How to setup a Virtual Venue site

This article is part of a series of Virtual Venue articles used as a guide for setting up a virtual event. Start here to see all articles.

The following product areas are used to setup a virtual event and are discussed below.

• An ePly registration form
• A ePly Virtual Venue site
• ePly & Zoom integration
  
  MemberClicks AMS customers only:
• An Oasis form or an Atlas event
  

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Create an ePly registration form

All Virtual Venue sites must be linked to an ePly registration form which is used to collect registrations and provide attendee access to the venue site.

1) Follow the ePly quick start guide to create a form: https://help.eply.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016074252-Quick-Start-Guide.  

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MemberClicks AMS customers only:

We recommend using your AMS to collect registrations and sync them to an ePly form. This will lessen the amount of ePly product information you need to learn before your first virtual event. Please discuss with us if you would like to use ePly for registration instead of your AMS for your initial virtual event.

Use the quick start guide above but follow these steps:

1. Choose the form template "Virtual Venue - Basic form with NO fee".
2. Leave Copy Reports checked
3. Enter a form name. Using a name that matches the one used on your AMS form/event can avoid confusion and help us when assisting you.

4. At a minimum, complete the Event Start date, Event End date and Form Contact Email. Change the Form Closing Date to match the Event End date to avoid confusion but this is not required since this form will not be used for collecting registration.

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Create an ePly Virtual Venue site

1. Click Sites in ePly's top navigation

2. Click the Create A Virtual Venue button on the right

3. Choose to Create a New Virtual Venue or Copy and existing one.

4. Complete the fields and click Submit
   These fields can be modified in the future while the venue stays in the default Planning status.

Virtual Venue Statuses: Note that you can only change a status forward one status at a time and not backwards.

1. Planning status: Only admins can log into the venue site (via the Sites page in ePly).
2. Pre-event status: Registrants are eligible to receive the set password email and test logging into the venue site but will see the message shown in the screenshot below if successful. This status is intended to let you work through any potential attendee related login issues before your event (typically a day or two) and before you are ready for them to browse event content. A Virtual Venue help article later in this series will walk through sending the set password email which is used to provide registrant access to the venue site.
   Note to early Virtual Venue adopters: The password email will no longer be sent immediately to registrants when changing to pre-event status.
3. Live status: Same as Pre-event status but the above message is not show and attendees can see all venue site pages and content.
4. Post-event status: Registrants can no longer login. This status can be enabled at any time or the system will automatically enabled it 14 days after your ePly form's event end date.

Once the pop-up window closes, click the icon next to the new venue site's name to automatically login.

By default, some content has been preloaded to help you get started. You can use these as templates to add additional content or remove them. Site branding and colors can be changed too. A future article in this series will discuss how to load venue site content and Zoom meetings/webinars.

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Setup the ePly & Zoom integration

See the next article in this series to better understand the ePly & Zoom integration options and to learn about the Zoom experience in venue sites.

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Registrant login access

A later article in this series discusses how to provide site access to registrants

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MemberClicks Oasis AMS customers only:

Connect an Oasis form to an ePly form (Atlas customers can skip to the next section below)

1. Create an Oasis form with an event section.
2. Open the event section properties and copy the event ID from the left panel. This ID is not the same as the Oasis form ID.
   
   
3. Open the ePly form > Advanced Settings > Integration tab
4. Paste the Event ID under the Oasis section and save.

ePly will now automatically retrieve registrants from the Oasis form every night through 14 days after the event end date on the ePly form. ePly runs this tasks every 10 minutes between the event start and end dates.

You can manually run this task at any time from the Primary Registrants report on the ePly form. Click the Oasis Registrant Update button at the top right of the report.

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MemberClicks Atlas AMS customers only:

Connect an Atlas event to an ePly form

1. Create an Atlas event.
2. Copy the event ID next to event name.
3. Open the ePly form > Advanced Settings > Integration tab
4. Paste the event ID under the Atlas section and save.
   Leave the 2 checkboxes unchecked. These settings are intended for Atlas customers who are using ePly form for onsite check-in at an in-person event and who may collect updated contact information from attendees.
   
   

ePly will now automatically retrieve registrants from the Atlas every night through 14 days after the event end date on the ePly form. ePly runs this tasks every 10 minutes between the event start and end dates.

You can manually run this task at any time from the Primary Registrants report on the ePly form. Click the Oasis Registrant Update button at the top right of the report.