This article details block types the A2Z team recommends using to display event info in your portal.
The Page Editor tool is used to manage blocks and customize all site pages.
Explore the recommended block categories overview to learn about block types in other categories.
Jump to Section:
- Category-Specific Standard Settings
About Category
Blocks in the Reviews category are used to show any listing created after a category form is submitted. They are most commonly used to display results for generic forms, digital listings for Enhanced Digital Content (EDC), and session proposals with the Call for Proposals and Conference add-ons.
Before configuring blocks in this category, listing data must be created using the Forms Manager tool located in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager as the information displayed on these blocks is generated by the form submission.
The Forms Manager site-building tool assists with creating forms for conference proposal submissions and making categories for EDC listings, such as products, show specials, and press releases.
After creating the forms, the listings submitted by users are shown throughout your Event Portal site using the various blocks found in this category.
Category-Specific Standard Settings
In addition to the standard block settings, some blocks in the Reviews category contain three additional optional settings that allow further customization.
Defining the Items Per Page setting limits the total number that appears on the block at a time. To prevent site performance issues, all blocks can display up to 50 items on a page before pagination occurs.
Entering a No data message defines the custom text that appears if there are no items to display on the block.
Select the Hide if empty checkbox to prevent the block from appearing on the page if there are no items to be displayed.
Recommended Block Types
Although there are several specific block types located in the Reviews category, the only block types recommended for use at this time are:
Type Details & Settings
Review the following block type details for more info on specific functionality and configuration settings.
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Approve Review Item
The Approve Review Item is used to approve form submissions if approvals have been enabled on the category form. This block is also used in the Call for Proposals & Conference Management package add-ons to move proposals through the approval process.
- This block allows admins or category moderators to change the status of the form submission or proposal.
- This block is only functional on the review item details page
(Default page name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:category_id/:item_id). - Enable approvals on a category form by navigating to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories and then click Edit for the desired category form.
- Category Form Status options that appear on the dropdown menu are defined in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Access & State Settings.
- Session Proposal Status options that appear in the dropdown menu are defined in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Event Manager > Event Status.
Note: The system classifies Proposals as review items and has an associated category Form Type.
Browse Categories
The Browse Categories block displays the list of form categories.
- This block allows users to jump to a specific category page by clicking the corresponding name.
- Form Categories are defined in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories.
- This block can be configured to show only specific form-type items, Digital Listing, Generic Forms, Session Proposals, etc., to pre-filter options on the page.
Block-Specific Settings:
- Form Types - Select the appropriate category forms to display on the block.
- Module Layout -There are two layout options: Grid displays categories in a card view with an image and List displays categories in a table-list format.
- Pagination Type - Choose whether the block displays a specified number of events before Standard pagination occurs or allows for Infinite Scroll.
- Hide Footer - Select to disable the visibility of the block footer.
Best Practice: Use this block on pages associated with Enhanced Digital Content (EDC), such as the Gallery Listing page (Default Page Name: Listings, Default Page URL: /listings), and the Session Listings pages (Default Page Name: Sessions, Default URL: /sessions).
Change Review Item Reviewers
The Change Review Item Reviewers block is used in Call for Proposals & Conference Management package add-ons.
- Allows admins or category moderators to assign a user to associate them with an individual proposal as a proposal grader.
- Site Admins and category moderators click the Select Reviewers button, search for existing accounts, and assign the appropriate users to associate them.
- After the assignment is made, the assigned user's profile image and name appear on the block allowing them to grade the proposal.
Block-Specific Settings:
- Member Segments for New Reviewers - Pre-filter the search list to show only user accounts associated with the selected member segments. Users who are not added to the defined member segments do not appear in the search list of potential reviewers that can be assigned.
Best Practice: Add this block to the review item details page (Default page name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:category_id/:item_id) to assign graders for proposal reviews.
Item Block
The Items Block is used in the Enhanced Digital Content (EDC), Call for Proposals, and Conference package add-ons to display a listing created by a user after submitting a category form.
Forms are managed in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories.
- This block displays the form category name and the username who created it. Additional fields that appear on the block are determined by fields added to the form.
- Users can click the Camera button in the top-right corner to upload images of the listing. If multiple images are uploaded for the same item, a carousel appears and users can specify which is shown as the cover photo and appears first.
Photos are used in EDC listings for products, show specials, and press releases. - Users can click the 3-dot menu to access the form and edit item details, upload additional photos, or delete the listing if needed.
- Site admins can display an external button that takes attendees to a website outside of the Event Portal where they can buy an item or learn more about it.
Select the External Link Label checkbox on the category form to enable the button visibility.
EDC Product Listing Item Block Example:
Session Proposal Item Block Example:
- The proposal's current status appears in the top-right corner. By displaying the status on the item block, relevant users are quickly informed of where the proposal is in the approval process.
Define proposal statuses in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Event Manager > Event Status. - Proposal submitters can associate tracks when submitting the form that appear on the block which allows reviewers to easily search by clicking on them.
Best Practice: Use this block on the review item details page (Default page name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:category_id/:item_id) to display item details for products, proposals, submitted exhibitor forms, etc.
List of Review Items
The List of Review Items block displays category form listings.
- Examples of form listings include products, show specials, press releases, proposals, exhibitor forms, speaker forms, and all other custom review category types.
- When this block is placed on a category page, it only shows items of that specific category.
(e.g., when looking at the Products category page, only the products are listed.) - This block is highly configurable and can be added to a page multiple times and used in a variety of ways.
- Site admins can configure settings to show all listings on the block or restrict it to show only listings of a specific form type or review category (e.g., Digital Listings, Session Proposals, etc.).
Block-Specific Settings:
- Default Sort By -Specify whether items on the block appear in the order they were Created, alphabetically by Title, or in a Random order.
- Item Status Filter - Display only items of the selected status. Status options shown in the dropdown list are managed in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Access & State Settings.
- Reviews Category - Display only items of the defined category on the block. Review Category Ids are unique to each category form and are found in two ways:
- Navigate to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories, then click Edit to access the desired category form and check the URL. The Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- On the front end of your site, navigate to the desired category listing page then review the URL. The Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- Navigate to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories, then click Edit to access the desired category form and check the URL. The Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- Form Types - Select the appropriate category forms to display on the block.
Note: Reference the Form Type column in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories to determine the kind of form associated with each category. - Show Recommendations - Select the checkbox to display recommended items on the block if the Matchmaking package add-on has been enabled for your site.
- Module Layout - There are two layout options: Horizontal displays items in a card view with an image and Table displays items in a table-list format.
- Show Create item button - Select the checkbox to enable an Add Listing button that allows users to access the form and create a new listing of the specified category.
Review Comments
The Review Comments block is associated with the Call for Proposals & Conference Management package add-ons and allows graders (e.g., proposal reviewers) to rate and comment on proposal submissions.
- This block is used on the review item details page (Default page name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:category_id/:item_id).
- The rating category options available to choose from are configured by site admins in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Rating Categories.
- Site Admins control rating option visibility via the block-specific setting when adding it to the page.
- By default, the proposal review is visible to only site admins and the assigned reviewers, but site admins can enable visibility for proposal submitters if desired.
- This can be enabled by navigating to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories, clicking the Edit button, then selecting the Show Reviews & Ratings for Submitter checkbox on the category form page.
Block-Specific Settings:
- Comment Form Location - Currently, this setting is irrelevant for Event Portal sites.
- Comment Limit - Define the maximum number of comments that can be made.
- Sort Order - Specify whether comments appear in descending order (newest to oldest) or ascending order (oldest to newest).
- Show Ratings - Select to display all review rating options as defined in the Admin Panel.
- Rating Category 1 - Specify which defined options you want to display on the block. Options that appear in the dropdown list are based on fields defined in the Admin Panel. Additional fields are shown (e.g., Rating Category 2, Rating Category 3, etc.) each time you select an option.
Schedule Event
The Schedule Event block is associated with the Call for Proposals & Conference Management package add-ons and allows admins or category moderators to create a session by scheduling an approved proposal submission.
- This block is used on the review item details page (Default page name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:category_id/:item_id).
- The block only appears on the page if the proposal is in the Approved status.
- All sessions that were previously created from the proposal are also shown on the block and you can jump to view session details by clicking the session title.
Session Proposal Actions
The Session Proposal Actions block is associated with the Call for Proposals & Conference Management package add-ons and allows site admins and designated review category moderators the ability to bulk-assign graders to proposals.
- Configure this block to successfully appear by adding it on the proposal category details page (Default Page Name: Listings - View Item, Default URL: /listings/item/:proposal_category_id).
- This block will not appear if placed on the main proposals page (Default Page Name: Proposals, Default URL: /proposals).
- The list of proposals in the Pending Approval status, search & filter options, and a button to assign reviewers are all displayed on the block.
Note: Only proposals in the Pending Approval status are visible.
To bulk-assign proposals:
- Search for the desired proposal or filter the list by tags, tracks, or any custom field
- Click the Assign Session Proposals button.
- Search the user list to locate the individuals that you wish to assign as a reviewer.
- Click the plus (+) icon to the right of the user's name to select them.
- Click Assign.
User Assigned Review Items
The User Assigned Review Items block is used in the Call for Proposals and Conference package add-ons to display a list of all proposals that have been assigned to the logged-in user for review.
- The block can be added to the main proposals page or the proposal category page but it only appears after the logged-in user has been assigned to review at least one proposal.
- If the block is added to the main proposal page, all assigned proposals from all review categories are shown.
- If it is placed on the proposal category page, only proposals of the individual review category appear.
- This block displays the proposal name, the submitter's name - if the category is not configured for blind review, the current status of the proposal, and whether it has been reviewed by the grader.
Block-Specific Settings:
- Default Sort by - Specify whether proposals appear in the order they were Created, alphabetically by Title, or by the logged-in user Reviewed status.
- Item Status Filter - Display only items of the selected status. Status options shown in the dropdown list are managed in Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Access & State Settings.
- Review Category - Display only session proposals of the defined category on the block. Review Category Ids are unique to each category form and are found in two ways:
- Navigate to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories, then click Edit to access the desired session proposal category form and check the URL. The Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- On the front end of your site, navigate to the desired session proposal category listing page then check the URL. The session proposal Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- Navigate to Admin Panel > Site Building Tools > Forms Manager > Categories, then click Edit to access the desired session proposal category form and check the URL. The Review Category ID is the number shown after the /category URL parameter.
- Form Types - Select the Session Proposal checkbox to ensure only proposals appear on the list.
- Show Recommendations - Allow the system to display recommended proposals assigned to the user for review.
- Module Layout - Currently, this setting is irrelevant for Event Portal sites. All assigned proposals are shown in the table-list format regardless of layout selection.