Chapter 05

Choosing which modules a conference needs

The Products tab is where an event becomes the specific kind of event you are running. Twelve products; one is always on; the other eleven are yours to pick from.

Products are offered to your organization first — your agreement determines the catalog available to you — and then switched on per event. Switching one on reveals its tab and its settings. Switching it off hides them again without deleting anything.

You can configure a product when you enable it or come back later; almost every setting is editable while the event is running.

ProductWhat it doesTypical decision
Always on
Internet Uploads
Speakers and authors upload their files ahead of the meeting. Upload window, per-presentation cut-off, and automatic reminders. Cannot be turned off — it is the base product on every event.
Call for Abstracts Solicit, review, score, select and convert abstract submissions — individual abstracts or whole session proposals — into your program. On if your program is built from submissions. Off if you already know who is speaking.
Review & Approval Content review of the files speakers upload — assign reviewers, run revision rounds, approve or reject. On for accredited or regulated content. Distinct from abstract review.
Posters The poster content line: author uploads, board numbers, optional review, optional attendee questions. On if you have a poster hall or an online poster gallery.
Papers on Demand Pre-recorded presentations: authors upload a video against a window, delegates watch on demand. On if part of your program is watched rather than attended.
Abstract Viewer Publishes the communicated acceptances as a searchable, branded collection — the always-current abstract book. On if the accepted abstracts should be readable online. Needs Call for Abstracts.
Poster Viewer The branded public poster gallery — templates, a viewing window, public or attendees-only access. On if the poster hall should have a digital twin. Needs Posters.
Paper Viewer The branded on-demand video gallery, streaming inline on the same template machinery. On to give the on-demand program a front door. Needs Papers on Demand.
Attendee App The delegate-facing mobile web app — agenda, speakers, personal schedule, posters, handouts. On if delegates need the program in their pocket.
Beacon Digital signage around the venue: room screens, wayfinding, poster sessions, announcements. On if you are putting screens in the building.
Session Feedback Questionnaire-based session ratings collected from delegates, with results and export. On if you need evaluation data — accreditation, sponsor reporting, speaker scoring.
Open Mic Audience questions submitted from a phone and moderated at the front of the room. On for interactive sessions and panels.

Where each one is configured

Most products open their settings in a side panel from the Products tab. Three send you elsewhere, because their settings belong with their working screens:

  • Call for Abstracts — settings live on the Abstracts tab, as its first sub-tab.
  • Review & Approval — settings live in the Review Center.
  • Beacon — the real configuration is per screen template, on the Beacon tab.

The three viewers configure from their side panels too, but their look comes from templates: your organization keeps a library of gallery templates, and each event publishes one instance from a template with per-event overrides. A template can also be scoped to a single event, and promoted to the library when it earns reuse.

What depends on what

Products are mostly independent — you can enable them in any order. The three viewers are the exception: each needs its content module switched on, and the switch itself refuses until it is. Beyond that, a handful of features need another product, and a few need data rather than a product.

STANDS ALONE — ENABLE IN ANY ORDER Internet Uploads Call for Abstracts Posters Papers on Demand Review & Approval Open Mic Beacon Session Feedback THE VIEWERS NEED THEIR CONTENT MODULE — ENFORCED AT THE SWITCH Abstract Viewer Call for Abstracts Poster Viewer Posters Paper Viewer Papers on Demand FEATURES AND DATA PREREQUISITES Poster review needs Review & Approval App content sections need their modules, live Open Mic login needs the Attendee App Any viewer showing needs a live instance Beacon screens need sessions in rooms Open Mic needs venue rooms Attendee App needs a web address Session Feedback needs a questionnaire Abstract conversion needs sent decisions The viewer switches refuse until their content module is on. Everywhere else an unmet dependency hides or quietens the feature — nothing breaks.
Six real dependencies, and a handful of data prerequisites. Each viewer requires its content module and refuses to switch on without it. Poster review needs Review & Approval, the app's sections need their modules, and Open Mic's login requirement needs the app. Everything else can be switched on alone, in any order.
Reading this guide

Three routes, and you can take more than one on the same event.

  • Running a call for abstracts — chapters 06 to 12.
  • Importing a program you already hold — Chapter 13.
  • Planning it here, with or without abstracts — Chapter 14.

Chapters 15 onward apply however the program got here.

Its companion volume

This guide follows the journey. The Product Catalog covers the same twelve modules as a reference — one entry each, with use cases, capabilities, and every setting listed alongside the value it defaults to. Reach for it when you are configuring; reach for this one when you want to know what happens next.

Read this in the full single-page document