Program Management

The Program Builder allows you to create a structured schedule for your conference with days, sessions, and program items.

Program Workflow

1. Add Days: Create conference dates
2. Add Sessions: Create time blocks for each day
3. Add Items: Fill sessions with program content
4. Add Description (optional): Provide context about your program
5. Publish: Make the program visible to attendees
6. Enable AI Chat (optional): Allow attendees to ask questions about your program

Accessing Program Builder

1. Navigate to your conference dashboard
2. Click "Program Builder"

The program is automatically created when you first access Program Builder.

Program Structure

Your conference program is organized hierarchically:

• Program: The overall conference schedule
• Days: Individual dates of your conference
• Sessions: Time blocks within each day (e.g., "Morning Session", "Keynote", "Coffee Break")
• Items: Individual activities within sessions (e.g., submissions, talks, panels)

Program Description

Add an optional description in the Program Settings section:

1. Click the description editor
2. Write content using the rich text editor
3. Click "Save"

The description supports text formatting, images, links, and file attachments.

Managing Program Days

Add a Day

1. Click "Add Day" button

2. Fill in day details:
   • Date (required): Select the conference date
   • Title (optional): e.g., "Day 1: Opening & Keynotes"
   • Location (optional): e.g., "Main Conference Hall"
   • Description (optional): Rich text description with image and crop to avatar support
3. Click "Create Day"

To edit or delete a day, click the edit or delete icon. Note that deleting a day removes all its sessions and items.

Managing Sessions

Add a Session

1. Click "Add Session" on a program day

2. Fill in session details:
   • Session Type (required): Choose from SESSION, BREAK, MEAL, SOCIAL, or OTHER
   • Title (required): e.g., "Session 1A: Machine Learning"
   • Location (optional): e.g., "Room 101"
   • Start Time (required): Session start date and time
   • End Time (required): Session end date and time
   • Description (optional): Rich text description with image and crop to avatar support
3. Click "Create Session"

Parallel Sessions

You can schedule multiple sessions that start at the same time to accommodate parallel tracks or concurrent activities. Sessions sharing a start time are grouped under one time slot and labeled as parallel, as shown below in the Program Builder.

To edit or delete a session, click the edit or delete icon. Note that deleting a session removes all its program items.

Managing Program Items

Add an Item

1. Click "Add Item" within a session

2. Fill in item details:
   • Item Type (required): PAPER, POSTER, TALK, DISCUSSION, WORKSHOP, or OTHER
   • Title (required): Item title
   • Description (optional): Rich text description with image support
3. Click "Create Item"

Link to Submission

For PAPER type items, you can link to an existing submission:

1. Select "PAPER" as item type
2. Click "Load from Existing Submission"
3. Search and select a submission
4. Title, authors, and abstract are automatically filled

The picker lists accepted submissions only. Scheduling a submission copies its authors onto the program item, and publishing the program makes those authors public — so an undecided submission could otherwise reach the public program before its authors had been notified.

To schedule something that has no accept decision yet — an invited talk, or a submission you're slotting in ahead of notification — tick "Show submissions without an accept decision" at the bottom of the picker. Each row shows its decision badge, so you can see what you're choosing.

Submission-Specific Fields

When creating a PAPER item:

• Authors (optional): List authors with affiliations
• Abstract (optional): Submission abstract

Talk-Specific Fields

When creating a TALK item:

• Presenters (optional): List presenters with affiliations

To edit or delete an item, click the edit or delete icon.

Crop to Avatar Tool

Use this feature to create professional circular profile pictures for speakers and presenters in your program descriptions.

1. Click the image icon in the editor toolbar

2. Upload your image and click it to locate the crop tool

3. Adjust the circular crop area and click insert

4. Result: professional speaker profiles

This tool is available in all description fields (program, days, sessions, items).

Publishing the Program

After creating your program content (days, sessions, items), publish it to make it visible to attendees.

Publish Settings

1. Navigate to the Program Settings section at the top of Program Builder
2. Toggle "Publish Program" to ON

Requirements:

• You must add at least one day before publishing
• Published programs appear on your conference public website

What publishing turns on:

• The Program page on your public website becomes visible
• Your conference is listed in the PaperFox mobile app so attendees can find it and browse the schedule. A toast confirms this and links to Settings → Mobile App, where you can turn the listing off at any time — see List Your Conference in the Mobile App

Once published, the public program link appears under the toggle, followed by a "Listed in the mobile app" status that opens the mobile app setting. If you turn the listing off later, the status turns amber and reads "Not listed in the mobile app".

Viewing the Published Program

To preview your published program:

1. Click the open icon at the end of the program link under the "Publish Program" toggle
2. The program opens in a new tab

Sharing the Program

Once your program is published, you can share it with attendees and promote your conference.

QR Code and Link Sharing

1. On the Program Builder page, find the program link under the "Publish Program" toggle
2. Click the QR code icon to show a scannable code, or the copy icon to copy the link
3. Share via conference materials, social media, or email

The QR code and link direct attendees to your public program page where they can view the full schedule.

Exporting the Program

Export your conference program in several formats for different use cases:

1. In the Program Settings section, click the "Export Program" button
2. Select your preferred format:
   • Word (Stacked): A Word document with sessions listed top to bottom — best for light editing or a simple printed handout.
   • Word (Parallel Columns): A Word document that places concurrent sessions side by side as columns, like a printed program grid. Hover this option and choose Landscape or Portrait.
   • Markdown: Formatted plain text for wikis or static sites.
   • Text: Plain text with no formatting.
   • JSON: Structured data for integration or re-importing later.

Every format includes all program days, sessions, and items.

Parallel Columns Layout

The Word (Parallel Columns) export is built for conferences with parallel tracks. Sessions that start at the same time are placed side by side as columns under a single time slot — the same way they appear on your public program page.

• Choose Landscape to fit more columns across the page, or Portrait for standard upright pages.
• Columns share the page width evenly: two parallel sessions split the page in half, three into thirds, and so on.
• When a time slot has more parallel sessions than fit comfortably across the page, they wrap onto additional rows.

Each column shows the session title, and for every submission its title and authors with affiliations.