The waiting list lets people sign up for a sold-out event and wait for a seat. They get an email when they join. You email them later, from the Waiting List page, when you are ready to offer a seat.
While seats are still open, people register as usual. The waiting-list icon shows only after the event is sold out.
Open it from Tools > Waiting List, at the bottom of the Tools menu. This page is for cashiers. People on the list do not see it.
Enabling the Waiting List
- Open the event settings for that event. Edit > Events > [Your Event] + Edit Selected Event > Registration/ Enrolment tab
- Set the waiting list to One person per entry or Multiple spots. Use the choice in the next section. Leave it off if you do not want a list.
- Save the event.
The icon shows only after the event is sold out and the waiting list is turned on. If seats are still open, someone who opens the sign-up form is not added to the list.
Which Setting to use
- One person per entry
Each person gets their own row. The sign-up form does not ask how many spots they need—each sign-up is for one spot. For example, a parent with three children would sign up three times. The same email address can be used more than once. However, the same first and last name cannot be added to the same event again while that person is still on the waiting list. When a spot becomes available, each person gets their own offer email, usually for one spot. - Multiple spots
One person can ask for several spots, and all of them stay together on one row. They choose how many spots they need when they join the waiting list. When spots become available, the offer is for that number of spots. For example, if they ask for 3 spots, the offer is for 3 spots.
If Display Editable Event Quantity? (Step 2) is off, they cannot change the number of spots when they register. All 3 spots will be registered under the same name. The person using the offer link can enter any name when registering.
If Display Editable Event Quantity? (Step 2) is on, they can change the number of spots when they register. They can also split the spots between people using Register Another or Repeat, but only when the Step 1 quantity option is a drop-down or text box. People who requested multiple spots receive one offer for all of their requested spots.
Note: One person per entry is simpler for day camps and events where you collect information for each person.
How it works
| Setting | Sign-up form | Same person again |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Shows Sold Out. There is no waiting-list form. | |
| One person per entry | Shows Email, first name, last name, and phone. No box for the number of spots. Each sign-up is for one spot. | The same first and last name cannot join the same event again while they are still on the list. The same email can be used again. |
| Multiple spots | Shows the same fields, plus a box for the number of spots they want. They can ask for up to 50 spots, or up to the highest number of spots that event already offers. | The same email cannot join the same event again while they are still on the list. |
These two settings only control how someone joins the waiting list. They do not change the number-of-spots box on the registration form, or how Register Another and Repeat work.
The icon people see
When an event is sold out, the Sold Out image is replaced by the waiting-list icon. People click this icon to join the waiting list.
The same icon is used for all events. You do not choose an icon separately for each event.
You can change it under Waiting List Icon on the Step 1 preferences page.
- Bell or Hourglass — Choose the icon and set its line colour, such as
#000000(black) and #FFFFFF(white). The colour setting applies only to these two icons. - Black, Red, Blue, or White — These are ready-made images with a fixed colour.
- Custom Icon — Enter the file name of an image you have already placed in your merchant images folder. The recommended size is about 20 × 30 pixels.
Waiting-list instructions
On the same page, you can change the text people see in two places.
Alternate Waiting List Instructions is the message at the top of the public waiting-list form.
If you leave it blank, the form uses:
This event is currently sold out. Please fill out the form below and you will receive an email if a spot becomes available.
Alternate Waiting List Instructions in email lets you enter separate English and French text for the offer email.
Place %%WAITING_LIST_INSTRUCTION_EMAIL%% where you want this text to appear in the email.
- A French offer uses the French text when it is filled in.
- If the French box is empty, the English text is used.
- If both boxes are empty, no extra instruction is added.
Customize the waiting-list emails
Two emails can be sent:
- A confirmation email when someone joins the waiting list.
- An offer email when you click Email.
You can use your own HTML files instead of the standard email templates. Place the file in the merchant folder using the correct file name. French emails use the file in the French merchant folder.
| English file | French file | |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation, when they join | M####/waitinglist_confirmation.html | M####f/waitinglist_confirmation.html |
| Offer, when you click Email | M####/waitinglist_spotAvailable.html | M####f/waitinglist_spotAvailable.html |
#### is the merchant number.
If the custom file is not there, the standard email is used.
Email subject
To set your own subject, put this on its own line at the top of the HTML file:
%%message_subject=Your subject here%%
This line is removed from the email body and used as the email subject.
Tags in the confirmation email
You can use these tags in your HTML file:
| Tag | What it becomes |
|---|---|
%%ENAME%% | Event name |
%%ETIME%% | Event dates |
%%GIVEN%% | First name |
%%SURNAME%% | Last name |
%%EMAIL%% | Email address |
%%PHONE%% | Phone number |
%%SPOTSREQUESTED%% | Number of spots they asked for |
%%MNAME1%% | Merchant name |
Tags in the offer email
The offer email can use all of the confirmation tags, plus:
| Tag | What it becomes |
|---|---|
%%SPOTSOFFERED%% | Number of spots this offer allows |
%%URL%% | Registration link |
%%MEMAIL%% | Merchant contact email |
%%WAITING_LIST_INSTRUCTION_EMAIL%% | The text from Alternate Waiting List Instructions in email |
Tags are not case sensitive.
Waiting List page
Open Tools > Waiting List. This page is for cashiers, so people on the waiting list do not see it. They get a confirmation email when they join the list, and an offer email when you click Email.
The list is grouped by event. Each event has a bar showing the event name, start date, and event code. People who are still waiting for a spot are listed first. Registered and Released entries are shown at the end of the event.
- Look for Spot Available when there are enough seats for the person’s full request. You may also see Waiting with a note such as “8 open” when some seats are available, but there are not enough for their full request.
- Click Email to send the registration offer. This starts a 48-hour hold on the seats.
- If they do not register within 48 hours, the status changes to Expired. The seats stay held until you send a new offer with Email or click Release.
- Use the filters when you want to see a specific event, status, or person. Click Reset Filter to show the full list again.
When you open the page, offers that are more than 48 hours old are automatically marked Expired. This does not change their place in the queue.
Statuses
Click a colour in the legend to show only that status. Click it again to clear the filter.
| Status | Meaning | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting | They are on the list, but no offer has been sent yet. | Change Order, Delete, or Email if enough seats are available. |
| Spot Available | Enough seats are available for them, and they are next in line. The status stays Waiting until you send the offer. | Email (starts the 48-hour hold), Change Order, Delete |
| Sent | The offer has been emailed. The date and time shown under the status is when the 48-hour hold started. Even if they move to the end of the queue, the same seats stay held for them. | Resend (same deadline), Change Order |
| Expired | They did not register within 48 hours. They move to the end of the queue, but the same seats are still held for them. | Email (starts a new 48-hour hold), Release, Change Order, Delete |
| Failed | The offer email could not be sent. The seats are still being held. | Email to try again, Release, Change Order, Delete |
| Released | The seats are no longer being held for them. They stay on the waiting list, but without an order number, at the end of the list for that event. | Delete only. |
| Registered | They completed registration through the offer link. They stay on the waiting list at the end of the list for that event. | Delete only. |
Hide Registered and Hide Released are turned on by default, so these rows are usually hidden. Your choice is remembered. If you filter the legend or Status list to Registered or Released, the corresponding Hide checkbox is turned off so you can see those rows.
Buttons on the page
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Event / Start date | Shows the events that match your selection. They appear above the table. |
| Column filters | Type in a column heading to narrow the list by status, spots, name, date added, email, or phone. |
| Hide Registered / Hide Released | Hides those rows from the list. It does not delete them. |
| Reset Filter | Clears the search and status filters. Your Hide settings stay the same. |
| Order | Shows the person’s place in the queue. Type a new number and click outside the box to save it. |
| Renumber | Keeps the current order and changes the queue numbers to 5, 10, 15, and so on. |
| Delete | Deletes the people you selected. You must confirm before they are deleted. Sent entries cannot be selected. |
| Check all | Selects everyone you can delete from the list you are currently viewing. |
| Cleanup | Deletes waiting-list records for disabled events and for enabled events that ended more than one month ago. This cannot be undone. |
The number shown next to the buttons tells you how many people match the current filter. If nobody matches, the page says “No people match this filter.”
A new person is added to the end of that event’s queue, after everyone who is still waiting. Registered and Released entries do not have a queue number.
Columns that matter
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Spot Requested | How many spots they asked for when they joined the list. This number does not change if they register some of the spots. |
| Spot Offered | How many spots they can register using the current offer. |
| Registered | How many spots they have registered so far. |
Email, Resend, and Release
The link in the offer email opens registration for that event. They have 48 hours to register, and they cannot register more spots than they were offered.
Waiting or Spot Available
Email sends the offer and starts the 48-hour hold.
- If enough seats are available for their full request, they are offered all the spots they still need.
- If only some of the requested seats are available, you will see a message such as “8 open.” You will be asked to confirm before sending a partial offer.
People further down the list wait until this person’s offer is finished, released, or no longer needed.
Sent
Resend sends the same offer again. The 48-hour deadline does not restart.
If more seats become available while the offer is still active, those seats stay available for this person. You can send a new offer after the current offer expires.
Expired
The offer was not used within 48 hours. The seats are still being held, even though the person has moved to the end of the queue.
- Email sends a new offer for the seats currently available and starts a new 48-hour hold.
- Release stops holding the seats. The next person in line can then be offered those seats. If nobody is waiting, the seats become available to the public.
Failed
The offer email could not be sent.
- Email tries to send it again.
- Release stops holding the seats.
When they register
- If they register all the spots they originally requested, their status becomes Registered.
- If they register the full offer but still need more spots—for example, they requested 13 and register 8—they go back to Waiting for the remaining 5 spots.
- If they register only some of the spots in the current offer, they stay Sent. Spot Offered goes down by the number of spots they just registered.
With Multiple spots, one offer can include several spots. The number in the offer is the number of spots they can register.
If Display Editable Event Quantity? (Step 2) is off, they cannot change that number when they register. For example, an offer for 3 spots means all 3 spots are registered under the same name.
If Display Editable Event Quantity? (Step 2) is on, they can change the number of spots. They can also use Register Another or Repeat to split the spots between people when the Step 1 quantity option allows it.
With One person per entry, each person has their own offer link, usually for one spot.
The email re-sender allows the client to set up an autonomous website that allows registrants to resend their e-tickets to themselves. This feature is useful when the registrant never got the original email or has lost/deleted the email with the e-tickets. The M number using this feature must process credit card payments and capture the postal/zip code of the registrant. To use this page, create a new template file (easier to just take the step 2 template file) and add the variable “%%E-RESEND_DEFAULT%%” to it, then upload the file and link it under preferences > template files > email re-sender. Then take the link below and replace xxxx with your M number, (for example 2088).
The View Batch History allows the user to see individual batches that have been processed. By clicking “Done” under Status, the user can see the individual transactions that occurred within the batch checking if each one was authorized. If the transaction failed, it will list an error with the reason why.
Note: If the window does not appear, make sure you have pop-ups enabled.
The batch pre-processor will look for any errors before running the batch. If some errors are detected, edit the c:\cards.txt file and fix all of the errors. If no errors are detected, the batch will begin to process. The process is actually occurring the in the background. If you like, you can go on to other work and return later to see the results of the batch.
