Configure the Proposal and Presenter information and test the Call for Proposals process before going live.

Step 1: Event Settings

The following items will need to be set up in Event Configuration

Conference Manager Email - the email address from which the majority of the correspondence will be sent.
Alternate Conference Manager Email - an additional email address that may be copied on some communications
Proposal Submission Start Date
Proposal Submission End Date
If Grading is used:
- Grading start date
- Grading due date
Reference Required for Proposals - legacy feature no longer supported.
Allow Edit after Proposal Submit - submitters will be able to modify the proposal in draft mode until they formally Submit the proposal, which will make it eligible for Grading or Approval. Can they edit the proposal after they submit? (The default is Yes).
Send Mail on Proposal Submission:
- Submitter - please check or uncheck depending on whether the submitter should receive a confirmation email
- It is recommended that the other checkboxes remain checked.
Send Email on Speaker Details Modification - during the submission process it will be possible for Submitters to modify the record of Speakers that they have associated with their Proposal. Should an email notification be sent when they have done so? (The default is Yes)
Allow Edit after Proposal Grading - if a proposal has been formally submitted and then graded by the reviewers, should it be allowed to be modified? (The default is No).

Step 2: Internal System Preparation

Please read this whole article before getting started. That will explain what these items are and how they can be used.

Proposal Fields Configuration

Events> Call For Proposals >Settings > Proposal Fields Configuration
Hide or make required the fields you want Submitters to complete. You can also change the display order of the fields, and the field’s character length for text fields.

Presenter Field Configurations
Under the proposal fields configuration, you will see Presenter Field Configurations which allow you to do the same configuring to the presenter fields.

Presenter Type

The Presenter Type field is enabled in Presenter Field Configuration by default. If it remains checked on, at least one Presenter Type must be selected.

Click on a type in Speaker Types column (left side) to make it available

Click on a type in Presenter Types (right side) to remove it from the list of available Presenter Types.

Add new Presenter Types in Global Settings>Conference>Speaker Types.

Drop Down Menus
There are drop down menus on the Call for Papers form for:

Track
Duration (e.g. 30 min, 90 min)
Format (e.g. round table, panel discussion, workshop)
Session Type (e.g. plenary, technical, breakout)
Ability Level (e.g. beginner, general, advanced)

You must define the values for these drop down menus before you open the CFP. You must define and display at least 1 option for each field which is enabled in Proposal Field Configuration.

You access these items from Events> Conference> Settings.

Track

In Track Management, enter the tracks you want your submitters to choose from. If you need a track in the system for show management use only, uncheck the “Display” checkbox. This will prevent the track from showing on the public side. Track Description is NOT displayed during the Call for Papers but is used later when the track is hovered on in the calendar display.

Notes about Tracks

Only one track can be requested during the Call for Papers process. When a proposal is approved into a session, it can be associated with multiple tracks.
Tracks are required for grading.
Tracks cannot be deleted from the system once they have been associated with a session (even in future events).

Duration

In Duration Management, enter the duration your submitters will be choosing from. Un-checking Display will prevent this option from showing in the drop down on the public side.

Format

In Format Management, enter the format your submitters will be choosing from. Un-checking Display will prevent this option from showing in the drop down on the public side.

Session Type Management

In Session Type Management, enter the session types your submitters will be choosing from. Un-checking Display will prevent this option from showing in the drop down on the public side.

Ability Level Management

In Ability Level Management, enter the ability levels your submitters will be choosing from. Un-checking Display will prevent this option from showing in the drop down on the public side.

Custom Fields
You have the ability to add Custom Proposal & Presenter Fields to the online Call for Papers Form. To define your custom fields, go to Events> Event Settings> General> Custom Fields.

In this area, you can configure Custom Proposal Fields (which relate to the proposed session) and Custom Presenter Fields (which relate to the proposed presenter).

List of Forms

The list of forms shows what areas you can associate custom fields. Click on the form name to add or edit questions to that set.

Custom Presenter Fields are used during the CFP process and can (but do not have to) be rolled into Custom Speaker Fields for use after acceptance. Custom Proposal Fields are related to the session, and can be rolled into Custom Session Fields for use after acceptance.

Form Details

This section will allow you to add text before and after custom fields on the specified form

List of Questions

If no questions have been added yet, you can copy the full list of questions from show to show by using the Copy Questions From button at the bottom of the Custom Fields Screen.

Don't forget to click into each field of type Upload and configure the file formats and destinations.

Or, add each question manually by clicking "Add Question" to add a new question to the selected form.

NOTE: Make sure you check the 'Custom Session Info' checkbox if you want these custom fields copied over to the Session if the proposal is approved.

Retaining Custom Info on Approval into Session

You can choose to carry custom field data from Custom Proposal Fields into Sessions and from Custom Presenter Fields into Speakers by clicking the "Associate Forms" checkbox inside the given field.

For example, if you want to collect biographies during the Call for Papers process which would be used on the website if they are accepted, create a custom Presenter field and associateit with the Custom Speaker Info form.

Step 3: Public Site Preparation

Attendee Login

The following login schemes are available in Event Configuration. Multiple login schemes can be selected.

ECode Only – system created, cannot be changed by the user
Email and ECode – requires the contact’s email address and the system created ECode
Email Only – using this option will only require the user to enter their email address to login (least secure)
Member ID and Password – Member ID is stored in contact record from an integration with an AMS. The password is created by the user. This method requires an AMS integration.
Email and Password – user’s email address and a password they create at the time of account creation.
Using Badge Number option can be made available later to one's registered attendees, but it is not typically used in Call for Proposals process as attendees are not yet registered during the Call for Proposals phase. If planning on using this login method later, choose another method also.

Editing the Form

Message Management

On the public site certain text is managed using Message Management in Global Admin. To find out which message to edit, add &showmsg=1 in the URL of the page you are using.

To edit messages, go to Events> Content> Settings> Message Management.
Use Ctrl+F to find the message number corresponding to the image above, and edit the text of that message.

Changing the text of a message does not change functionality. For example, if you change the label of a field from “State” to “File Upload” this will not change the functionality of the field to a file upload field.
Some messages appear in multiple areas on the Public Site, so if you change the word “State” to “Province”, it will update anywhere that message appears.

Content Management

In Events -> Content Management -> Unified Content, you can edit the text which appears above the page.

The relevant page to use/display is callforpapers.aspx. Also make sure that mybriefcase.aspx is an allowed page as the submitters will log into this page before being redirected to callforpapers.aspx

This should not be used for large images or blocks of text, as content placed here will push down the forms and functional text. If a larger image or text is to be shown, the client should link to a pdf or another user-created content page.

Step 4: Email Template Setup

The following email templates can be used throughout the Call for Papers module. To edit these templates, go to Events -> Event Settings -> Template Management.

Template #57: Send Mail on Proposal Submission – will be automatically sent by the system when the proposal is submitted.
Template #58: Proposal Not Submitted email blast – can be sent to any submitter who has started the process of adding a proposal, but has not submitted it, as a reminder to complete the process.
Template #70: Forgot Password Email - will be automatically sent by the system when a user clicks on the 'Forgot Password' option on the login page.

Step 5: Testing

The best way to make sure a system works is to walk through it like a user.

Try to approach your Call For Papers process from the submitter's perspective including submitting an actual proposal and reviewing the email templates.

(It is recommended that you use an alternate email address when you create your submitter test record, as many office emails may have delivery issues when From and To addresses are the same.)

Articles in this section

Call For Proposals Setup & Post-Deployment Checklist

Step 1: Event Settings