10 Common Questions: Part 5 

Have you ever wondered what questions other customers are asking? Wonder no more! We’ve rounded up some of the most asked questions below.

Missed our other Common Questions? You can check out 1, 2, 3, & 4 here!

Q: How can I access our Staging Environment?

A: As a Platform Admin, here’s how you’ll access your Staging Environment:

1. Navigate to your Production Admin Dash > Settings > Platform Settings
2. Click "Access the Platform Sandbox" in the Platform Environments box in the right sidebar
3. This will redirect you to the Staging front-end and automatically log you in
4. From here, select the User Menu dropdown > Administration to access the back-end
5.  

Q: How can I test feeds?

A: If you need to test feeds, you should add them in your Staging Environment to make sure events import as expected. Here’s how:

1. Once in Staging, navigate to the Admin Dash > Events > Feeds > + Add Feeds
2. Give the feed a Name & enter the URL in the Feed URL field
3. Fill out the rest of the form accordingly > Save Changes

That said, there’s two important things to note: 

• An import will run shortly after the feed is initially added and you will see the status on the feed list page. 
• Feeds will only import once in Staging and will not automatically import each night as they do on your Production platform.

If you experience any issues adding feeds we recommend running it through a validator using a service like, https://validator.w3.org/feed/.

Q: What happens if I make edits to a feed event in Localist?

A: Data imported by a feed will always take precedence over content that has been added or updated in the Localist event. Only the following 3 details can be locked and cut off from further feed updating:

• Name
• Description
• Place

All other details that are brought in via a feed must be changed at the feed source. If it is changed in any way in Localist then the changes will only stick until the next feed import, at which time it will revert back to the data in the feed.

Q: Can you edit/remove fields on the Public Event Submission Form?

A: For the most part, yes! You can use the Theme Editor to change the text/placeholders and move fields around, but you generally can’t change the functionality of the Public Event Submission Form. You can also restrict who can access certain fields by navigating to the Admin Dash > Settings > Platform Settings. Under Public Event Submission Form, you can select either All Users, Trusted Users, or Hidden for each field.

Q: Is there an alt-text field for photos?

A: Yup! Here's where you'll find it: If you're adding an event in the Admin and/or Public Form, scroll to the Photo section > click Upload or Choose from Photo Library > you'll see a Photo Caption field appear below the image, and this is where you'll add alt-text. Even though the field is labeled as "Photo Caption", it functions as alt-text for accessibility purposes.

Q: Can we set different layouts for events?

A: Yes! You can customize event layouts globally (Settings > Platform Settings > Appearance) or on a per-event basis (Admin Add Event Form > Customize Layout). 

• Global Event Layouts: The Global Event Layout Editor allows for a streamlined layout for all Event Detail Pages on your platform. Select as many components as you feel necessary to provide users with the maximum amount of event details. Just like with Channels, you can arrange these components by dragging and dropping them to the desired position on the page.
• Per-Event Layouts: The Per-Event Layout Editor allows Admins to set a custom layout for any single event regardless of what the Global Layout is set to. This is great for events that may not require certain components or for the addition of more complex components such as custom HTML.

Q: Can we collect a list of attendees from an event?

A: Sure can! Here's how you'll download an attendee report from Localist:

1. Navigate to an events Edit an Event Form in the Admin Dash
2. Click View Confirmed Tickets (top bar)
3. On the resulting page, click Export CSV (top right)
4. You will receive an email with a link to download the CSV within a few minutes

Q: Can you bulk-add users onto the platform?

A: It’s not possible to bulk-add users into Localist, but this isn’t necessary because Permissions have to be manually added. Each user will need to log into the platform (SSO, Local, or Social) and on their first login, an account will be created. If that person needs their Permissions escalated, a Platform Admin will have to edit their user account accordingly. 

Q: Can you set up multiple levels of approval for events?

A: Yes! The new roles Event Editor and Event Author are now available, and replicate the previous functionality of the "Publish Events" privilege.

• Event Editor - Can use the Admin Add Event Form, CAN publish to live calendar
• Event Author - Can use the Admin Add Event Form, CANNOT publish to live calendar

Q: Can you use the API to integrate the calendar into an app?

A: Yup, this is exactly what our API was built for! The only caveat here is that this will return raw data as per usual with APIs, so you’ll have to build the code to bring the data into your app. For more information, including how to build a call, please see our master documentation here: https://developer.localist.com/doc/api.