Types of Auto Checkout

There are three kinds of auto checkout for Turnstile Events:

• Auto Checkout at the end of the current period.
• Auto Checkout at a specific set time.
• Auto Checkout when being checked into another Turnstile event.

Two of these are configured on the Turnstile>Setup>Turnstile Templates screen and the last is set on the Event definition itself, on the Turnstile>Setup>Turnstile Events screen.

Auto Checkout at Period End

This is useful for event types such a "Library" (i.e. media center) or 'cafeteria', which students generally leave en masse at the end of a period.  

This setting will check out all students currently checked in to the event.

This is set on the Turnstile>Setup>Turnstile Templates screen when an Event is configured for a particular user:  The control for it is found at the bottom of the "Search Settings" section:

The "Automatically check out students in the next period" control this.   This applies ONLY to "student" events, not to staff events.

Auto Checkout at a Set Time

A second type of auto checkout can be set at the top of the  screen:

The "Set departing time when students check in to this event" allows you to specify the departure time for all students or staff checking in to the event. The departure time is entered at check-in - that is, it is preset in the check-in record. The student is considered "checked in" between the arrival time and the specified check-out time. "Check-out" becomes effective at the specified time.

The "departing time" is a specified fixed time.  To adjust it (e.g. set it to later), the "Set departing time when students check in to this event" field here on the Turnstile>Setup>Turnstile Templates screen must be updated. Time is not automatically adjusted - no formulas can be used here.

Auto Checkout when Checked into Another Event

The third kind of Auto Checkout controls event persistence, or the ability of students to be checked into multiple events simultaneously.

This is set on the definition of the event on the Turnstile>Setup>Turnstile Events screen:

The "Auto Checkout" setting on each Turnstile Event controls whether students and staff are automatically checkout of the event if they check into another event. For example, if a student is checked into "Corridor", and Corridor does NOT have Auto Checkout checked, the student can check into and out of some other event (e.g. "Bathroom") while remaining checked into "Corridor". This allows the "Corridor" event to persist, regardless of where else a student checks into and and out of, while they remain checked into "Corridor".

This is good for tracking students during overarching situations, such as being out of their classroom, or being on a field trip.