This article applies to the Meetings module starting with version 3.0.0. This is a separate module to the more recent Appointments module (that is specifically designed for congresses and trade shows).
You will need to install the Meetings module on your workspace in order to use it. Once installed, the Meetings module can be accessed via Interactivity > Meetings in the main menu.
How does the Meetings scheduler work?
The Meetings module is used by attendees and event organizers to schedule one-to-one or group meetings between event attendees. When scheduling a meeting, the meeting organizer (in Backstage or via the app) will choose a title and description for the meeting, a start date/time, and a duration, a location, as well as the attendees to invite.
The invited attendees will always receive a notification and an email for the meeting invitation, and will be able to respond via the app by indicating whether they are attending or not. The attendee's response is communicated back to the meeting organizer via the app.
In addition to being able to create meetings for attendees, Backstage users can manage all meetings in the event, create and manage meeting locations, and manage all the settings available in the meetings module.
Please see below how app users and Backstage users each use the module differently.
How is the Meetings scheduler used by app users (attendees)?
App users, on web and mobile app, will organize their own meetings and receive (and respond to) meeting invitations. They can:
- Create (organize) new meetings.
- See and edit the meetings that they organized (change time, location, meeting name, invited guests, etc.).
- Receive meeting invitations (with notifications in the app and emails) and respond whether they are attending or not (via the app).
- Join meetings virtually via a video chat.
How is the meeting scheduler used by Backstage users (event organizers)?
Backstage users will manage meetings and configure how they want the meetings scheduler to be used in the event. They can:
- Create meeting locations (including virtual locations), that can be selected by Backstage users and by app users when creating (organizing) meetings.
- Create (organize) meetings.
- See and edit all the meetings and meeting locations in the workspace.
- Manage the meetings preferences.
How to create meetings that are in-person, fully virtual, or in-person with remote attendees joining, based on the selected meeting location?
The below types of meetings can be created in Backstage and in the app:
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Fully in-person meeting: To create an in-person meeting, the meeting organizer will need to select a previously created non-virtual meeting location (or a custom location). Attendees will meet in-person at the meeting location.
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Fully virtual meeting: To create a fully virtual meeting, the meeting organizer will need to select a previously created location for the meeting that has the "Virtual location" check box selected. This typically means that attendees will only join the meeting through the app's video chat.
- In-person meeting with remote attendees: Any in-person meeting (even if using a non-virtual meeting location) allows the attendees to start a group video chat that includes all the meeting attendees, thus allowing remote attendees to join via the app.
How to create meeting locations
Meeting locations can only be created in Backstage, and can be selected when organizing a meeting in Backstage or via the app.
To create a new meeting location, go to Interactivity > Meetings module via the main menu of the workspace, and click on New location:The below fields are used to create the meeting location:
Name of the meeting location - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Meeting location names are limited to 25 characters, to ensure the best display across all platforms.
Description of the meeting location - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
This could for example be information on how to find it, any specific equipment in the meeting location, or anything particular about the location that you wish to share with attendees.
Meeting location descriptions are limited to 80 characters, to ensure the best display across all platforms.
Virtual location: Tick this box if the meeting location is only for virtual meetings. This means that instead of being used for in-person meetings, this location can be selected for meetings that are only virtual, and that take place through the app on a video call. Virtual meetings can be double booked (used for multiple meetings over the same time slot) and can only be created and used if the option is not disabled. For more information on creating in-person, hybrid, or fully virtual meetings, please refer to the works, please refer to the How to create meetings that are in-person, fully virtual, or in-person section.
Capacity of the meeting location - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
This is the number of people that the meeting location can accomodate. The maximum capacity of a meeting is 20 people.
Allow event participants to book this location - visible to users in Backstage but not attendees in the app. Use this option to configure whether or not this location should be available to attendees to book via the app. You can for example disable option this if you want to keep this location only available to be booked for meetings that are created by the event organizers via Backstage.
Date and time slots for the meeting -visible to users in Backstage but not attendees in the app.
Here you can select over what period(s) of time the meeting location will be available to be booked. Outside of these times, the location cannot be booked:
- Start/end date: Choose the start date and end date for the period during which the meeting location can be booked. By default, the duration of the event is selected
- Start/end time: Choose the start time and end time for the period during which the meeting location can be booked, on the days that the location is available.
Note: While physical locations cannot be double-booked, virtual locations can. Please also be aware that all times are based on the event timezone.
You can create multiple distinct Start/end dates periods, for making the meeting available to be booked, using the Add date range button. You can also create multiple distinct Start/end time periods within each Start/end dates period, using the button. This is particularly useful if a location is not available on all days of the event, or if you want to make it available at different times on different days.
When you create additional Start/end dates periods, you can select the Copy time slots option in order to copy over the same Start/end time periods into the new date range.
Click on Save once you have finished creating the meeting location.
Here we have created 3 meetings locations:
The Lobby location has a capacity of 10 people, can be booked for the full duration of the event, and can only be booked via Backstage (is not available for booking by event participants).
The Booth locations have a capacity of 3 people, and can be booked by attendees only during the last three days of the event.
Note: In Backstage, event organizers can choose whether or not to allow custom meeting locations to be used in the app when attendees create their own meetings. More information
How to create a meeting in Backstage
Event organizers can create meetings in Backstage. These meetings will be created on behalf of an attendee who will be the "organizer" of the meeting. The attendee who is the organizer of a meeting has the ability to edit the meeting via the app.
To create a new meeting in Backstage, go to Interactivity > Meetings module via the main menu of the workspace, and click on New meeting:
The below fields are used to create the meeting:
Title of the meeting - mandatory field visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Date of the meeting - mandatory field visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Here you have to choose the date and start time of the meeting.
Duration of the meeting - mandatory field visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Here you have to enter how long the meeting will last.
Note: It is not possible to create meetings that span over a single day (beyond 00:00). All times are based on the event timezone.
Organizer of the meeting - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
This is the attendee that will show as the organizer of the meeting in the app, and who will have the ability to edit the meeting via the app. You can use the dropdown to the right of this field to predefine what the attendance status will be ("pending", "accepted", "declined") for the organizer of the meeting. The organizer will still have the option of changing their attendance status in the meeting invitation in the app.
Participants of the meeting - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Here you can enter the name and select each attendee that will be invited to attend the meeting. These attendees have to be in the user list of the workspace.
If a user name appears in gray, this means that the user has a "hidden" status in their profile in the workspace, and is therefore not visible to other attendees via the app.
You can use the dropdown to the right of each participant to predefine what the attendance status will be ("pending", "accepted", "declined") for that participant. Participants will still have the option of changing their attendance status in the meeting invitation in the app.
External participants of the meeting - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app (email address only).
Here you can enter the email address of any person at the event who is not in the "Participants" dropdown list (workspace user list), and who is not using the app.
Doing so will send an email invitation to the email address, including the details of the meeting (title, date, start/end time, location, meeting organizer, and add to calendar buttons.
External participants do not use the app. They therefore cannot indicate if they are attending or not a meeting, and cannot join virtual meetings.
Location of the event - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
Here you can select a location that is already created in the event. Here you can select a physical location (for purely in person meetings or for meetings that will have both in-person and remote attendees joining) or a virtual location (for fully virtual meetings via video chat). Locations will only be available to select here if they match the criteria of the meeting: this includes the meeting capacity, meeting date/time/duration, the location capacity, and the location availability for booking.
Note: If you select a physical location for the meeting, attendees will also have the option to open a group chat from within the meeting, and start a video call with all attendees that are using the app. This therefore allows all in-person and remote attendees to join the meeting.
For example, if the meeting you are creating has 6 participants, then meeting locations with a capacity that is below 6 participants will not show in the dropdown. Likewise, if a meeting is scheduled to take place at a certain date and time, and that date and time does not match with the configured availability date and time slot(s) for booking the meeting location, then the meeting location will not be available to select in the dropdown.
Enter your own location for the meeting - visible to users in Backstage and attendees in the app.
The last field in the screen can be used as a free text field to describe a custom location for the meeting. It must be used when no predefined options are available to select in the above Location field. These open text locations do not have any configured capacity or time slots.
Adding a meeting location is mandatory when creating a meeting. Instead of selecting a predefined meeting location, users will have to create "custom" meeting locations using the "Enter your own location" free text field.
In the below example, we will create a meeting that will include 5 total participants (4 participants that are using the app, and one external participant). Based on the locations created above in the How to create meeting locations section, the Lobby meeting is the only available location that matches the meetings criteria:
This meeting, once created (after being saved in Backstage), will appear in the list of meetings in Backstage (the first one in the list below):
Once the meeting is saved, the meeting invitation will immediately be received by the participants, in the form of a notification in the app or an email for attendees that are not using the app.
Creating and editing a meeting using the app
Creating a meeting in the app
App users can create meetings via the app. To do this they need to:
Open the meetings section, and tap the + button in the top right corner:
In the next screen, app users can create the meeting:
The fields here are exactly the same as those described in the How to create a meeting in Backstage section.
You will need to enter the meeting participants and the meeting start date/time/duration before you can select an available location, as the system will use this information in order to suggest the most suitable locations.
The meeting location is mandatory when creating a meeting. The attendee can either select from the list of available meeting rooms, or enter their own custom location in the free text field (if the option is not disabled in the Preferences tab). If no meeting locations are created in Backstage, then the Locations field (used to select predefined meetings) will not be available when scheduling meetings in the app.
The app user creating the meeting is considered the meeting organizer, and is the only person who can edit the meeting via the app.
Note: If a physical location is selected for the meeting, attendees will also have the option to open a group chat from within the meeting, and start a video call with all attendees that are using the app. This therefore allows all in-person and remote attendees to join the meeting.
The app user will tap Create, at the bottom of the screen, to finish scheduling the meeting.
Once the meeting is created, meeting invitations will immediately be received by the participants, in the form of a notification in the app (for the app users) and an email (for app users and non app users). More information on the emails and notifications received.
Editing a meeting in the app
Once an app user has scheduled a meeting, they can access the meeting and make any necessary changes.
This is done by tapping the "edit meeting" button in the top right of the screen. Only meeting organizers (or the attendee that created the meeting in the app) can see this button and edit the meeting:
Once the meeting is modified, participants will receive notifications and emails informing them of the changes.
How do virtual meetings work for attendees?
Whatever the meeting type, meetings can always take place over video chat in the app, so that both remote and in-person attendees can easily meet.
Note: External participants (attendees who are not using the app) cannot attend fully virtual meetings, as they take place through the app.
To start or join a virtual meeting, mobile or web app users can access the meeting via the app, and select the Join call button:
This will open a chat window that includes all the participants of the meeting. At this point attendees can type and send instant messages to the group, or use the Video call button to start or join the ongoing video call.
Please remember that for virtual meetings to be available in the app the Enable virtual meetings setting must not be disabled.
Meetings notifications and emails
Meetings notifications (only participants using the app)
Push or in-app notifications are received by meeting participants and meeting organizers to inform them of new invitations, changes in meetings, or in some cases actions performed within the meeting:
| Action | Meeting organizer receives notification |
Meeting invited attendees receive a notification
|
| Meeting invitation received | No | Yes |
| Attendees accept/decline meeting | Yes | No |
| Attendee added or removed from an existing meeting | No | Yes |
| Organizer starts/ends call | No | Yes |
| Attendee starts/leaves call | Yes | No |
| Chat message received while having chat window closed | No | Yes |
| Chat message received while viewing meeting group chat window | No | No |
| Chat message received while video call is running | No | No |
Mobile app users will always receive push notifications, and web app users will receive pop-up notifications.
In the app menu, red bubbles will also appear over the Notifications and Meetings app menu items to indicate that notifications have been received.
Meetings emails (all attendees)
External participants that are not part of the user list of the workspace, and who therefore do not use the app, cannot receive app notifications.
All meeting attendees, whether they are using the app (i.e, on the user list of the workspace) or they are external (i.e. not on the user list of the workspace), will always receive notifications via email.
These emails are received when attendees are invited to a meeting, when an update is made to an existing meeting that they are invited to, and when a meeting that they are invited to is cancelled. This cannot be deactivated.
These emails include the details of the meeting (title, date, start/end time, location, the name of the meeting organizer, and "add to calendar" buttons.
These emails can be customized via the workspace email templates, available at Design > Emails > Templates, however please do not insert dynamic placeholders for user information (for example {{fname}}), as these will not be supported when emails are sent to external participants.
These email templates are only present in the workspace if the Meetings module is installed.
More information on editing email templates.
How can I inform someone (outside of the organizer and invitees) of all the newly created, modified, or cancelled meetings?
In the Preferences tab of the Meetings module, there is a field called Email address to send an email to when a meeting is created/updated/deleted, where you can add one or more email addresses, in order to notify those people via email of any newly created, modified, or deleted/cancelled meetings:
This is a great way to keep a person or group of people informed of all the activity around meetings in the event, so that they can for example ensure that everything is going smoothly, or monitor the usage and availability of meeting locations.
To note, no emails are sent when attendees accept or decline meetings, these meetings emails are only sent when a meeting is created/updated/deleted.
The email received will look as follows:
The information included in the email is as follows:
- The name of the meeting.
- The name of the meeting organizer.
- The date and start/end time.
- The location.
- The number of participants.
- A calendar link.
Meetings preferences
In the Preference tab of the meetings module, there are a variety of settings that can be used to adjust how the meetings scheduler behaves. Below we'll explain how they can be used.
Please note that all the times mentioned below are in the event's timezone.
Choose the default meeting suggested start date
When creating a meeting, when you choose the start date and time for the meeting, Backstage will by default suggest the start date and time of the event.
You can use this field to modify the suggested start date and time. For example, if you are planning on holding meetings only on a specific day during your event, you can change this field to that specific day.
Choose the meeting possible starting times
When creating a meeting, users will choose the start time of the meeting. This field is used to determine what start times will be available at each hour. While the default value is to have available start times. every 30 minutes. You can choose to have start times available every:
Configure the meeting duration options displayed when creating a meeting
Here, event organizers can choose what the selectable meeting durations should be when creating a meeting:
In the above example, based on the selection meeting organizers will have to choose between 20 or 40 minutes durations. You can select as many of these durations as you need.
Allow custom locations when creating a meeting
In Backstage, event organizers can choose whether to allow custom meeting locations to be used in the app when creating meetings. This is done via the Preferences tab, using the Allow custom location input when creating a meeting option:
If this option is disabled, the app users will have to choose a predefined meeting location when creating their meetings. This option should only be disabled if you have created a sufficient number of predefined meetings for your event audience to use.
Enable or disable virtual meetings
Use this check box to enable or disable virtual meetings from taking place in the event.
If you unselect this check box, Backstage users will not be able to create virtual locations, and attendees will not be able to schedule or access any virtual meetings.
Allow/disallow external meeting invitations and choose the emails that will be sent out
In Backstage, event organizers can choose whether to allow or to disallow external invitations.
By external invitations, we are referring to the ability to invite participants who are not using the app (not added to the workspace user list).
This is done via the Preferences tab, in the External invitations section, using the Allow external invitations option:
From here, Backstage users can also choose which email templates in the workspace will be used to send out emails to external participants.
The three types of emails that can be sent to external participants are: invitation emails, updated invitation emails, or canceled meeting emails. More information on the meetings email templates.
Exporting or importing meetings
Meetings can be exported by clicking on the Export XLS button in the Meetings module in Backstage
The exported .xlsx file contains one row per meeting, and it includes the following details:
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fp_ext_id: meeting id for export purposes
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title: meeting’s title
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date: meeting's date and time (yyyy/mm/dd HH:mm)
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duration: meeting’s duration
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meeting_location: meeting's pre-defined location
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location: meeting’s custom location
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organizer.fp_ext_id: meeting’s organizer id
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organizer.fname: meeting’s organizer first name
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organizer.lname: meeting’s organizer last name
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organizer.attendance: organizer attendance status (accepted, declined, pending)
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participant.0.fp_ext_id: participant 0 id
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participant.0.fname: participant 0 first name
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partificpant.0.lname: participant 0 last name
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participant.0.attendance: participant 0 attendance status (accepted, declined, pending)
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participant.N.fp_ext_id: participant N id
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participant.N.fname: participant N first name
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partificpant.N.lname: participant N last name
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participant.N.attendance: participant N attendance status (accepted, declined, pending)
Meetings can be imported by clicking on the Import XLS button. The imported file should be a .xlsx file with one row per meeting, and include information following the same structure and formatting as above.
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