Patchworks is a conceptually simple software product that has a large feature set and numerous options.

The Patchworks scheduler can create harvest schedule allocations for large management areas over long planning horizons, however it only does so under specific directions from the analyst that is in control. Without setting necessary ground rules and objectives the scheduler is without direction, making it impossible to converge on a stable solution. By setting constraints and objectives, the analyst can steer the scheduler in a direction towards the particular goals of a scenario. Constraints and objectives can be adjusted and changed while the scheduler is running, or between successive runs, to create 'scenarios'.

We will show you in this chapter how to control Patchworks within the Patchworks interface. We will examine the features of Patchworks that initialize conditions, start and stop the scheduler, activate and adjust targets, and save and restore scenarios. In subsequent chapters, we will look at scenario modelling and ways to automate the process in more depth.