TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Auto-Link Overview
• What files can I link with automatic association?
  • Speaker Photos
  • Exhibitor Logos
  • Handouts (PDFs) (to sessions and/or speakers and/or exhibitors)
• Read this before getting started
• File Naming Convention
  • About the Format
  • Can I link an item to multiple records?
  • Can I add an embargo to my file?
  • Examples
  • How will my files appear in the app?
  • (More) Examples
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • How can I delete an auto-associated file?
  • My file is not showing in the app?
  • My PDF is associated but not embargoed? 
  • How do I update the embargo times for files that have already been associated? 
  • Can I link multiple files to the same record? 

Auto-Link Overview

You can use the Conference App Builder to batch upload files like

• speaker photos
• exhibitor logos
• PDF posters or presentations or handouts

If the files follow the correct naming convention, they attach themselves to the correct record. 

The File Naming Convention tells the App Builder which record each file goes with. 

Once you've named your files, upload in the App Builder > Media > and select either File Uploads for PDFs, or Image Uploads for speaker photos or exhibitor logos. 

What files can I link with automatic association?

Speaker Photos

Format: jpg or png

• What size should the photo be?
• What if my file size is too big?

Sample speaker list with speaker photos

Exhibitor Logos

Format: jpg or png

• What size should the logo be? 
• What if my file size is too big?

Sample exhibitor with logo image

Handouts (PDFs) (to sessions and/or speakers and/or exhibitors)

Format: pdf (keep under 10MB per file)

• How to optimize PDF files

Sample PDF attached to session 

Read this before getting started

1. The file naming structure, described below, must be followed exactly or the system will not recognize that it should auto-link the file. 
   1. Underscores in file names are reserved for the file naming convention. Do not use underscores in any other part of the file name. Session IDs with underscores in the ID are not supported.
   2. Ensure to only use A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscores and hyphens in file names.
2. You will need to know the ID to the record (session, speaker, or exhibitor). You can locate this by searching for the record, for example an exhibitor, in the CAB, then clicking on it to open its details. In the example screenshot, the ID is 100012. (Note that this record was imported to the CAB, so it also shows the name of the import source.)
   
3. The record must already be in the CAB prior to uploading the file you want to auto-link.
4. IDs are case sensitive. If the record's ID is ABC123 and you name the file using abc123, the system will not be able to auto-link the file.
5. Purging (deleting) your data can break links to automatically associated files. If you must purge your data, you may also need to delete then re-upload your files for automatic association.
6. Using auto-association with imported sessions, speakers, or exhibitors will not flag them as edited. (This means your imports will continue to work as expected.)
7. After the association has completed, you will need to make a data publish for the files to appear on the platform. 
8. PDF files uploaded with this method will require your attendees to be logged into the platform in order to view them. If you wish to add PDFs that are visible to all users, even if they are not logged in, do not use auto-association. Follow the instructions in this article instead.

File Naming Convention

Before you upload, you will name your image or PDF files using a certain format to indicate where they should be associated. The format is structured like this:

v<versionnumber>__<table>_<id>.<file extension>

About the Format

1. Version Number: You choose this number, but it must be preceeded by a lowercase v, as shown. We recommend starting with 1. The version number allows you to update your files. For example, if you are uploading a PDF of presentation slides, you may receive a revised version. You can increment the version number with each revision to replace the old one.
2. Table: This will indicate which kind of record you are associating to. Note that there are two underscoresbetween the version number and the table.
   1. For exhibitors, use exh
   2. For speakers, use spk
   3. For sessions, use ses
3. ID: As discussed above, this is the ID of the record you are associating to. There is one underscore between the table and the ID.
4. File Extension: This is the type of file. You do not need to add this manually; your computer will set this. PDF, jpg, and png files are supported.

Examples

1. Version 1 of a JPG photo associated to a speaker with the ID 12345: v1__spk_12345.jpg
2. Version 2 of a PNG photo associated to an exhibitor with the ID ABC123: v2__exh_ABC123.png
3. Version 1 of a PDF file associated to a session with the ID 1000: v1__ses_1000.pdf
4. Version 2 of a PDF file associated to a session with the ID 1001 and two speakers, one with ID spk001 and one with ID spk002: v2__ses_1001__spk_spk001_spk002.pdf

Can I link an item to multiple records?

If you need to associate the same image to multiple exhibitors or speakers, please duplicate the file on your computer. Rename each copy of the image, following the naming convention, to associate it with a single exhibitor or speaker.

You can simultaneously link a single PDF file to multiple sessions, speakers, and/or exhibitors. Adding an additional table or additional IDs to the file format looks like this:

v<versionnumber>__<table>_<id>_<id>__<table>_<id>_<id>.pdf

Like before, each table is preceeded by two underscores, and each IDs is preceeded by just one underscore. This structure would associate the same PDF to two different tables, and two records in each of those tables. 

Can I add an embargo to my file?

If you are associating a PDF file to a session that has a date and start/end time (meaning, not an On Demand session), it can be embargoed until the session's start time.

To do this: 

1. ensure the session is the first thing mentioned in the filename if you're also associating your file to, say, a speaker record
2. add  __emb (two underscores followed by the three letters emb) to the end of the filename (but before the extension)

As shown above, your PDF will appear in the detail view of the record(s) it is associated to. If a user taps to view the PDF before the session has started, they will see a message displaying when the PDF will become available, but will not be able to view the content of the PDF.

If you update the date or time for a session that has an auto-linked, embargoed PDF, you can trigger the system to update the embargo time by returning to the Conference App Builder > Media > File Uploads. Upload any PDF. (You do not need to use a special naming convention. You can delete this PDF again after uploading.)

Examples

1. Version 1 of an embargoed PDF file associated to a session with the ID S99 and a speaker with ID 5238: v1__ses_S99__spk_5238__emb.pdf

How will my files appear in the app?

The version number and first record in the filename will determine the title (label) for your file. 

If the first item you associated the file to is a session, that session's title will be the filename. 

If a speaker is first, it will use the speaker's name. 

If an exhibitor is first, it will use the exhibitor's company name. 

Your file will also get a subtitle, PDF, indicating its filetype. 

The following example shows version 1 of a PDF associated to a session titled Lunch. If the session had ID 005, the filename might've been v1__ses_005__exh_1234.pdf. 

You can edit the label in the Conference App Builder.

(More) Examples

v1__ses_1001.pdf

This filename automatically associates the PDF with the session that has the ID 1001. The label of the PDF link will be the session title of the session with the ID 1001.

v2__ses_1015_1027.pdf

This filename automatically associates a second version of the PDF file with the session that has the ID 1015 and also the session with the ID 1027. The label of the PDF link will be the session title of the session with the ID 1015, since it is the first session ID listed after the ses prefix.

v2__spk_301_407.pdf

This filename automatically associates an updated version of a PDF file with two different speakers. The label for the PDF link in the app will be the name of the first speaker with ID 301. 

v1__exh_561.pdf

This filename automatically associates the PDF with the exhibitor that has the ID 561. The label for the PDF link in the app will be the exhibitor’s 561 title since exh is the first prefix. 

v2__ses_1001_1027__spk_155.pdf

This filename automatically associates the PDF with two sessions and one speaker. The label for the PDF link in the app will be the title of the session with the ID 1001, since it is the first session ID listed after the ses prefix.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I delete an auto-associated file?

In Conference App Builder > Media > File/Image Uploads page of your project, find the file you want to delete and click the trash can symbol. 

This deletes the file from the server and on the next data publish, will remove the link from the detail view for you. Make sure you publish a data update to avoid your attendees experiencing a broken link (the link is still in the platform but now the file is gone)

My file is not showing in the app?

Take the following troubleshooting steps: 

1. Was the file uploaded successfully? Do you see it in the list on the File or Image Uploads page of the CAB?
2. Have you published a data update? Have you accepted the data update on the platform you are testing on?
3. Was there a typo in your filename?
   1. Double-check the ID you used against the record in the CAB. Remember that the ID must match exactly and is case sensitive (so if the ID is P134, ensure you have a capital P in the ID in your filename)
   2. Double check that there are two underscores before each table prefix, but one underscore before each ID
4. Remember that each image must be associated to just one record. Review the note above if you need to associate the same image to mulitple speakers or exhibitors.
5. If you are uploading a PDF that should be embargoed, ensure that the suffix __emb
   1. uses two underscores
   2. is placed at the end of the filename (but not after the file extension)
   3. is being associated to at least one session
   4. session specified first
   5. session has a date/time

My PDF is associated but not embargoed? 

If you are uploading a PDF that should be embargoed, ensure that the suffix __emb

1. uses two underscores
2. is placed at the end of the filename (but not after the file extension)
3. is being associated to at least one session
4. session specified first
5. session has a date/time

How do I update the embargo times for files that have already been associated? 

If you update the date or time for a session that has an auto-linked, embargoed PDF, you can trigger the system to update the embargo time by returning to the Conference App Builder > Media > File Uploads. Upload any PDF. (You do not need to use a special naming convention. You can delete this PDF again after uploading.) Remember to make a data update after. 

Can I link multiple files to the same record? 

Yes! Note that each file must have a unique name. You can accomplish this in various ways. 

Option 1: Include the speaker ID, also associating the file to its respective speaker. 

Follow the file naming convention to add the speaker's ID, like this: 

v1__ses_100__spk_5238.pdf

v1__ses_100__spk_2139.pdf

Both files would appear on the session with ID 100. The first file would also appear on the speaker with ID 5238. The second file would instead appear on the speaker with ID 2139. 

If the speakers are the same, or you do not wish to associate your files to the speakers, you can simply add an additional suffix which the system will ignore. 

Ensure to only use alphanumeric characters when adding these type of extensions to the file names. Symbols such as quotes, parenthesis, extra periods, etc. are not supported. Only use A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscores and hyphens in file names. 

For example: 

v1__ses_100_worksheet.pdf

Since "worksheet" does not correspond to a session ID in our data, it'll simply be ignored. Note: It may be reported as an orphan in your media data since the word 'worksheet' is considered to be a session ID. However that session ID does not exist in your data, it's just a reference suffix for your You can safely ignore an orphan caused by this.

This method will also work if you have the same speaker submitting multiple files for the same session. Example:

v1__ses_100__spk_5238_SF1.pdf

v1__ses_100__spk_5238_SF2.pdf

v1__ses_100__spk_5238_SF3.pdf

In this case, the session with ID 100 and the speaker with ID 5238 would each have all three files.