How to assign contributions to several sessions

(A German version of this article is available.)


Is it possible to assign an accepted contribution to several sessions?

For our conference we have planned two poster sessions running at different times. All of the accepted posters will be presented in both sessions, and we want to represent this in the schedule created in ConfTool. While the assignment to the first session works well, we are not able to assign the posters to the second session. Can you please advise how to assign all posters to both sessions?

Currently, ConfTool Pro does not provide a direct option to assign a contribution to several sessions, but there are three alternative approaches:

Approach	What the second session shows	Best for
1. Referencing session	Always the same presentations as the parent session, with its own time and room	All contributions of a session presented a second time - e.g. your two poster sessions
2. Manual copy or link	A static copy of the first session's output, or a link to it	A simple solution without extra session types; the copy is not updated automatically
3. Copy contributions	Copies of selected contributions, assigned like any other contribution	Only some contributions presented in a second session

1. Referencing Sessions

A "Referencing Session" refers to another session, the "Parent Session". It always shows the same presentations as the parent session, but you can set a different time and room for it.

• Enable the extra session types.
  Overview => Conference Program Scheduling => Main Settings for Conference Session Overview
  Turn on the Expert Settings toggle in the lower navigation bar (it is labeled "Expert Settings Disabled" until activated). Then scroll down to the section "Further Options" and activate the setting "Enable Extra Session Types" (see image 1).
• Create the referencing session.
  You can now select a "Session Type" for each new session (see image 2). Choose the session type "Referencing Session", select a "Parent Session" from the list of existing sessions, and set the time and location of the new session. Optionally, you can enter an alternative title; if the title field is left empty, the title of the parent session is shown.

2. Manual Copy or Link

• Assign the contributions to the first session.
• Create the second session.
  Overview => Conference Program Scheduling => Create, Configure and Delete Sessions
  Use the normal session type and disable the option "Assign Contributions" for this second session (see the upper green box in image 4).
• Refer to the first session. You can either:
  - copy the session output of the first session into the abstract field of the second session (see image 3), or
  - insert an HTML link into the field "Further Information on the Session" (see the lower green box in image 4), with a comment like "See session xxx for further details". More information on how to create HTML links can be found in the ConfTool documentation.

Please note: For the link, please use the URL of the public session overview, not an internal page for chairs or administrators - otherwise participants cannot open it.

3. Copy Contributions

This approach is recommended if only selected contributions are to be presented in a second session. The copied contribution can then be assigned to the second session like any other contribution.

• Enable the copy option.
  Overview => Settings => Main Settings for Abstract and Paper Submission
  Enable the "Copy Submission Option" (see image 5).
• Copy the contribution.
  Open the detail view of the desired contribution and copy it (see image 6).
• Assign the copy to the second session.