How Do I Configure the Event Agenda on the Grip Dashboard?

The Event Agenda page in Grip is the central hub for creating and managing all your event sessions. Whether you're managing stages, tracks, or sessions, the platform offers flexible options to customize, organize, and optimize your event's agenda.

The Event Agenda page is where all of your content sessions are created, edited and stored within your event. From standard Sessions to Webinars, Roundtables, and Speed Networking sessions, the Event Agenda page is where they all live in Grip.

This article is an in-depth look into the Event Agenda page within the Grip Dashboard.

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In this article we will cover:

• Overview of the Event Agenda page
• Sessions
• Stages
• Tracks
• Session roles
• How to create a session
  • Settings 
  • Session contributors
  • Attendees
  • Limits
• Webinars
• Roundtables
• Speed Networking sessions
• Editing a session
• FAQs

 

Overview of the Event Agenda page

The Event Agenda page can be found under the "Event Details" tab in the Grip Dashboard. It is simple to navigate, with five main sections at the top: Sessions, Stages, Tracks, Roles, Live Chat, and Attendees.

What Types of Sessions Can I Create in the Event Agenda?

In the Event Agenda, you can create the following session formats:

• Standard Session: A traditional conference session, typically listed in an event program.

• Virtual Webinar: A one-way broadcast streamed from the Grip platform, where invited speakers present to attendees.

• Virtual Roundtable: An interactive session where all attendees can actively participate in discussions.

• Speed Networking: A virtual networking session designed for quick, consecutive 1:1 meetings, where attendees are randomly matched for short conversations.

 

How to Create and Manage Stages in the Event Agenda

1. What are Stages?
   Stages are where sessions take place, similar to meeting locations. They can represent physical rooms at in-person events or virtual stages for hybrid/online events. You can create stages before or during the session creation process.

2. Creating a Stage

   • Navigate to the "Stages" tab and click the 'Create a Stage' button at the top right.
   • Set the Stage Name, and for multi-lingual events, add translations by clicking the flag icon.
   • (Optional) Enter the External Location URL if using an integration, such as ExpoFP, to link the stage to a location on your event's floor plan.

3. Configuring Your Stage

   • Select whether this stage will be the Main Stage (only one main stage is allowed per event). Sessions held here will be listed under the Main Stage tab.
   • Set a Maximum Capacity if attendance is limited for physical locations.

4. Enabling Stage Chat

   • Toggle on the Stage Chat option to allow attendees to chat during sessions.
   • Optionally, enable Pre-Moderated Chat to approve messages before they appear, which is helpful for managing controversial topics or speakers.

5. Optional: Audience Interaction Embed

   • You can embed external audience interaction tools, like Slido or Conference.io, to offer Q&A and polling. Turn on this option to display these tools in the sidebar of sessions held on this stage.

6. Promote the Stage to the Homepage

   • Choose whether to promote this stage to the Homepage (only one stage can be promoted per event). This will highlight sessions on this stage at the top of participants’ home feeds during live sessions.

7. Save Your Stage

   • Once all settings are configured, click 'Create Stage' to save your new stage.

How to Create and Manage Tracks in the Event Agenda

1. What are Tracks?
   Tracks categorize sessions by theme or topic, such as Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, or Sustainability. These tracks help participants easily filter sessions in the Event Agenda. Consider the themes or topics your participant types are likely to search for when setting up tracks.

   You can also restrict track visibility to specific participant types, allowing you to gate certain content, like a VIP-only track.

2. Creating a Track

   • Click the 'Create a Track' button on the Tracks page to open a sidebar.
   • Enter the Track Name, which can be translated for multi-lingual events by clicking the flag icon.
   • Choose a Track Color to help visually distinguish different tracks in the Event Agenda.
   • Click 'Save' to finalize your track.

   Example: The 'Tech' track might be purple, while the 'Data' track could be green, making it easier for attendees to navigate the agenda.

Session roles

Every event is unique, even down to how you refer to the people who present in your sessions, so we've given you the ability to customize session roles. Session (or contributor) roles might include sponsors, hosts, moderators, panelists, conference chairs, etc.

Head over to the "Session roles" tab if you want to create, update, or delete existing session roles. Session roles are created at the event level, which means that all roles you create for one session will be shared across the whole event agenda.

Note that a session contributor can only have a single role within a session. However, the same contributor could have a completely different role in another session.

For example, Tim could be a host on one session and a panelist on another. 

 

Creating a session role

To create a custom role for your event, head over to the “Session Roles” tab on the Event Agenda page.

1. Click on the “Create Role” button, and a new sidebar will appear, where you can create a role name and select role type.

2. Roles are multilingual, and by clicking on the little flag icon, you can change the language to any other supported by the event.

3. Saving the role is as simple as clicking the “Save” button.

Updating a session role

To change the current role name, follow these steps:

1. Click the cogwheel button on the right side of the table.
2. The sidebar will open again, and you can change the role name in all supported languages. Please note, that you cannot change role type.

 

Deleting a session role

1. Select the role in the table using the checkbox.
2. Click on the “Delete Role” button, and a new popup will appear to confirm the deletion of the role.
3. Note that you will also need to remove all existing profiles from the role and assign them to another one if you want to delete the role.
4. The default “Speaker” role cannot be deleted or edited.

How to create a session

1. Creating a session is very simple. Click 'Create Session'.

You will have two options: to create a session manually or bulk upload via a CSV template.

Please note that for most organizers, adding their entire event program manually would take a really long time; the CSV uploader and integration is far more common and painless! If you want to learn how to upload sessions via CSV template, please see this article.

2. In the following example however, we will create a session manually. 

You will land on the session creation page as shown in the image below.

3. To create a standard session (more on webinars, roundtables and speed networking in the sections below) enter your session name, session names are translatable on both web and mobile and there is no limit to the number of characters. 

4. Session names are multi-language, simply click on the flag and add your translation.

 

5. Select a start and end date, stage, and track. Note that you cannot create sessions in the past; all start times must be in the future.

 

5a. Creating a stage within the 'Create Session' page. The process of creating a Stage within this page is the same as the process in the section above, stage names are translatable on both web and mobile.

 

5b. Creating a track within the 'Create Session' page. The process of creating a track within this page is the same as the process in the section above, tracks are translatable on both web and mobile.

 

6. In the final step you have two options; 'Save and finish', and 'Save and continue'. 'Save and finish' will save your session; you can go back in at a later date to complete the creation. 'Save and continue' will open up some more options to complete your session creation.

7. You will still be on the 'Session details' page but now there are further fields available, to add more information about your session.

8a. Session tags. These will be discontinued in the near future as they have been replaced by the much more powerful Session custom fields.

8b. Session custom fields. These have an entire tab to themselves, shown at the top of the page. Session custom fields are a flexible way of adding additional data to a Session for viewing or filtering. To configure these, see our main Session custom fields article.

9. Add the session description in the box provided. This is translatable on both web and mobile and there is no limit to the number of characters.

10.  If your session has external URL links to show externally provided content, add them here (see image below). For example, to link to a live stream URL, select 'Live Stream URL' and enter the URL of your live stream.

Note: if the session being created is on the Main Stage, it will inherit the stream URL. Additionally, if the session is created on a Stage where there are Capacity, Chat, and Audience Embed set, the session will automatically inherit those settings. If there is an additional conflicting chat or audience embed configured for the session, it will override the stage.

Also note that Live Stream URLs and Video Recording URLs are translatable, meaning you can have separate links to the same content in different languages. These are shown based on the participants' language settings.

There are six link types you can use:

• Website URL
  • Creates an external link on the session that will open in a new tab or mobile web browser.
• Session Content URL
  • Creates a button on the session for externally hosted content (like a PDF). Again this will open in a new tab or mobile web browser.
• Live Stream URL
  • The main link for your live stream URL, which can be embedded into the session.
• Video Recording URL
  • A link that becomes available 30 minutes after the session has ended, intended for a recording of the live stream.
• Polling and Q&A URL
  • Creates a button on the session intended for attendees to open a companion site for polls or Q&A. Again this will open in a new tab or mobile web browser.
• Audience Interaction URL
  • This allows you to add a link which is then embedded into the sidebar on the right of the session details page, visible for your attendees while they watch a session.

The above link types are all available on both web and mobile, with the exception of the Audience Interaction URL, which is only available for web. For more details about the functionality of any of these links, see this article.

In most cases you only need to specify the URL to be used, along with whether you want to embed the content directly into Grip. In the case of the Audience Interaction URL you will also need to specify a name for the link, which your users will see in the sidebar where that content is loaded.

11. Select whether you want your session to be private or not. If so, select your invitees. Note that sessions cannot be private when hosted on the Main Stage of your event.
Private Sessions are only visible to the participants that you've added as invitees here. Once a participant can see that session, they can choose whether to add it to their schedule, the same as a normal session. Due to this distinction, Private sessions are the only sessions that have an invitee list as well as a list of attendees (those that have added it to their schedule).

 

12. Set your session attendee limit. If you have this turned off, the session will inherit the limit of the session Stage. This is a global limit, regardless of data type or group.

13. Select if you would like to display a session countdown. For a standard session type this is on by default (this is shown on web only). If you had a sponsor for the session, this would be an excellent opportunity to offer additional branding. 

Click save changes.

 

Settings

14. Head over to the 'Settings' tab for specific session details.

14a. Required attendance for all - The session will be configured to appear on the 'My Schedule' page for all event participants. However, they will not be automatically joined to the session and these sessions aren't time blocking. Other sessions can still be scheduled during this time block.

14b. Attendance confirmation required - Show an extra label with 'Mandatory Attendance' and a pop up to 'confirm attendance' when a user chooses 'Add to schedule'.

14c. Session can be recommended - Session can be recommended to users in their schedules.

14d. Time blocking - Users will not be able to join any other sessions during this time (they will still be able to join meetings).

14e. Headline sponsor - Choose a company that will be promoted on the session page, along with receiving any session attendees as inbound Leads.

14f. Open stream - Users will be able to watch the live stream and recording without having to add it to their schedule first. Some analytics that rely on session attendance will of course be lower as attendees don't have to take this step.

14g. Live chat - Select if you wish to enable live chat for this session.

15g. Live translation - Select if you wish to enable live translation for this session

16g. Session Attendee list - Toggle this ON to show Session Attendee List on Session Details page for this Session. Note that Session Attendee List is disabled when Sessions have "Required attendance" set to ON. 

Session contributors

15. Head over to the Contributors & Sponsors tab. On this page click 'Add profile'

 

15a. A new sidebar will appear where you can either: search for an existing profile within the event and assign them a session role or you can create a new contributor profile if the person you're adding is not already in the event data. 

15b. If you create a new contributor, a new side bar will open up, where you can fill in the person's details. Make sure to scroll down that box so that you can complete all the fields. 

Once you’ve chosen or created a new profile you can assign a role to it

Click “Save”, and the profile will appear in the table with its role assigned.

15c. If you want to edit the role of a session contributor, click on the pencil (edit) icon on the far right of their name. 

16. Note that you can change the order of the contributors by dragging and dropping them in the table. This feature is fully customizable, allowing you to arrange them in any way you prefer for each session.

The order that you set for the profiles and roles will be reflected in both web and mobile apps on:

• Event Agenda screen
• Session Details screen

Attendees

The Attendee List will show all attendees who have added this session to their schedule. From here, you are able to export this list. Note that Private sessions have 'invitees' (people that can see the session in the agenda) which is separate to this attendee list (people who have added this session to their schedule).

Limits

You can set limits to the number of participants that can add a session to their personal schedules. You might use this when you have limited seats in a conference room. You can limit attendees by a data type, or a custom group.

16. Click save changes.

Webinars

Webinars are designed to be one-way broadcasts by invited speakers, with attendees being able to ask questions within the chat or designated q&a tool, but not actively participating in the presentation. Creating a webinar is similar to creating a standard session as shown in the section above.

1. In the 'Event Settings' tab click 'Event Agenda'. At the top right you will see a button named 'Create Session'.

 

2. Enter your session name and select 'Virtual Webinar' in the 'Format' section.

 

3. Fill out the session details as you would with a 'Standard session' in the section above. Please note, a webinar cannot be longer than 60 minutes. Click 'Save and continue' to continue or 'Save and finish' to save the session details and continue later.

 

4. Fill out the 'Session details' page as you would with a 'Standard session' shown in the section above. Please note, in order for a speaker to get the speaker view you must add them as a 'speaker' in the dashboard.

 

5. Click 'Settings' at the top left and choose your settings requirements. The only button missing from the webinar settings section is 'required attendance for all', everything else is the same and explained in the standard session section above. 

Click 'Save changes'.

 

Roundtables

Roundtables are discussions where all attendees can play an active part with open peer-to-peer communication and information exchange. Please note - only 25 participants can actively share their audio and video at the same time in a Grip Roundtable (though more can be present and swap in/out of video). Creating a Roundtable is similar to creating a standard session, and webinar as shown in the sections above. Speakers within a roundtable will be moderators, meaning they will be able to remove people from the session and delete chat. Speakers must be added as a 'speaker' within the dashboard to get the speaker and moderator view.

 

1. Fill out the 'Session details page' as shown in the sections above. in the 'Format' dropdown, select 'Virtual Roundtable'. Click 'Save and finish' or 'Save and continue'.

 

2. The Roundtable session details page is the same as webinars and standard sessions as shown in the sections above. The only difference is 'Session Countdown' which cannot be disabled.

 

3. Fill out the 'Settings' page as shown in the sections above. The only toggle missing for a Roundtable is 'Open stream'.

Click 'Save changes'.

Speed networking sessions

1. In the 'Create a session' page, fill out the session details as shown in the sections above. in the 'Format' dropdown select 'Speed Networking'.

Click 'Save and finish' or 'Save and continue'.

 

2. The Speed Networking session details page is the similar to webinars, roundtables and standard sessions as shown in the sections above. Like roundtables, the 'Session Countdown' cannot be disabled. The one difference is 'Meeting Generation Settings'. Select whether you would like to restrict meetings based on data type (participant type) settings. You can limit which types get to be matched, or no restrictions. 

 

3. Click 'Settings' at the top left and choose your settings requirements. You have less options here, these are in explained in the sections above.

Click 'Save changes'.

 

Editing a session

1. In the 'Event Agenda page' you will see all of the sessions you have created. To edit a session, search for your session using the search bar or simply scroll through the table and find the session you want to edit. Click on the cog next to that session session to edit the details.

 

2. If you would like to make changes in bulk, tick the boxes of the sessions you want to edit, click on the 'Actions' button and then click ‘Edit sessions’.

This will open a side panel with the options to make the following changes to all sessions selected:

• Override ‘Stage’
• Override ‘Track’
• Add ‘Headline sponsor’
• Enable/Disable ‘Private session’
• Enable/Disable ‘Session countdown’
• Enable/Disable ‘Session can be recommended’
• Enable/Disable ‘Attendance confirmation required'
• Add ‘Tags’
• Enable/Disable ‘Time blocking’
• Add, replace or remove 'Custom field data' (pre-defined fields only)
  • To remove custom field data, choose a field, then leave the value box empty and ensure the 'replace' option is enabled.

FAQs

Q: Can presentation slides be downloaded from sessions?

• A: Yes, presentation slides can be downloaded from the web networking platform and iOS devices. However, this feature is not available on Android devices due to platform differences at the OS level.

Q: How can I watch a recording of a session?

• A: You can watch the recording of a session only if you previously added that session to your schedule. If not, the "Watch Recording" button will not appear. Please note, this restriction applies only to the web networking platform; on mobile, the "Watch Recording" button is available regardless of whether the session was added to your schedule.

Q: Can I have more than one main stage?

• A: No, only one main stage is allowed per event.

Q: Can the session countdown be turned off for main stage sessions?

• A: No, the countdown is always enabled for main stage sessions and cannot be turned off.

Q: Can I promote multiple stages to the homepage?

• A: No, only one stage can be promoted to the homepage per event.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of webinar viewers?

• A: No, there is no limit to the number of viewers in a webinar.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of participants in a roundtable?

• A: Yes, up to 100 participants can join, but only 25 can share audio and video simultaneously. We recommend limiting roundtables to 25 participants.

Q: Are roundtables recorded via the Grip platform?

• A: No, roundtables are not recorded.

Q: Are webinars recorded via the Grip platform?

• A: Yes, webinars are recorded. Full features like transcripts and translations require a premium package.

Q: Do speakers need separate access to webinars or roundtables?

• A: No, speakers access the webinar or roundtable like attendees, but they will automatically have a 'speaker view' upon joining.

Q: Is there a time limit for Grip Streaming sessions?

• A: Yes, Grip Streaming sessions have a one-hour time limit.

Q: What happens if a Grip Streaming session exceeds one hour?

• A: There is a 30-minute grace period before the session is cut off.

Q: Who can share their screen during a Grip Streaming webinar?

• A: Only speakers can share their screens.

Q: Can you change your video background during sessions?

• A: No, background customization is not available.

Q: What is the difference between speaker and attendee views in webinars?

• A: The views are mostly the same. The key difference is that speakers have access to mute, share screen, and video toggle buttons, while attendees do not.

Q: Can I set a limit on attendees for Speed Networking sessions?

• A: No, Speed Networking sessions do not allow attendee limits as participants can join without scheduling in advance.

Q: How many users can participate in Speed Networking at the same time?

• A: Up to 1,000 users can be in the waiting room simultaneously. Once this limit is reached, new users will be prompted to try joining again or leave the session.

Q: How long do Speed Networking meetings last?

• A: Each meeting lasts 3 minutes. During the meeting, participants can show interest in each other. If both show interest, a connection is made. After the session, participants will receive a summary of their meeting partners.

Q: Is there a limit on the length of Speed Networking sessions?

• A: No, Speed Networking sessions do not have a time limit.

Q: What are the rules for meeting generation in Speed Networking?

• A: Meetings are randomly generated between participants, with two exceptions:

1. 1. Meetings are not generated between members of the same team.
   2. Meetings are not generated between users who have already met during the current Speed Networking session.

Q: Are Speed Networking sessions time-blocking?

• A: No, Speed Networking sessions are not time-blocking.