Documentation:CTLT Events System

From UBC Wiki

Event Espresso (as of version 3.1.x) is a powerful event-management plugin for WordPress. Administrators can create events, edit them, and publish them with a wide range of options. Event registrants and attendees register with the site as Subscribers; afterwards, they have a persistent and interactive record of their events. Administrators can export this data to Excel.

Users

Event Espresso uses WordPress user roles to keep track of who can do what with events. All interactions with Event Espresso beyond simply viewing events must be done by registered users. Event Espresso has the standard user roles and adds some of its own.

Event Espresso User Roles

  • Administrator - standard WordPress administrator role; sets roles for users and can perform all Event Espresso functions.
  • Editor - standard WordPress editor role; no standard Event Espresso function.
  • Author - standard WordPress author role; no Event Espresso function.
  • Subscriber - standard WordPress subscriber role; allows event attendance registration and cancellation for that account.
  • Espresso Master Admin - no WordPress functions; sets roles for users and can perform all Event Espresso functions.
  • Espresso Event Manager - no WordPress functions; can create events and edit events which they have created.
  • Espresso Regional Manager - no WordPress functions; can create events and edit events which they have created, but can only create events associated with venues at particular geographic areas (not recommended).

Event Espresso allows Administrators to define these roles in some detail, as well as create new ones as necessary.

Logging In Yourself and Adding Users (Including for Registration)

All interactions with Event Espresso beyond simply viewing events must be done by registered users.

To add yourself (as a user, including a conference registrant):

  1. Navigate to the homepage of the events site.
  2. Click on any of the blue login buttons that you see.
    You'll be taken to the standard campus-wide login page.
  3. Select the "Create one now" link at the bottom of the page and follow the instructions there to create an account.
  4. Return to the events site to complete the login.

This video explains the logging in process:

To add new users (as an Administrator):

  • THOUGH THIS EXISTS AS AN OPTION, DO NOT USE IT. IT WILL HAVE UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS AND MAY CAUSE ERRORS. USERS MUST ADD THEMSELVES FIRST, THEN HAVE THEIR ROLES UPGRADED.

New users will automatically be Subscribers unless their role is changed.

Changing a User's Roles

New users of the events site are assigned the Subscriber role. This allows them to register for events, cancel their registrations, and keep track of which events they've attended. Administrators, however, have the ability to change other people's roles - for example, if they want someone to be an Event Manager and create events.

To change a user's role or edit their profile information:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > User > All Users.
  2. Move your mouse over the user whose role you want to change.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.
  4. Change the user information. User roles are explained in the "Event Espresso User Roles" section.
  5. Click the "Save" button when your changes are made.

Creating and Editing Roles and Permissions

Event Espresso separates a roles's capabilities and permissions. Capabilities are the functions that the role is allowed to modify. Permissions are the information that the role is allowed to see.

Changing a user role's permissions and capabilities from the default is allowed but not recommended.

To change a user role's capabilities:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > User Roles.
  2. Move your mouse over the user role whose capability you wish to alter.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.
  4. Select the capabilities you want this user role to have.
  5. Click the "Save" button when your changes are made.

To change a user role's permissions:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > User Permissions. This page displays a list of Event Espresso pages and the user role required to view them. The Espresso Master Admin typically has more privileges than the Event Manager, and the Espresso Event Manager more than the Espresso Regional Manager.
  2. Select the level you wish to require before a user can use this page.
  3. Click the "Save" button when your changes are made.

Managing Events

Events in Event Espresso are separate items, stored in their own table. Each event is associated with a bunch of information, most prominently a range of dates for both the event and its registration.

Creating an Event

To create an event with the minimal amount of information:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Event Overview.
  2. Select the "Add New Event" option.
  3. Add the following, mandatory fields in the Event Title and Event Date/Times sections:
    • Event Title
    • Registration Start
    • Registration End
    • Reg Start Time
    • Reg End Time
    • Event Start Date
    • Event End Date
    • Event Start Time
    • Event End Time
    • Venue Information

NOTE: Event Espresso allows events to be created without filling these fields in, but the default values may not be what you intend.

4. Select the waitlisting policy for your event in the Additional Information section:

  • Automatic waitlisting - creates a waitlist for the event. Waitlists, in Event Espresso, are separate events with their own unique ID and everything. People may register for the waitlist if the event is full and are automatically transferred to it if a spot opens up on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • No waitlisting - waitlisting is not allowed. Registration is open only if there is space available in the event.
  • Manual waitlisting - creates a mandatory waitlist for the event. People may not register for the main event, only the waitlist. The event manager may transfer people to the event automatically.

NOTE: This option is not changeable after the event is created.

5. Additionally, fill in the following fields:

  • Event Description - holds both the event's teaser text and its complete summary. If a "" tag is present, the teaser text displays in the event's list view, while text after the tag appears only in the event's page.
  • Venue - shows where the event will be held, including more detailed directions than are found on Google Maps.
  • Attendee limit
  • Categories (aka Series)

Click the "Submit New Event" button to submit the new event.

Editing or Viewing an Existing Event

To view or view editing details of an existing event:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Event Overview.
  2. Move your mouse over the event that you want to edit or view.
    NOTE: The event you want may not be on the first page of events. You can navigate to further events by selecting the page number below the end of the list.
    NOTE: Only active, non-waitlist events are displayed by default. To view past events or waitlist events, select the dropdown that reads "Active/Ongoing", change it to "Waitlist" or "Inactive" (depending on which you want), and select the "Filter Status" button.
  3. Select the "View" option to see how the event currently appears to users. Select the "Edit" option to open editing options.

To edit an existing event:

  1. Navigate to the Event Overview view.
  2. Change the event fields.
    NOTE: You cannot meaningfully change the waitlisting policy of the event after it has been created.
  3. Click the "Update Event" button.

NOTE: Events can only be edited by administrators and the event managers who created the event.

Canceling an Event

To cancel an event:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Event Overview.
  2. Select the checkbox button next to any events you want to delete.
  3. Select the "Delete Event(s)" option.

Event registrants will receive an automatic cancellation notice if the event has not already ended.

Managing Categories and Venues

Most events require two pieces of information that can't and shouldn't be entered as text when the event is being created: venues and categories. The information in these fields is likely to be shared across events, so Event Espresso stores their information in a table. This enforces standardization across events.

Managing Categories

To view the Categories Manager:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Categories.

To edit existing categories:

  1. Navigate to the Categories Manager.
  2. Move your mouse over the venue you want to view.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.

To add new categories:

  1. Navigate to the Categories Manager.
  2. Move your mouse over the venue you want to view.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.

To delete categories:

  1. Navigate to the Categories Manager.
  2. Move your mouse over the venue you want to view.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.

Managing Venues

To view the Venue Manager:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Venue Manager.

To edit existing venues:

  1. Navigate to the Venue Manager.
  2. Move your mouse over the venue you want to view.
  3. Select the "Edit" link that appears.

To add new venues:

  1. Navigate to the Venue Manager.
  2. Select the "Add New Venue" option at top.
  3. Add the venue's information. This information will appear in user communications.
    NOTE: Make the venue's name as descriptive as possible. Any special information include as an external URL associated with the venue.
  4. Click the "Save Venue" button.

To delete venues:

  1. Navigate to the Venue Manager.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the venue(s) that you wish to delete.
  3. Click the "Delete Venue" button.

Managing Attendees and Registrants

Event Espresso creates an attendance record each time a user registers for an event. As an administrator, you can alter some of the fields of this record. Specifically, you can add

Registering for Events (as a User)

To register for events (as a user):

  1. Navigate to the Events list.
  2. Select the appropriate event.
  3. (If necessary:) login with your CWL.
  4. Select the "Confirm Registration" option, entering information as prompted.

Canceling Registration (as a User)

To cancel registrations (as a user):

  1. Navigate to the "My Events" page.
  2. Select the appropriate events.
  3. Click the "Cancel Registration" option.

Navigating to the Attendees View

To navigate to the attendees view as an administrator:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > Event Overview
  2. Move your mouse over the event you wish to edit (see the "Editing or Viewing an Existing Event" section for how to find your event if it is not immediately clear).
  3. Select the "Attendees" option that appears.

Registering Users for Events (as an Administrator)

To register users as an administrator (not recommended):

  1. Navigate to the Attendees view.
  2. Fill out the attendee information in the fields that appear.
  3. Click the "Submit" button.

Canceling Registrants (as an Administrator)

To cancel registrants as an administrator:

  1. Navigate to the Attendees view.
  2. Select the registrants to be cancelled.
  3. Click the "Delete Attendee(s)" button.

Registrants will receive an email notifying them of their registration cancellation. The registrants remain in the database, but are noted with the "Cancelled" tag.

Transferring Registrants from the Waitlist to the Main Event

To transfer attendees from the waitlist to the main event:

  1. Navigate to the Attendees view of the waitlist event (remember, you may have to set the view to display them).
  2. Select the attendees to register for the main event.
  3. Click the "Transfer Attendee(s) to Main Event" button.

Registrants will be transferred to the waitlist's associated event, even if doing so causes it to exceed its maximum attendance, and are sent an email confirming that. If there is no associated main event, nothing happens.

Printing Registration Sheets for Event Attendance Taking

To print registration sheets for attendance:

  1. Navigate to the Attendees view.
  2. Click "Export to HTML/Printable"
  3. If less than 10 registrants, send to printer and cross off any cancelled registrants
  4. If more than 10 registrants,
  • copy and paste to a Word document
  • Delete cancelled registrants
  • Format registrant list into a table by right clicking table icon at top left corner of list, and selecting "all borders"
  • Highlight either "First Name" or "Last Name" column and sort in alphabetical order through Table Layout tab
  • Bold the above column
  • Add blank rows with plenty of space for drop-in attendees to write in the same information
  • To repeat headers for multiple pages, click withing table, choose Table Layout tab and click Repeat Headers

Marking Attendees as Attended

To mark attendees as having attended an event:

  1. Navigate to the Attendees view.
  2. Select the attendees to mark as having attended the event.
  3. Click the "Mark as Attended" button.

Registrants will now be marked with the "Attended" tag. This will appear in event reports. Registrants are assumed to not attend events unless otherwise specified.

Emails and Notifications

Event Espresso is configured to send emails automatically. It also offers users the ability to send emails manually.

Automatic Emails

Event Espresso sends out these automatic emails:

  • Registration confirmation - sent to a user when they successfully register for an event. This email is customizable per-event and by default.
  • Event reminder - sent to event registrants one day before an event begins as a reminder that they are currently registered for it.
  • Event cancelled - sent to event registrants when an event is cancelled or deleted and the event has already occurred.
  • Moved from waitlist to main event - sent when a registrant of an event's waitlist is transferred to the real event.
  • Attendance cancelled - sent when a registrant is removed from registration for an event and the event has already occurred.

Customizing Automatic Emails

The registration confirmation email is sent out when a user successfully registers for the conference. It can be set on a per-event basis, as discussed in the "Creating an Event" section. The default registration confirmation email can also be edited.

To edit the default registration confirmation email:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Event Espresso > General Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the "Email Settings" section.
  3. Edit the text inside the "Default Registration Confirmation Email" box. Available personalized fields can be viewed by clicking the "View Custom Email Tags" option. NOTE: The Google Maps link is highly unreliable on UBC campus.
  4. Click the "Save Options" button at the bottom of the "Email Settings" section.

Manual Emails

Event Managers and Administrators can send manual emails to event registrants.

To send a manual email to event registrants:

  1. Navigate to the editing view of the appropriate event, as described in the "Editing or Viewing an Existing Event" section.
  2. Select the "Email Event Attendees" option near the "Update Event" button.
  3. Edit the text inside the "Default Registration Confirmation Email" box. Available personalized fields can be viewed by clicking the "View Custom Email Tags" option. NOTE: The Google Maps link is highly unreliable on UBC campus.
  4. Click the "Send Email to Attendees" button to send the email.

Reports

The standard version of Event Espresso includes per-event reports and total reports. CTLT has added reports with additional flexibility that export to Excel. They gather additional details of attendees, produce automatic summaries, and can report events by ID number, date range, and category. These reports are available only to Administrators and Espresso Master Admins.

They are:

  1. Attendees Summary - produces details of attendees for events. This report includes registration and attendance status, UBC information, and contact information.
  2. Events Summary - produces attendance summary for events. This report includes the total numbers registered, attended, cancelled, and not showing up.
  3. Administrative Details - produces most event details for events. This report includes information about room layout, desired electronics, and number of chairs.
  4. Events Attended Report - produces a list of events attended by a person or range of people (for example, all people whose first names are "Chris").

To produce a report:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Espresso Reports
  2. Enter your search parameters for the report you want.
  3. Click the "Export to Excel" button.

Notes

  1. for developers and IT staff, you can view the Installation and Development Guide Page.
  2. the original documentation can be found here
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