How to create an event

To get started with the configuration of your event, you will first need to create a new event. You will go through a step-by-step wizard that will help you get the most important configuration ready in no time. Once the basics are in place, you can always refine them further via the dashboard.

Follow the next steps to create a new event:

• Log into the dashboard
• Select 'create event' 
  
  

• You are at the start of the wizard, which will guide you through different components to set up your event:
  
  

Basic info 

Fill in the following fields: 

• Event name: the name you would to give to your event
• Start date: select a start date by means of a calendar picker. Don't forget to fill in a start time too.
• End date: select an end date. Remark: the event period cannot be longer than 7 days.
• Select 'next'
  
  

Profiel info

Select and/or fill in which profile fields you would like to add to your user's profile, which is visible in the attendee list and which appears when clicking on an avatar. Keep in mind that 'first name' and 'last name' are automatically included in your user's profile, so you don't need to add them as separate profile fields. You can always see the result of your selected profile fields on the right side, where the user's profile card is automatically updated depending on which profile fields you select.

• Profile picture: select this field if you want to allow your users to upload a profile picture (this is optional for users)
• Jobtitle: select this field if you want to include 'jobtitle' in your user's profile
• Organisation: select this field if you want to include 'organisation' in your user's profile 
• Add another profile field: click here to add other profile fields to your user's profile (for example: domain, language,...)
• Enable social links: select this field if you want to allow your users to add their social media accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to their user profile. (this is optional for users) 
• Select 'next'
  

Event access

Indicate here how you want to organise your registration process: 

• Option 1: users will be invited by my organisation
  For this option you will need to deliver an excel file with includes email, first name, last name and profile fields of all the users you want to invite for your event. 
• Option 2: let my users register themselves 
  When choosing this option your users will need to register via the Thola registration page, where they will fill in email, first name, last name and other profile fields if configured.
  • Invitation code: you can choose to add an invitation code to your registration page. This makes your registration more secure, given that only users who have this code, can complete their registration.
  • Verify users: select this field if your registration requires verification. This will allow you to accept or decline registered users. 
• Select 'next'
  

Networking

Indicate here what networking options you want to allow during your event. Depending on what option you select, the user's profile card will be extended with 'send message', 'meet now' and/or 'schedule meeting'. See screenshot below. 

• Messaging: allow your users to chat with each other
• Videocall: allow your users to videocall with each other
• Speed-dates: In case you want to organise speed-dates on your event, this can be set up after the attendees are registered. For more information click here
• Select 'next'
  

Room setup

In this step of the wizard you need to indicate if you will work with a room template or start blank. 

• Room template: the easiest way is to use an existing room template for your event. There are 2 options. You can either choose from room templates that Thola offers. Such as for example  'Corporate style' in the screenshot below. When clicking on 'preview', you will see what room designs are included in this template. The other option is to create your own room templates. Read more about it here. Select 'next'. 
• Start blank: select this option if you rather want to upload your own designs, choose which components you want to add to your rooms and configure them all by yourself. When selecting this option the wizard ends here and you will continue with the configuration in the dashboard. Select 'finish'. 
  
  
  

Room configuration

Choosing a room template to work with, also means that the components that need to be configured are predefined. We will start with the configuration of these elements now. This configuration will be done per room. You can always see on top which room it concerns. 

• Show welcome message: select this option if you want to let a welcome message pop-up the first time a user enters the room. 
  • Title: fill in the title of your welcome message
  • Message: fill in your message
• Select 'configure room elements'
  You will now need to configure all elements that are included in your room. This allows you to customize elements like buttons, billboards, booths etc. If you are unsure of the functionality of a particular item, you can hover of the 'i' icon to get more information or you can always type in the name of this element in the search bar in this helpdesk. Once you have configured all elements in a room, you can move on to the next room.
• Once you are finished with the configuration of your final item in your final room, you select 'configure announcements'
  
  

Announcements

In this step you can set up your announcements. These announcements are messages that can be sent out at specific times to inform your attendees. They are also often used to guide attendees from one room to another. 

• Title: choose which title you want to give your announcement
• Message: fill in your message
• Show announcement to people in a specific room: indicate here in which rooms you want to display your announcement. If you leave this empty, it will be sent out to all rooms. 
• Show a link to navigate to a specific room: select here the room you want to guide your attendees to
• Sending date: select a date and time on which the announcement need to be sent out
• Select 'add another announcement' if you want to set up another message or select 'next' if you are done
  

Congratulations

Congrats! You completed all steps of the wizard and have set up your event. Select 'finish event creation' to be directed to the event dashboard to see all details of your event or select 'back' if you have forgotten something and want to make some adjustments. Keep in mind that you can still modify everything that you have configured in this step-by-step wizard, in the event dashboard. 

Cancel event creation

Do you at any time want to cancel the event creation? Then select 'cancel event creation' in the top right corner and select 'cancel' to confirm.