A common element within events is the requirement for badges or e-tickets to be printed for anyone attending your event (attendees, speakers, exhibitors). Within Eventsforce, you can create and print your badges in advance or even attach them to a confirmation email.
Attendees can arrive equipped with their badges and use that valuable time to begin networking as soon as they arrive at the event.
In Eventsforce you can use the badges and documents feature to create more than just badges. You can create:
Badges
E-tickets
Certificates
The types of document can be categorized as output that is:
Personal to an individual, for example, a badge or certificate
Event level for event managers, for example, an attendee list
Badge creation process
There are 3 main parts of a badge:
Badge name and availability - name your badge so that it relates to an event or its purpose. This also makes it easy to find if you want to use it in other events
Badge layout - Choosing a layout from a predefined list or creating your own. The same layout can be used for one or multiple badges in one or more events.
Badge content - Creating the content. The elements on your badge can be used for one or multiple badges in one or more events.
If your badge layout and content is always going to be the same, you can create just one badge template to be used for all events.
Creating a badge and layout definition
Go to Setup > Badges and Documents
Click "Add" next to "PDF based printouts (for badges, labels)
Add a name for your badge in the 'Badge Description' field
Next to 'Select Layout Definition', select an existing layout from the dropdown or click "Edit" to create a new layout
Note: if you have selected a layout from the dropdown go to Step 11Add a name for your layout in the 'Definition description' field
If the badge only applies to this event, select "Use only for this event"
Enter the dimensions of the paper you will be printing on in the remaining fields. Values must be entered in "mm"
Note: if your paper does not have any margins, the horizontal pitch and the width of one label will have the same value, and the vertical pitch and the height of one label will have the same valueClick "Save"
Note: A preview of your layout will be displayed at the bottom of the page. If the layout does not fit within the grey area, the definition values will need to be adjustedClick "Back"
Choose your layout definition from the 'Select Layout Definition' dropdown
Click "Edit" next to 'Content Description' to create new badge content. If you want to use existing content, choose a template from the dropdown
Add a name for your content template in the 'Content description' field
Click "Save"
Adding content
You can add 3 different types of content to your template:
Text
Images
Barcode
If any elements of your content are going to be overlapping you should add them in order, meaning the element that is going to be at the back should be added to the badge first, and the element that is going to be topmost should be added last.
Adding text
Within the 'Content Details' click "Add Text". A text box will be displayed on the badge with a red outline, indicating which content is being edited.
Drag and drop the box into position or use the "x position" (horizontal position) and "y position" (vertical position) coordinates to position it accurately on the badge
Complete the remaining properties for your text. If you are adding text boxes for text that can vary in length such as, names or company names, it is advised that you make the width of the box as wide as possible.
There may be instances where the text will be wider than the full width of the text block or badge. To manage this you can decide whether the text should wrap onto new lines, "Wrap Text", or if it should be condensed to fit onto a single line, "Auto Scale"
Note: using "Auto scale" will decrease the font size until the text fits in the allotted space
Adding registration values
You may want to merge information that has been collected during the registration process such as 'first name', 'last name' or 'organization' onto the badge. To do this:
Within the 'Content Details' click "Add Text". A text box will be displayed on the badge with a red outline, indicating which content is being edited.
Highlight the word 'Text' in the text box
In the dropdown, "OR select from list" choose the registration question or value you wish to add. You can have multiple database question tags in a single text box, or you can add separate text boxes for each tag
Click "Save"
Adding an image
Within the 'Content Details' click "Add Image". A white square box with a red border will be shown on the badge
Click the hyperlink 'upload a file' and choose an image
Note: The image must be a JPEGEnter the height or width for the image in the 'Edit Image Area' panel
Note: entering a width only will allow the height to be generated automaticallyPosition the image by dragging and dropping or enter values in the "x position" and "y position" fields
Click "Save"
Tip: To edit a text box, click in the middle of the box. The border will be highlighted in red, and the settings will be displayed towards the top in the 'Edit Text Area' panel. To delete a text box, click in the middle of the box. Click "Delete" in the 'Edit Text Area' panel.
Adding a profile picture
If you want to add a profile picture of an attendee to a badge, a picture must exist in their profile. You can ask attendees to upload a profile picture during the registration process by adding a file upload question to your registration page and select the "Profile Picture" question. Uploaded images can be added to a badge by doing the following:
Within the 'Content Details' click "Add Image". A white square box with a red border will be shown on the badge
In the dropdown 'OR select User Uploaded Image', choose "Profile Picture"
Note: if you do not see this dropdown, be sure "profile Picture" has been added as a question to your registration pageA white box with "CODIMAGE:Profile Picture" will be displayed on the badge
Add the 'width' or 'height' for the profile picture
Click "Save"
Adding a barcode
Adding a barcode will allow you manage attendance to your event by scanning barcodes. You can scan the barcodes with various 1D scanners or with an iOS device using or our attendance recording app Eventsforce On-site.
To add a barcode:
Within the 'Content Details' click "Add Barcode". A red rectangle with "personID" will be displayed on your badge.
Drag and drop the rectangle to position the barcode on your badge or enter "x position" and "y position" values
Note: the width, height and orientation of the barcode are fixed.Click "Save"
Printing your badges
You can preview your badge at any point during its creation when you see the preview button at the top of the page. Click "Preview" to download a PDF preview of your badge. You must have at lease one registration in your event to create a preview.
To print your badges:
Go to Setup > Badges and Documents
Click "Select" for the badge you want to print
If you are printing the same badge for all attendees click "Search"
Click "All" to select all people
Click "Proceed"
A PDF of your badges will be downloaded
Open the PDF document and select "Print"
Open the print options and make sure the scaling for the page is set to 100%. If set to anything less than 100% your badges will not fit onto your badge paper
Printing different badges by category type
Go to Setup > Badges and Documents
Click "Select" for the badge you want to print
On the 'Search' page, click "Edit" for 'Which type of people' and select the required attendee category
Click "Continue"
Click "Search"
Click "All" to select all people
Click "Proceed"
A PDF of your badges will be downloaded
Open the PDF document and select "Print"
Open the print options and make sure the scaling for the page is set to 100%. If set to anything less than 100% your badges will not fit onto your badge paper
By default, the badges will be printed in alphabetical order of the attendee's last name. You can change the order by sorting the results by a different column after searching.
Emailing badges
If you want your attendees to have their badges or e-tickets before the event, they can be emailed.
The process is the same for any type of email but to attach a badge to a registration confirmation email:
Go to Communications > Automatic
Click to "Edit" the 'New Registration' email template
Add text in the email template that is relevant to the badge, for example, "Your event badge can be downloaded here"
Highlight the text
Click the "Insert/edit link" icon in the text editor
Click the "Link List" dropdown and select "PDF: Your badge name"
Click "Ok"
Click "Save"
The badge will be attached to the registration confirmation email when an attendee completes their registration.
Note: Certificates of attendance can be sent only to registered delegates, as the merge tags pull through data from the attendee's registration.