Chapter 15

Collecting presentation files from speakers before a deadline

Getting slide decks out of speakers is the oldest problem in conference management. This is the one product every event has, because it is the one job every event has.

Internet Uploads — always on Event manager Speaker

What you configure

Upload window

When uploading opens and closes. Defaults to closing at 23:59 on the last day of the event.

Cut-off before presenting

A per-presentation deadline expressed in hours before that talk begins — the practical rule that stops someone re-uploading their deck while the previous speaker is finishing. Defaults to 24 hours.

Maximum file size

Per file. With no limit of your own, files up to 1 GB are accepted.

Reminders

Whether to send them, on which days before the deadline (7, 3 and 1 by default), optionally repeating every N days, and at what hour of the day in venue time.

The speaker's experience

Speaker A speaker either signs in to the hub with an emailed code, or clicks a magic link you sent them and skips signing in entirely. Their to-do list says which presentation is waiting for a file and when it is due, with overdue items marked. They upload, and receive a confirmation email a couple of minutes later.

Co-presenters can be given file-editing rights individually, so a professor can nominate their fellow to do the uploading.

Files are versioned — a re-upload does not destroy what was there before.

Chasing the stragglers

Reminders run automatically on your schedule, once per person per day, and stop when the event is over or the file arrives. For everything else there is the Send email wizard, which can target speakers directly with a file request, and the magic link, which removes the "I can't log in" excuse entirely.

If you also run content review

With Review & Approval switched on, an uploaded file does not go straight to the room — it enters a review queue. See the next chapter.

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