Setting RSVP Parameters Globally, Per Event, or in a Template

Before publishing events, spend some time setting defaults for all your events on the RSVPMaker screen under Settings. The settings are divided into tabs, and the first tab is primarily used to set defaults that will be applied to new events unless the creator of that event specifies some different value.

In the example shown above, I’ve specified that new events will default to starting at 7 pm, with RSVPs turned on and notifications sent to david@carrcommunications.com whenever someone registers.

When I create a new event, I can specify that it will start at 9 am instead of 7 pm at the same time that I set the date of the event. I can also change the RSVP On setting or the address that notifications will be sent to.

Most of these variables can be edited from the RSVPMaker sidebar (click the calendar icon at the top right of the screen). Here are the available options.

These first 2 also appear on the main Document tab of the main editor sidebar:

• Date / Time Calendar widget for setting the event date.
• Collect RSVPs

Next come a series of collapsible panels:

Display panel

• Show Add to Google/Outlook Calendar Icons
• Add Timezone to Date
• Show Timezone Conversion Button
• Show RSVP Count
• Display attendee names / RSVP note field

Notifications / Reminders

• RSVPs To email field (who should get notifications)
• Send Confirmation Email
• Include Event Content with Confirmation
• Confirmation Message (exerpt)
• Edit Confirmation Message (link)
• Create / Edit Reminders (link)
• Email Template for Confirmations (drop-down list of email templates)

RSVP Form

• Fields: (a list of fields included in the form)
• Edit Form (link to form editor)
• Login required to RSVP (on/off toggle)
• Captcha security challenge (on/off toggle)
• Show Yes/No Options on Registration Form (on/off toggle – do you want people to be able to respond “no” as well as “yes”)
• Maximum number of participants (0 for no limit)
• Form Instructions for User (text field for a message to be displayed at the top of the form)

If the confirmation message or the form are inherited from your default settings, or from a template, you will see an option to Customize Confirmation Message / Customize Form, allowing you to create a variation for the specific event.

You can also go to the separate RSVP / Event Options screen to change these parameters from the defaults. When you’re in the editor or viewing an event while logged in, RSVP / Event Options appears as one of the links on the black admin bar menu at the top of the screen. (Currently, some of the more elaborate options such as event pricing can only be set on the RSVP / Event Options screen).

The RSVP / Event Options screen is also what those of you who haven’t moved to the WordPress Gutenberg editor would use.

Event Template Options

When you create a new event template, the template starts out with the same defaults as a new event. The purpose of a template is to serve as a model for recurring events or types of events. When you create events based on a template, those events inherit their defaults from the template, rather than from the generic RSVPMaker settings.

Example: You create a template for a club that meets on the second Wednesday of the month. Not all your events require RSVPs, so you don’t have that option turned on in the global settings, but you do for this event. And you’ve specified that email notifications always go to two women who typically coordinate the lunch meetings and work with the restaurant to make sure enough tables are reserved.

You then go through the Create / Update Events process to create a series of events projected for the second Wednesdays of the next 12 months. Each of these events inherits the default content from the event post and the RSVP parameters set in the template. On the other hand, each event can be edited independently — rescheduled or set to have a different list of people who should be notified because one of the coordinators is going to be out of town.