo will return Hans Gruber, Bo Yang

Examples:

• find Alex returns all persons named ‘Alex’ (and anyone with ‘Alex’ in other details)
• find Alex John returns all persons named ‘Alex’ or ‘John’ (and anyone with ‘Alex’ or ‘John’ in other details)
• find buyer returns all buyers (and anyone with ‘buyer’ in other details)

Tips:

• After using the find command, you can use the new index numbers shown on screen for commands that require index as an input, such as edit or ap.

Deleting a person : delete

Deletes the specified person from the address book.

Format: delete INDEX

• Deletes the person at the specified INDEX.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed person list. This will be a positive whole number, such as 1, 2, 3, …
• Deleting a person will also delete all their associated appointments.

Examples:

• list followed by delete 2 deletes the 2nd person in the address book.
• find irfan followed by delete 1 deletes the 1st person in the results of the find command.

Warnings:

• The INDEX is the index number shown in the current or most recently displayed person list. This may be different from the index number in the full person list. If you wish to use the index from the full person list, don’t forget to use list before using delete.

Tips:

• Use the find command to easily locate the contact that you wish to delete.

Adding an appointment : ap

Adds an appointment with a seller and a buyer.

Format: ap SELLER_INDEX d/DATETIME b/BUYER_INDEX

• Adds an appointment with the seller being the person specified by SELLER_INDEX and the buyer being the person specified by BUYER_INDEX.
• The indices refer to the index numbers shown in the displayed person list. This will be a positive whole number, such as 1, 2, 3, …
• Datetime should be in an ISO 8601-compliant format (e.g. yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss) and must be provided.
• The location will be displayed as the seller’s address.

Examples:

• ap 4 d/2025-12-01T12:00 b/1 adds an appointment with seller (index 4: David) and buyer (index 1: Alex) on 1 Dec 2025 at 12pm. lap can be used to view appointments after adding.
• Tips:
• Use the find command with multiple keywords (such as find Alex David) to easily index the contacts you wish to create an appointment for.

Deleting an appointment : dap

Deletes an appointment.

Format: dap INDEX d/DATETIME

• Deletes an appointment with the seller specified by INDEX, and the specified DATETIME.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed person list. This will be a positive whole number, such as 1, 2, 3, …
• Datetime should match exactly with the appointment’s datetime in an ISO 8601-compliant format (e.g. yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss) and must be provided.
• If there are multiple appointments with the same seller at the same datetime, they will all be deleted.

Examples:

• dap 1 d/2025-01-01T12:00 Deletes an appointment to the 1st person on 1 Jan 2025 at 12pm.

Clearing all entries : clear

Clears all entries from the address book, including both contacts and appointments.

Format: clear

Warnings:

• This action is irreversible. Please be certain before executing this command.

Toggling UI theme : toggle

Switches the user interface theme between light and dark modes.

Format: toggle

• No parameters are required
• Each execution switches to the alternate theme
• Theme preference is persisted across sessions

Examples:

• toggle switches from light to dark mode (or vice versa)

  

Tips:

• Switch to dark mode when working in low-light environments to reduce eye strain
• Use light mode during presentations or when sharing your screen for better visibility
• The theme switches immediately without requiring a restart

Warnings:

• The theme change applies immediately and affects the entire application interface

Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program and closes the application window.

Format: exit

• The application will close immediately without confirmation
• All data is automatically saved before exit
• You can also close the application using the window close button (X)

Examples:

• exit closes the application

Saving the data

ClientSquare 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

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

Caution: If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, ClientSquare will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run. Hence, it is recommended to take a backup of the file before editing it.
Furthermore, certain edits can cause the ClientSquare to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is outside of the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

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 ClientSquare home folder.

Q: How do I backup my data?
A: Simply copy the data/ClientSquare.json file from your data folder to a safe location. This file contains all your client and appointment information.

Q: Can I have multiple appointments with the same client?
A: Yes, you can schedule multiple appointments with the same buyer or seller. Each appointment is tracked separately by date and time.

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.

Command summary