TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview
  • What can be displayed? 
  • Requirements
  • Examples
  • Important to know
• Preparation
• Spreadsheet-based Setup
  • Template columns explained
  • Optional or Required?
  • Examples
  • Session Status not showing? 

Overview

The EventPilot Session Status Widget is an add-on (additional fees apply) and can display a small amount of information in the session detail view with an additional link for user actions. The information can be updated in real time and does not require a data publish. 

Imagine you are streaming a live session and wish to display a "Watch Live" button that is only available to logged in platform users who are registered attendees. Maybe after the session, you want to show a link to a session recording. 

Session status can only display if the user has internet access and is logged in.

Additional logic may be possible to add via custom development (additional fees apply). For example, only attendees who purchased a specific workshop are allowed to watch the live stream or recording. In this case, a custom script would have to be developed to set up an individual user check against your registration system. Initial API review is required. 

What can be displayed? 

• Type: Plain text or interactive button to a URL (must start with https://)
• Label: up to 35 characters
• Color: decide the color using a color hex code - if the content is just text, it will display in the selected color. If you added a link, a button in your selected color appears with the text label displayed in white. Ensure to use dark colors that are legible on white. Use the WCAG color contrast checkerfor accessibility. Informational text sample colors are listed below:
  • Red #B20000
  • Green #006109
  • Dark Orange #9B3900
  • Gray #585858
  • Blue #005D8A
• Timing: During or after a session
• Location: displays always above the session description. Can be set up so all sub-sessions display the parent session's widget (e.g. all presentations within a session would show the button "Watch Live" during a live stream).
• Limit by user type: If your authentication is set up to pull user type AND you have purchased the Targeted Content Add-On, you can choose if only certain groups would see the widget. You can add one or more groups in a comma separated list. For example, you may want to show the widget to all full attendees and staff but not exhibitors. Your authentication setup will need to include these three different user types.

Requirements

• Must use External Authentication or SSO login
• Users must be logged into the app to see the message (otherwise, they will see a "Log in for session status info" message that clicks through to login page)
• Must have internet access (widget won’t show without internet)

Examples

1. Basic scripting: 
   1. All attendees, logged into the app, see a button to watch the recording after the session is over.
   2. Only attendees with a special virtual registration are allowed to watch the live stream. A remote attendee with the correct usertpye, who is logged into the app, sees a button to watch the live stream. 
      1. Pre-requisite: authentication must be set up with usertype (generally the reg type is applied as the usertype) and the Targeted Content add-on must have been purchased
   3. A non-streaming session should display text message to all logged in users "Recording available later"
2. With advanced scripting: 
   1. A workshop requires additional registration. For attendees who have purchased workshop access, you want to display the text in green "Ticket Purchased". For attendees, you have not yet purchased the workshop, you want to show a button in orange "Purchase Ticket". Once the workshop is sold out, you want to show text "Sold Out".
   2. For virtual content, only certain users have access. Pending API integration feasibility, the script could first check in your registration system if the user is allowed to have access or not. If not, a custom message or link could be displayed.

Important to know

• Only 1 status message can be displayed at a time.
• Text or buttons set to show DURING will appear 3min before the actual session start time. This allows attendees for live streaming session to join in time for the session starting. 
• Max 35 characters for the label
• The session status is informational - it does not send a notification or alert. The widget is only available and displayed via session detail view to logged in users.

Preparation

You must prepare the following: What do you want to show when to whom (which user group) where (in which session) and should it be interactive (link) or not (informational text). 

If you need advanced scripting, additional development fees apply. Note: Custom scripts require a 1-2 month lead time before your project kickoff. 

Spreadsheet-based Setup

1. Contact your Project Manager to receive a Google Sheet template
2. Complete the template
   1. Do not leave empty rows
   2. Ensure you correctly fill in the content. Any errors will result in either the session status not appearing or displaying incorrectly. Ensure to test.
3. Your Project Manager will set up the data import into the Conference App Builder
4. Reimport updates via the Conference App Builder > Home > Import All > Start Import - a data publish is not required

Template columns explained

Session ID

Enter the session ID for which you'd like to display the session status. You can see session IDs by going to the Conference App Builder > Agenda > Sessions > then look for a specific session and the ID is displayed in the Conference App Builder.

Display on Subsession

If you are adding a parent session ID and wish to display the same session status information for all its sub-sessions (presentation level), enter TRUE in this field. All other values will be ignored. This is helpful if you are live streaming a poster session with multiple presentations. The button with the live stream link will then appear in all the sub-session detail views automatically. You do not need to complete a row for each sub-session. 

Important: 

• Only one sub-session level is supported. Grandchild level is not supported.
• If you set 'Display on Subsession' TRUE for parent session, adding separate session status entries for its subsessions is not supported. You either select the setting or you manually add all entries for submissions. 

Label During

Text max 35 characters displays to your logged in users for the duration of the start time to the end time of the session ID you entered in the first column. Text longer than 35 characters will automatically be trimmed. Keep it short.

Link During

If you are adding a URL, the label text displays in white within a colored button. Tapping the button opens a browser window.

Color During

The color you wish to use for the text (label only, no link) or button background (if link is added). Colors must be added as a hex code. Choose darker colors and use the WCAG color contrast checker to ensure accessibility. 

If you add a label and leave the color value blank, the default color will be blue. 

If you add an incorrect color value, the default color will be black. 

UserType During

If your authentication is set up in such a way that usertypes are pulled in during the login process and you have purchased the Targeted Content add-on, you can then limit which usertypes are allowed to access your content. For example, you may have usertypes fullreg, staff and  exhibitor, and you only want fullreg and staff to access the links, then you enter fullreg,staff comma separated into this field.

Label After

See above - displays after the end time of the session.

Link After

See above - displays after the end time of the session.

Color After

See above - displays after the end time of the session.

UserType After

See above - displays after the end time of the session.

Optional or Required?

If you add a Session ID to a row, you must fill in at least one of the labels and the color for this label. 

Links are optional in all cases. 

UserType is optional and requires the correct authentication setup and the Targeted Content Add-On to set up. 

Examples

Session 1001: Imagine your A/V vendor has set up live streaming but the recordings will only be available via your Learning Management System for paying members after the event. During the session, you want to show the button with the link to the live stream. After the session you want to show just text letting attendees know where to find the recording later.

Session 1234: Imagine your poster session with 5 different presentations (sub-sessions) within that session is being recorded onsite. You only need to set up the links on the parent level session and enter TRUE in the column Display on Submissions - EventPilot automatically shows the Watch Recording button in each of the associated sub-sessions.

Session 2345: If you have purchased the Targeted Content Add-On and your authentication is set up in such a way that usertype (reg type) is pulled in, you can take advantage of the UserType column and restrict access by only allowing certain user types to see the button. Imagine one of your registration types was 'remote' and you only want that group of attendees to see the Live Stream button. After the event, you can open up the viewing to more groups but for example still exclude your exhibitors. Keep UserType empty for all your logged in users to see the Session Status Widget.

Session Status not showing? 

The following could all be reasons why your session status is not displaying correctly:

• The session has not yet started
• You did not add a label
• Session ID incorrect
• One or both links do not conform to URL formatting
• Color is not a real color value
• You set a UserType but either user types are not set up in your project or the type you entered in the sheet does not exist or your are not logged in as that usertype you specified

Reporting

Data can be tracked for logged in users. Your Project Manager can send you a report after your event is over. 

Learn more about the Add-On: Session Status report.