Form Setup (Attendee/Registration Form)

Form Setup (Registration Form)

Introduction

A registration form is an online form that enables attendees to register for an event. It submits attendees’ information into the registration and profile database tables.

Each registration form must belong to one event. An event can have any number of forms.

Examples include: Attendee Registration form, Exhibitor Registration form, and Appointment Preferences selection form.

> Note: By default, all Certain forms and websites are “private” (invisible to engines). For information about changing this for all or some events, see the PDF guide, Web Crawlability in Certain Events.

Security Note

If the event has an Access Token (generated on Event Setup Details), then anyone going to any forms or websites in the event would have to enter the token before proceeding.

The Sections of a Registration Form

A registration form consists of one or more sections. A registration form groups sections into one or more pages.

You can select the sections, their order, and the number of sections per page as needed.

• Entry
• Registrant Details
• Attendee Type
• Questions (up to 10 sections*)
• Accommodation Entry
• Accommodation
• Event Waitlist
• Agenda (Up to 40 sections*)
• Personal Agenda
• Agenda
• Sessions (up to 30 sections*)
• Additional Registration Add
• Travel
• Travel Entry
• Travel
• Group
• Promo Codes
• Verify / Edit
• Payment
• Confirmation
• Logic (Up to 20 sections*)
• Custom HTML (Up to 20 sections*)

• You can have multiple Forms Questions, Forms Agenda, Forms Sessions, Forms Logic, and Custom HTM L sections. Each one is only listed here once you have added and named it on its configuration page. That custom name is what you see on this Form Setup page.

> Note: Every form must include a Registrant Details section. Recommended: Accommodation and Travel sections should be on separate form pages. Suggested order: Accommodation Entry > Accommodation > Travel Entry > Travel, across four consecutive form pages. Last page: The last section should be the Confirmation section (from which a confirmation email can also be sent).

Setup Information

Name

Name is a required field. It is a descriptive name for this form.

Subtitle

Subtitle is an optional field. It is HTML or text to display online below the event’s title.

Set form dates relative to event dates

Set form dates relative to event dates enables setting the Form Open Date and Form Close Date as relative to the Event Start and/or End Dates instead of specifying fixed dates.

> Note: If Set form dates relative to event dates is selected and the Event Start or End Dates are changed later, the relevant form dates will change accordingly.

Form Open Date

Form Open Date is a required field. It is the date and time when the registration form opens.

Prior to the Form Open Date, attendees will see the “Not open” message you can configure in the Advanced section of this page.

> Note: If the event has a status of “Cancelled”, then the form will not be available to attendees at all.

Unless Set form dates relative to event dates is selected, enter the date and time (PT). Default is the current date at 8:00 AM (PT).

If Set form dates relative to event dates is selected, select one of the following options, and then select the number of months/days/hours to apply.

• Before Event Start Date
• Before Event End Date
• After Event Start Date
• After Event Start Date
• At a specified time and date (PT)

(Enter the date and time. This option enables having only the Form Close Date set relative to the event start or end date.)

Form Close Date

Form Close Date is a required field. It is the date and time when the registration form closes.

After Form Close Date, attendees will see the “After Form Close Date” message you can configure in the Advanced section of this page.

Unless Set form dates relative to event dates is selected, enter the date and time. Default is the Event End Date and Time.

If Set form dates relative to event dates is selected, select one of the following options, and then select the number of months/days hours to apply.

• Before Event Start Date
• After Event Start Date
• Before Event End Date
• After Event End Date
• At a specified time and date (PT)

(Enter the date and time. This option enables having only the Form Start Date set relative to the event start or end date.)

> Note: If a form close date is set after the event close date, then the event close date overrides the form close date. The form will no longer be available once the event end date has passed. This avoids the potential risk of registrations being entered after the event has ended.

But if you want to override this for a post-event survey form, you can select the Allow form open beyond event end date setting described below.

URL

URL is the website address of this registration form.

If you do not specify a URL for the form, the system creates one automatically.

Form Status

Form Status includes the following statuses.

• Live — The form is available for attendees to use.
• Test — Best practice is selecting this status only if the Event Status on Plan > Event Setup > Details is “Testing”.

> Warning: If processing credit card payments on the form and the Form Status is “Test”, payments are sent to the online processor in Test mode instead of Live mode.

> Note: This status does not affect the status of Registrations. Registrations are only added as “Test” registrations when the status of the event is “Testing”.

• Closed — Usually used if the Event Status is “Postponed”. (See Plan > Event Setup > Details.)

An attendee attempting to sees the “Form Closed” message (which you can configure in the Advanced section of this page) instead of the form.

> Note: You can set the status to “Closed” regardless of the form’s Open and Close Dates (as set above).

Hyperlink Label

Hyperlink Label is the text shown for the link when a form link data-driven field (for example, <Hyperlink to Form: Attendee Registration Form>) is added to a Confirmation page, or another object that accepts data-driven field links.

For example, “to as a speaker”.

This is useful when creating multiple events (containing multiple forms) using an event template. Data-driven hyperlinks eliminate the need to update hard-coded links to registration forms in new events.

Google Analytics Tracking ID

Google Analytics Tracking ID is inherited. Each form automatically inherits the Google Analytics Tracking ID entered at the event level (Plan > Configure > Options), if one has been entered.

You can optionally enter a separate Tracking ID specifically for this form in this field. This is used when a “series” event is implemented. Each registration form is a separate event.

A Google Analytics Tracking ID should look something like UA-12345678-1.

For more information about obtaining a Google Analytics Tracking ID, see About Google Analytics Tracking IDs.

For details of the cookies generated by a Certain form, including for Google Analytics, see the Certain Cookies PDF guide.

> Note: By default, form pages are not tracked at the individual level. Once a registrant proceeds beyond the entry page, the form URL is the same for all pages. You can change this by selecting Enable page-specific, page-level URL below.

Settings

Settings are optional check boxes that enable selected features.

• Do not allow edits to existing registrations — If selected, registrants cannot edit their information after completing their registration.
• This is the primary form for the event — One form per event must be designated as the primary form. This is useful when viewing the primary form from an external website such as an online calendar. A report shows the Primary Form Name and Primary Form URL values (if those columns are included in the report).

> Note: To change which form is the primary, select this check box for the new one. This automatically clears it for the original.

> Caution: Deleting or inactivating a form does not remove the Primary Form designation. If you are not viewing inactive forms on the Forms List, you may not be aware that a primary form is still set for an event.

• Make this form available on the Admin side — If selected, the form is available on the Manage > Registrations > Add Registration and Registration > Reg Form pages.
• Allow access via web service — If selected, the form is accessible via the Certain API. The getEventForms method in API 1 can provide the form’s URL.
• Allow form open beyond event end date — If selected and the form’s Close date is set to after the event close date, then the form is still available once the event end date has passed. This makes a post-event survey form possible. Normally, as described under the form’s Close date above, the form is no longer available after the event end date.

> Note: If the event has a status of “Cancelled”, then the form is not available to attendees at all, regardless of this setting.

> Note: This option remains relevant if Set form dates relative to event dates was selected. If the Form Close Date is set to any point after the Event End Date, then Allow form open beyond event end date must also be selected.

• Allow form to remain open when event Registration Capacity is reached — If this check box is selected and Registration Capacity is set for the event on Plan > Event Setup > Details, then the form remains open even after registrations reach the registration capacity limit. Normally, all forms in the event are closed at that point.

For example, you can close the primary form(s) but leave one open that allows waitlisting.

> Note: You must select this if you are enabling Automatic Event Waitlisting for the event.

• Enable split screen edit mode — If selected, you can edit the form while seeing both views at the same time.

When you are logged into the Certain admin interface and viewing the attendee registration form, you see a “gear” icon on the left of each form section header. Click the “gear” icon to show a split screen view. One frame shows the attendee view of the form. The other frame shows the admin-side configuration screen for that form section.

• Disable browser back button — If selected, a registrant clicking the Back button in a form has no effect.

• Reg status — The form can automatically change the registration status of the registrant.
• Upon entry into this form, set status to — The entry status is assigned to all registrations on the order. This includes both Primary and Additional registrations. The entry status is assigned as the attendee enters the form to register. Select (Do not change) to leave the registration status unaffected by entry into the form.
• Upon completion of this form, set status to — The completion status is assigned to all registrations on the order. This includes both Primary and Additional registrations. The completion status is assigned when the registrant reaches the form’s confirmation page. Select (Do not change) to leave the registration status unaffected by exit from the form.

> Note: The registration status selected here overrides the default status of the registration’s attendee type.

> Note: The list of statuses available for selection includes: Custom statuses added on Plan > Event Setup > Custom Statuses. The 11 default registration statuses include: New, Requested Invitation, Waitlist Hold, Invited, Request Denied, Invitation Sent, Pre-Registered, Declined Invitation, Cancelled, No-show, Attended. These are included unless the account has the Show Default Statuses option cleared on Account Settings > Implementation > Security. If Show Default Statuses is cleared, none of those are available. Clearing this setting is rare for an account administrator.

• User Notes — A text entry field for miscellaneous information.

Page Layout

Page Layout selects the sections that are included in the form.

The Available Sections list is on the left. The Online Form Sequence list is on the right.

Video: Page Layout (2 min.)

To save scrolling through a long list of sections, type any part of a section name in the Filter text box. The Filter text box is a predictive search that limits the list to matching sections.

If any sections in the Online Form Sequence box are not wanted, move those sections back to the Available Sections box.

• Click → or ← to move selected sections to the right or left.
• Click →> or «« to move all sections right or left.
• Click Top, Bottom, Up, or Down to change the display order of the sections listed in the Online Form Sequence box.

Insert a {Secure Page} break before any section that collects credit card information. This includes the Payment or Accommodation sections. Insert a {Secure Page} break before a section to build a multi-page form.

Either case causes the page before it to end with a Continue button.

Three Rules for Building a Registration Form

1. Every form must include the Registrant Details section.

2. The Accommodation Entry section is optional. If it is not used, attendees can only request one room. If it is used, it must be on the page immediately before the Accommodation section. The Accommodation Entry section serves no purpose other than an introduction to the Accommodation section.

3. The last section of the form must be a Confirm section. You do not need to add a {New Page} at the end.

Page & URL Titles

You can display a step-by-step navigation bar in this section. The navigation bar helps attendees see where they are in the registration process as they proceed through the form.

• Display step-by-step navigation bar? — Select this check box to turn on the navigation bar and set display options for the bar.
• Page Title — Enter text for each step to display in the bar. Each number corresponds directly to a section in the Page Layout section. Boxes left blank will not display on the final navigation bar. The registrant’s browser includes this label after the registration site name. This confirms the current step.

The forms are by default 508 compliant. This enables screen readers to identify the page a registrant is currently on. Keeping custom HTML following 508 compliance ensures accessibility. One example is adding banner HTML. Custom HTML should include aria-labels. Aria-labels help screen readers relay information correctly.

• Orientation — Orientation can display as either Vertical Column on left, or Horizontal Row across top.
• Horizontal Separator — Available only if Horizontal Row across top has been selected. The character used to separate the titles. Default is &raquo;.
• Background Color — Sets the color of the bar. Select a color with the color picker. Enter a hex-code directly, for example #003385.
• Font for Page Titles — Determines the font style applied to the page titles in the navigation bar. Plan > Configure > Display page configures font styles.
• Font for Current Page — A different font for the current page title differentiates the registrant’s current page.
• Display Image/Text ______ to ______ of the current page — The image or characters displayed to the right or left of the name of the current page in the navigation bar. Can be plain text or HTML. Default is &raquo;.
• Show Step Navigation on Page 1? — Indicates whether the page titles show up on the initial page of the navigation system. Many planners do not wish to show registration form navigation on the entry page if one is used. Attendees may be forced to authenticate with a username or password.

• Enable page-specific, page-level URL? — If selected, two columns are displayed: Page URL # and Page Title.
• Page URL # — A list of text fields numbered from 1 to n. n is the number of pages included in the Online Form Sequence. Each field is preceded by a #. Enter an optional text label to add (preceded by #) to the URL for that page. This provides a unique URL for each page. Form progress can be tracked via embedded web tracking codes.

• 1) #_______ — Label added to URL of first page of form. For example, if this was “ENTRY”, the URL for the first page would be something like: example.com/profile/form/index.cfm#PKformID=0x12345678aall #ENTRY. This can be used in web analytics.
• 2) #_______ — Label added to URL of second page of form
• 3) #_______ — Label added to URL of third page of form
• and so on.

• Page Title — For each row for Page URL#, configure a unique Page Title.

That title is available as a Dynamic Data Field (DDF) in the Advanced Display and can be included in the display shell.

Registrants see the title in the browser tab.

Web analytics programs can pick it up for reporting.

Global Display Settings

Global Display Settings determine the default display behavior for the entire form.

• Label Font, Label Alignment, and Label Vertical — Sets font and positioning for text labels.
• Form Layout — Sets the default relationship of text labels to form input fields on the form. Labels may display to the left of input fields or above input fields. Default is Left / Right.
• The default can change to Top / Bottom if using the Insert Row button on Forms > Registrant Details to create a multi-column profile section layout. This makes the online form look more like a paper registration form.
• Note: Does not apply to quite all sections at the moment. Does apply to Registration Details. It also applies to these sections of the Verify and Confirm pages: Accommodation, Appointment, Attendee Type, Questions, Registration Details, and Travel (V.1).

• Input Alignment and Input Vertical — Positions text when entered into text fields.
• Instructions Font — Sets the default font for instructions text that appears anywhere on the form. Default is Text.
• Page Font — Sets the default font for all other text. Default is Text.
• Required Font — Sets the style for messages instructing users that certain questions or entry fields are required. Default is Subheader.
• Start a new table with each section? — If this check box is selected, each form section appearing on the same page as other sections is displayed in its own HTML table. This inserts slightly more space around form sections.
• Show navigation on Registration Forms? — If selected, the form includes navigation links to each page. These links are configured on Plan > Configure > Display > Navigation Bar.

Required Fields Settings

Certain optionally displays an image next to each field on a form page that is required.

• Req. image — Sets the image file displayed. If Req. image is set to blank, no image is displayed. Default is an asterisk = <span class="error"> * </span>
• Attributes — Determines extra information included in the HTML tag that places the Req. image on the page.
• Req. message _____ — Sets the text message (e.g., “denoted field is required”) next to the Req. image that appears at the top.
• place _____ header bar — whether it appears above or below the header bar of any page in the Registration form.
• in font — The font style used to display the message. Font styles come from Plan > Configure > Display page, for example “Error”.
• Error message — The text displayed if the attendee does not fill out a required form field and tries to continue to the next page in the registration form. Default is “Please correct the following errors:”
• Enable error message links — If selected, error messages for required fields include links to those fields. This is required to make forms 508-compliant. A screen-reader user can click the hyperlinked error message to focus the cursor on the associated field.

Required Fields Messages

You can customize error messages displayed to the attendee when the attendee entries fail validation.

The message labels and default values should be enough to explain each one.

Agenda Item Error Messages

You can customize error messages related to agenda items.

The message labels and default values should explain their use.

Labels for Registration Assistance Link

You can customize the message shown to an attendee if the attendee clicks the link for registration assistance. The message can include HTML tags in the text.

The message labels and default values should be enough to explain each one.

Labels for Buttons and Links

You set messages that appear on standard links and buttons that can be automatically displayed on the form.

If no text is entered in a field, the button is not displayed. This does not apply to the Continue button, which is required.

• Continue Button — Required. The label for the button used to advance the registration form to the next section. Default is “Continue”.
• Reset Button — The label for a reset button used to clear values from the form on any section of the registration form.
• Additional Registrants — If the event accepts multiple registrants, this button enables an attendee to register other attendees. Default is “Add Another Registrant”.
• New Reg Link — This link enables the registrant to go back to the beginning and create an entirely new registration after completing the current one. Default is “New Registration”.
• Last Page URL Link — This sets the text of a link on the confirmation page that lets attendees return to your main website for more information.
• Last Page Url — This is the website to which the attendee is taken if the attendee clicks the Last Page URL Link.
• Reg Assistance Link — Configures a text link displayed at the bottom of each page of the form. This link enables attendees to email the registration contact. Default is “<br /><br />Email Registration Assistance”.
• Enable CAPTCHA — Selected by default. This option places a CAPTCHA check box on the form that the registrant completes so the registrant must prove being human.

Caution: If you clear this option, the form does not include a CAPTCHA check box.

Creating and Editing Registration Forms (ADVANCED SETTINGS)

Click the Advanced button on this Form > Setup page to edit messages displayed automatically when triggered by circumstances.

Each message contains default text. You can change or delete the default text.

Each setting includes the following fields.

• Append — If required, select a dynamic data field (DDF) to append to the Header of the Message.
• Header Text — The text displayed in the header bar. Example: “Important Notice”.
• Message HTML — The text of the message displayed when triggered.

For each setting, you can accept the default or customize it as necessary.

• Enable Editor? — If selected, edit Message HTML in a WYSIWYG editor with the usual controls for formatting it.

If left clear, enter the message in plain text (which can still include HTML tags).

• Show the Registration Assistance Link — If selected, a link opens a pop-up window. The pop-up window enables potential attendees to contact the primary Registration Contact for the event.

Customize Entry Page Message (Before Form Open Date)

• Message HTML — This message displays if anyone tries to access the form via the form’s URL before the form’s open date.

Customize Entry Page Message (After Form Close Date)

• Message HTML — This message displays if anyone tries to access the form via the form’s URL after the form’s close date.

Customize Entry Page Message (After Event End Date)

• Message HTML — This message displays if anyone tries to access the form via the form’s URL after the event’s end date, or if the event’s Status is set to ‘Cancelled’.

Customize "Closed Form" Message

• Message HTML — An attendee sees this message if the attendee tries to register when the Form Status is 'Closed'.

Customize "Event Registration Capacity" Message

• Message HTML — An attendee sees this message if the attendee tries to register after the number of active, complete registrations reaches the level set as Registration Capacity for the event on Event Setup > Details.

Similarly, if that level has been reached and an attendee with a ‘Cancelled’ status tries to log back in (using their Username & Password, Passcode, or Single Sign-On), they see this message.

> Note: This message is not displayed in either of these situations: 1. If Registration Capacity is blank meaning there is no limit. 2. If Allow form to remain open when event capacity is reached is selected. 3. If Automatic Event Waitlisting is enabled, since that requires Allow form to remain open when event capacity is reached to be selected.

Customize "Maximum Concurrent Registrations" Message (Based on active sessions)

If you anticipate an event will be in high demand and will have a spike of registrations upon going live, you recommend contacting Certain Product Support with the name of the event, the go-live date and time, and the anticipated number of registrations within the first hour. Product Support can make a recommendation on the maximum number of concurrent sessions (registrations) that can be reached before a custom message is displayed.

This feature works in conjunction with the ‘Incomplete registrations count against capacity/inventory for ‘X’ minutes after their last modification ’ value defined under Plan > Configure > Options > Global Settings section. This value defines the number of minutes that a registrant has to complete their registration before the session is timed out.

When the maximum number of registrants is reached, the custom error message appears. The page refreshes every 15 seconds. The page refresh allows new registrants as other registrants complete the form. An image appears below the custom message. The image indicates the page automatically refreshes in ‘X’ seconds.

If you would like to extend the length of the refresh interval, this value can be modified by Certain Support.

• Allowed — Enter the maximum number of active registrations allowed to enter the form before message displays.
• Header Text — The header of the text displayed once the maximum concurrent registrations number is reached.
• Message HTML — The message displayed once the maximum concurrent registrations number is reached. Default: “Online registration is currently unavailable for this form. Please try again later.”
• Enable Editor? — If selected, edit the Message HTML in a WYSIWYG editor with the usual controls for formatting it.