Patterns (also called Rotas or Rosters) are a way of adding your repeating work roster into the app quickly so that it repeats into the future.

By setting this up in the Patterns tab of the Picker, we do most of the work for you, and you can take advantage of our gallery of built-in patterns which suit most situations (or create your own easily if not).

Patterns always have a start date (when they first appear in your calendar) and contain a list of shifts that it uses to automatically generate your roster in the app. Patterns will automatically end if you add a second rota which starts on a certain date, so we manage all of this for you.
If you need to, you can set an end date for your pattern which will force it to stop on that date – but most of the time you can leave the app to figure this out for you.

The Patterns tab shows all the patterns you’ve already setup, and an option to add a new pattern. If you haven’t yet set up a pattern, you can add one at any time.

NOTE: The free version of MyShiftPlanner only allows you to have one pattern. If you need more (e.g. if your work changes your roster and you want to keep both in the app), you will need an active Pro Pack trial or subscription.

Adding a New Pattern

Tap the Start New Rota button in the Patterns tab. This will do one of 2 things depending on what you’ve already done with the app:

• Already added your rota: If you’ve already added one rotation (run) of your roster into your calendar using the Shifts tab, the app will detect this and ask if you want to use these for your pattern. Click here to see how to rotate a pattern you’ve already added.
• Not added your rota: If you haven’t yet added any shifts to the calendar it will show the list of built-in patterns to choose from and take you through the pattern setup process. Click here to see how to use the built-in patterns.

Editing a Pattern

Tap any existing pattern to see a list of options. Tapping Edit will re-open the editing tools for that pattern.

Deleting a Pattern

If you no longer want a pattern in your calendar, you can delete it at any time. Tap the pattern and choose Delete from the menu.

NOTE: deleting a pattern is permanent and can’t be undone.

Duplicating a Pattern

If you’re changing roster but it’s very similar to your current roster, you can duplicate the current one and change it for ease.

Tap the pattern you’d like to duplicate, tap Duplicate from the menu and it will automatically copy and begin editing.