An Appointment Preferences section for a form is available only when Appointment Matching is turned on for the event in Plan > Configure > Options.
For an event to have Appointment Matching enabled, the account must enable Appointment Matching first.
If Appointment Matching is used to generate Pre-Scheduled Appointments for attendees, the system requires collecting attendees' preferences.
Preferences are the selections of whom attendees want to meet with.
The recommended approach is to create a dedicated Appointment Preferences form, not to place the preferences in the registration form.
The Appointment Preferences form should be restricted to people who have already registered.
The Appointment Preferences form should open after event registration closes to ensure all attendees have completed registrations.
On the form, the registrant will be prompted to select appointment partners.
The available choices are determined by settings configured in Engage > Appointments > Configure and Engage > Appointments > Pre-Scheduled/AME.
The settings include the minimum and maximum number of preferences the attendee can select.
The settings include the Attendee Types that the attendee’s own Attendee Type is permitted to select as preferences.
The settings include whether the attendee can select names or organizations.
The settings include whether the attendee can apply any filters.
Appointment Preferences Form
As described in Setting Up an Appointment Preferences Form, it is recommended to set up a dedicated Appointment Preferences form.
Recommendations include:
- The Appointments section should come after the Attendee Type section (as configured in the Page Layout area of Plan > Forms > Setup).
- In the Forms > Setup page, the Open date should be after event registration closes (on the separate event registration form).
- In the Forms > Setup page, sections not directly related to Preferences (for example, Payments) are not required and can be removed.
- In the Forms > Registrant Details page, it is not essential to require registrants to confirm their profile details again.
- Since First Name and Last Name are required fields for the Appointment Matching Engine, Best Practice is to include them as both "Required" and "Read Only".
- In the Forms > Entry page, the Form Entry Permissions should be set to "Restrict to registrations in this event" with Username and Password collection set to "Required".
- In the Forms > Confirm page, the only confirmation section needed is Appointment Preferences.
Section Header
A Section Header can be set on most pages to display additional instructions or event information related to the section being configured. The header text and HTML entries appear above the section elements.
If the Section Header area is blank, the header is inactive.
In each of the first three text fields, plain text or HTML can be entered, or the HTML Editor can be used.
- Text Above Header — Will appear above the header bar, at the top of the section. Usually instructions.
- Header Text — Will appear in the header bar (in a contrasting color). Example: "Appointment Preferences".
- Text Below Header — Will appear directly below the header, and can include any information you want to add.
- Provide instructions for appointment preferences minimums/maximums — If this check box is selected, as it is by default, then the Appointment Preferences page will include the following instructions, where X and Y are the limits to the numbers of preferences that you set in Appointments > Configure:
"Your event coordinator requires that you select at least X and no more than Y people or organizations from the following list(s) that you would like to meet with during this event:"
- Show Attendees who selected me as an appointment preference — If this check box is selected, then a check box with the same label will appear on the form. If the attendee selects that check box, then the only attendees listed for them to select from as preferences will be those who have selected them as one of their own preferences. When you run the Appointment Matching Engine, it is more likely to create appointments where the preferences are mutual, i.e. where both attendees have selected the other as a preference.
- Do not show attendee types — If this check box is selected, the list of attendees from which an attendee can select preferences is a single list, instead of being by attendee type.
- Select Fields for "More" — The fields selected here are the ones displayed in a pop-up window of more information about an attendee, when an attendee clicks the More icon after a name on their list of potential preferences.
(Note: The icon is not shown on the form if no fields are selected here.)
The fields available for inclusion are listed in the Available Fields box on the left. They include Profile fields and Profile Custom Questions.
To include a field:
- Click it in the Available Fields box. (An add icon is shown when you hover over a field.)
- This moves the field automatically to the end of the Fields To Display box on the right.
- It also adds it to the Select Attendee Types Eligible for "More" section at the end of the page, where you can customize how it will be named, and restrict the attendee types for whom it will be shown.
- Select Attendee Types Eligible for "More" — The fields to be shown in the popup window are listed here dynamically as you add them to the Fields To Display box.
They are displayed in the order you set when dragging them up or down in that box.
- Row — Displays the number of the field, as set when you order the fields in Fields To Display.
- Data Field — Displays the name of the field. For example, "FirstName".
- Text to Display — Type the label to be displayed on-screen. For example, "First Name".
- Attendee Types — Click to select the attendee types for whom the selected field will be displayed when More is clicked.
- Tip: leaving the list of attendee types blank is the same as selecting all attendee types.
- Save and Preview — Save changes. Preview to open the form in a separate browser window.
How the Registrant Uses the Form
Here's how the registrant will be able to select their preferences on the form.
The names of attendees will be listed on the left, with three icons next to each one:
- Add that person to the list of My Preferences on the right, where they can drag and drop names to establish priorities. The person’s name remains in the list, outlined in green.
- Display More information about that person — the "Preference Fields to Show for 'More'" selected above.
- Add that person to the Exclusion List on the right — the attendees with whom the registrant does not want appointments. This option is available only if that option is selected above. The person’s name remains in the list, outlined in red.
The registrant can limit the names displayed using the following elements.
1. Attendee Type
- If the registrant is of an attendee type which is only able to select preferences for one attendee type (as determined in Appointments > Configure), only attendees of that type are displayed.
- If the registrant can select preferences for more than one attendee type, collapsible lists of the registrants of each type are displayed.
3. Searching
- If searching is enabled (by selecting that check box in Appointments > Pre-Scheduled/AME), the registrant can select the field to search on (First Name, Last Name, Title, Organization, City, Country), type the text to match, and click the search icon.
4. Filtering
- If filtering is enabled (by selecting the check box and appropriate custom question(s) in Appointments > Pre-Scheduled/AME), the attendee can choose to apply filters by selecting the answer(s) to one or more custom questions. Only the records matching that filter will be displayed.
5. Mutual Preferences
- The registrant can choose to Show Attendees who selected me as an appointment preference, by selecting the check box with that label. That option is only available if it has been enabled when configuring the form.
- If the registrant selects this option, the only attendees listed will be those who have selected the registrant as one of their own preferences.
When the Appointment Matching Engine runs, it is more likely to create appointments where the preferences are mutual, i.e. where both attendees have selected the other as a preference.
Related notes
- This article may include features to be released.
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