With a Timely account, you can set up a Front End Submission Form in the public view of your events calendar, and accept event submissions from your community and local partners. With this feature you can populate your website calendar with events hosted by other organizations effortlessly.
1. Creating a Front End Submission Form
Once you log into your Timely account, click on Settings on the left menu on your dashboard. Then, on General settings, click on Event Submission Form. The area will expand and you can click the Enable event submissions form to enable the feature.
2. Event Submission Form Set Up Options
Once you have enabled the Event Submission Form in General Settings, you will be able to see all setting up options.
2.1. Automatically approve new submitters
If you check this option, all submitters will be automatically approved by default. This will be the general rule, even if you had previously set up individual approval rules.
2.2. Automatically approve new events submitted
When this option is checked, all events sent by all submitters will be automatically approved by default. If you enabled this option, any previous individual submitter approval setting will be disregarded.
By default, when you enable the Event Submission Form, the + ADD EVENT button shows automatically on the toolbar of your online events calendar.
Nevertheless, you can hide it by simply clicking on the hide add event button checkbox on the Event Submission Form settings.
Please note that you can add your + ADD EVENT button as a CTA elsewhere on your website. You can even change the name of the button to something else, if you wish. Simply go to Settings>Embed Code and select the embedding options according to your needs. For detailed instructions on how to Timely's codes on your website, please go to How to Embed Timely Calendar on your Website.
2.4. Enable external tickets
If you check this option, a new field will appear on the form allowing your event submitters to add to an external link to the website where they are selling tickets, as well as the event ticket price.
When the event is published, the link will appear on the "Ticket" CTA on the respective event post on your public calendar.
2.5. Featured image required
This setting allows you to set the featured image as a required item on your submission form. In other words, if this option is activated, your event submitters will not be able to submit events unless they upload an image for their event.
It is particularly relevant for event calendar owners who are careful on how they calendar looks on their audience's eyes, and want to make sure all event posts have a featured image. Moreover, this feature can save time and improve productivity by making event submitters complete this step on the event creation process.
3. Event Filter Options
3.1. Standard Filters
If you wish, you can require your event submitters to add filters to their events so your calendar is always organized the way you want. You can allow them to search for available filters, or add new ones, if convenient.
The Filters option will list all default filters, such as Categories, Tags, Venues and Organizers.
The default filters have two options:
- Required: if required is checked, then the submitter needs to choose one option; and
- Show new button: if this option is selected, then a button will appear next to the dropdown and will let the submitter add a new option to the filter.
3.2 Custom Filters
If you have Custom Filters in your plan, all filters created by you will also appear on this list. For example, you can add to the event submission form a Workshops custom field that you have previously created in the Filters menu.
The custom filters only have one option: if it is a required filter on the form or not. The NEW button will always appear.
3.3. Filters Use Example
Please see the example below:
For this form, the field Category was set up as mandatory field (checked as required). In this case, the submitter did not select an option from the dropdown menu, so the field is marked in red.
Both Category and Tag don’t have the NEW button, so the submitter can’t add his or hers own categories and tags to the event post. In contrast, Venue and Organizer have the NEW button, so the submitter can add his or hers own venues and organizers.
For the last filter - Workshops - the NEW button is always an option.
4. Fields Options
4.1. Standard Fields
When you enable event submissions for your events calendar, our system generates a standard event submission for you.
The standard form contains all the relevant fields for an event to be created in our software. For instance, event title, date and time, including recurrence and timezone, event description and featured image.
The form with the standard fields will look exactly like the image below:
4.2. Custom Fields
If you have the Custom Fields in your plan, you can add more fields to your event submission form. With this feature, you will be able to add two types of fields - text and checkbox. To add a new field simply click on the Add Field button, and customize it according to your needs.
In addition, you can determine if each field is a required item on the form, and if the answer will be shown or be hidden in the event post when published.
4.3. Custom Fields Example
In the following example, we created a text field and a checkbox field.
The text field asks for the occupation of the submitter and it is not a required item on the form. The checkbox field asks for confirmation that the submitter is 21 years old or older, and it is a required item on the form. Also, none of the fields should appear on the event page when published.
The fields created will show in a special section of the online event submission form, as follows:
5. Disclaimer Option
The Disclaimer option, if enabled, allows you to add a customized disclaimer for your event submission form. You can use this feature in many ways. For example, you can refer to your Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, or current safety precautions and protocols for events.
Moreover, you can make this a mandatory item on your form. In this case, the submitter will have to agree with the disclaimer before submitting the event. Otherwise, the system will not accept the event submission.
When enabled, the disclaimer will show up near the end of the event submission form, as shown on the image below:
For more user guidance, please go to our Help Center. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, do not hesitate to contact us. Alternatively, you can open a support ticket from your Timely account’s dashboard.