RSVPMaker 2.0 Released

RSVPMaker version 2.0 is available for download at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/rsvpmaker/

The most significant change is that I’ve fixed the function for downloading reports to Excel. Again. Yes, I previously announced this improvement, but it turned out to be premature because bundling in the required PEAR library turned out to be more complicated than I anticipated. This update instead uses the PHPExcel library.

My apologies to everyone who tried this on the last go-round and got an ugly error message. But you should now see a link on the RSVP Report that allows you to download a summary of the latest replies as an Excel file.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement in the reporting functions, if any PHP code slingers out there would like to jump in and help.

Update: Version 2.1

Just to make this a little more interesting, I added a couple of things that have been on my todo list.

On the RSVPMaker Settings page, you will now see a Profile Table setting where you can edit the HTML markup for the section section of the RSVP form that asks for additional details, beyond name and email. You can add additional fields in HTML and they will be recorded as long as you follow the name=”profile[fieldname]” convention. The standard text field length is size=”60″

Previously, it was necessary to do some PHP coding to override the function that displays the RSVP form – and that still might be appropriate for those who want to do something particularly fancy. But I didn’t think it made sense for just adding or changing a data entry field.

Also, I had gotten a request a few weeks ago for a shortcode for listing past events.

You can now do this –

[event_listing past="1" format="headline" date_format="F jS, Y"]

– for a listing of events like the one below. The date_format field is optional but the idea here was to include the year, which you can imagine might be needed for a site that had events stretching back several years. That’s the standard PHP date code format.

Update: Version 2.2

I also added the option to add a CAPTCHA challenge image if you’re having problems with spam bots.

33 thoughts on “RSVPMaker 2.0 Released”

  1. One of my events is not showing on our site. It shows up in the sidebar widget but not on t he page. I have another event on the same date. Would that be the cause?

    1. I’m sorry to be slow to reply. You ought to be able to have multiple events on the same day. Can you share the url for your events page, if this event is still live on the site? To clarify, we’re talking about the listing you get with one of the shortcodes? Is it the rsvpmaker_upcoming or event_listing shortcode?

  3. Hello, I can help you for translate to Polish language, but now I can’t use RSVP with utf-8 characters (our national), second, paypal not working in my installation…

    1. Is it the translation file rsvp.pot that you’re having trouble with? Someone else mentioned an issue with the UTF encoding and I thought I had that fixed.

      1. I translated some messages but I can’t see the effect.. second, if somebody write name with polish characters i see in the report: Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /autoinstalator/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/rsvpmaker/rsvpmaker-plugabble.php on line 1210 
        and I can’t see who is the person…
        BTW, very good and usefull plugin 🙂 

    1. Maybe at some point I’ll come up with an easier way, but for now …

      For client-side JavaScript form verification, you can override the event_scripts or basic_form functions in rsvpmaker_pluggable.php

      For server-side verification, you would create your own version of the the save_rsvp function  in rsvpmaker_pluggable.php and throw an error if the required data is missing.

  6. David, after I upgraded, I no longer see this plugin from the wordpress menu.  When I try to re-install, it says it is already installs and fails to install.

    1. Menu item should be under RSVP Events. I haven’t received any other reports of this, so it could just be a failed upgrade. You might try uninstalling (or deleting the folder by FTP) and then reinstalling.

      1. Really strange, completely lost it under Plugins and no menu item RSVP Events.  If I delete the folder, will I lose all the data (current/previous events?)

          1. *Nervously* Deleted via FTP, re-installed and walla, all is well!
            Thank-you for your help.  BTW, I love this plugin.  I have it on 2 sites.

  7. I was wondering if there was any functionality to be able to remind people prior to their event of their commitment.  We were thinking of using this for popcorn sales similar to the way you have set up, but would like to have an auto reminder email sent a couple days prior.  Does your chimpblast thing have this functionality?

    1. Good idea, but it’s not currently supported out of the box. You would have to check the RSVP report and send the follow up email manually.

      I’ll add it to the to-do list.

  8. In /rsvpmaker/phpexcel/PHPExcel/Shared/File.php, the following code works even in safe mode for determining the temp dir, other than the shipped one:
      if ($temp = ini_get('upload_tmp_dir') ) {    if (file_exists($temp)) { return $temp; }  } 

  9. Doesn’t RSVPmaker send a confirmation email to the person who RSVP’ed? Only to the Administrator?

    RSVPmaker seems to be the most solid WordPress event management plugin so far, even though it still has some frustrating rough edges.

    1. It does send a confirmation email, or at least it should. Server-generated email does tend to be more subject to being flagged by spam filters, so check that if you’re not seeing the confirmation message. Some ISPs may also block email from programs or scripts they don’t recognize. I often use PEAR Mail for better email delivery, and the sample rsvpmaker-custom.php file shows how to do that (not part of the default configuration because I can’t assume the PEAR Mail library is present on all installs).

      1. Thanks for the quick response!

        I only get one email with subject line ‘RSVP YES for EventName Jul 20’ and the message is:

        first: Firstname
        last: Lastname
        email: firstname at emailfromtheattendee.com

        Is that the confirmation email for attendees? I assumed it was a notification for the administrator.

        Is there a way to edit the subject line and message? I see rsvpmaker_pluggable.php has a $message thingy, but I can’t find where it is defined.

        1. The confirmation message says adds the word “confirming” as in Confirming RSVP YES for Pack 360’s Rocket Derby

          Otherwise, it’s the same info that goes to the admin, just something to show the attendee that it was all recorded.

          No easy way of customizing the subject line, unless you do it through code using the rsvpmaker-custom.php method. How do you think it should work? I’m concerned that I may already be supplying so many different options that the UI is getting cluttered.

          1. I’ve tried RSVP’ing with several different test accounts, different emails. I only get the administrator notification, never the attendee confirmation (‘Confirming…’). They use the same mailing system, right?

            I have no clue where to start troubleshooting this. I only see one function rsvp_notifications (). That looks like the one that produces the admin notification. I see a line with ‘Confirming…’.

            Why doesn’t that work? It looks extremely rudimentary… Am I really the only one who doesn’t receive the confirmations or just the first to report it?

            My initial assumption was that the ‘Confirmation message’ that is displayed after you RSVP would be the email message sent to the attendee.

            A “customer-friendly” confirmation message is essential to an RSVP system imho.

            I’ll look into another event script I’ve used before this one, see if I can copy whatever function that script used for confirmation emails. Next month though…

    1. You can have a single event that spans multiple days, like the Cub Scout Camping Trip example where it is shown on three days of the calendar but for RSVP purposes is represented as a single day. There is also a Recurring Events utility that lets you create multiple events with the same headline / description. This was mostly intended for monthly recurring events, but you can also put in multiple dates manually. The events can then be edited individually and track RSVPs separately.

      Not sure if that’s quite what you’re looking for. What kind of events were you looking to schedule?

      1. David,

        First thank you for the quick response. The use would be for a standing meeting or for a recurring tour that happens every day at the same time e.g., 11 AM where you want to collect RSVP’s to see who is scheduled to come. 

        1. Try doing it with the Recurring Event utility. If that doesn’t work the way you would like it to, maybe you can give me some suggestions on how it should work.

          1. I am not sure I can see how this would work. Let’s say we offer tours at 11 AM and 2 PM daily every day of the month and every month of the year. Is there a way to use the recurring event utility to do this?

  11. First off, this plugin is exactly what we needed for our organization. Great work!

    I have two questions. 
    1. how might I add the text “When” in italics so it appears before the date/time on any particular event?2. I will not be using the ChimpBlast feature as it doesn’t suit my purpose. Is there any way to remove “Your Answer:  Yes  No” from the event selections considering that I will only be collecting information for people who attend an event?

    Many thanks. 

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