Manage Event Sessions and Registration

Multi-day workshops and field programs use session rows—each with its own time and (optionally) capacity. Registration mode on the event controls whether visitors pay, RSVP for free, or sign up as volunteers. Configure sessions and mode before you promote the event so capacity and emails match how you actually run the day.

Prerequisites

Dashboard → Events Manager → open event

Public signup: event page URL or an event signup block on a Page

Paid tickets also: Events as a product when you sell through the shop or portal

What you're looking at

Sessions: add session, start/end, status; optional multi-session public signup.

Registration mode: Paid (checkout), Free (RSVP), or Volunteer signup.

Signup approval (free and volunteer only): Auto-confirm or Manual review (pending until approved on Attendees).

Attendees: roster with approve/reject (when manual), check-in, and Add volunteer for dashboard invites.

Registration modes

Mode	Public form	Approval	Emails (typical)
Paid	Checkout / ticket path	Payment is the gate	Receipt / product confirmation (shop path)
Free (RSVP)	RSVP fields	Auto or manual	Pending → confirmed, or confirmed immediately
Volunteer	Volunteer fields (name, email, optional phone/skills/notes)	Auto or manual	Pending → confirmed, or confirmed immediately; plus dashboard invitation emails

Volunteer signup and invites

Use Volunteer signup for conservation field days, nonprofit crews, and unpaid program roles.

Public volunteer form

1. Set Registration mode to Volunteer signup.
2. Choose Signup approval: auto-confirm or manual review.
3. Publish the event and open the public form (event URL or page block).
4. On signup:
   • Manual — volunteer gets a pending approval email; you approve or reject on Attendees, then they get a confirmed email.
   • Auto — volunteer gets a confirmed email right away (subject to capacity).

Dashboard Add volunteer (invite)

1. On the event Attendees tab, click Add volunteer.
2. Enter name, email, and session (dashboard invites are one session at a time).
3. Save — the platform creates the volunteer registration and sends an invitation email with an accept link (/events/volunteer/accept).
4. When they accept, they are confirmed for that opportunity (and receive confirmation messaging as configured).

Optional: turn on Multiple sessions per signup so the public form can register one email for several sessions at once. Dashboard invites still attach one session per add.

Free RSVP

Same approval choices as volunteer. Manual review uses pending → approve/reject on Attendees, with matching RSVP emails.

Paid registration

Use Paid (checkout) when money changes hands on the event path. For storefront cart, promo codes, or portal materials after purchase, also configure a Digital Products Event Access / Workshop SKU—see Events as a product.

Implementation steps

1. Open your draft or published event in Events Manager.
2. Add session rows for each day or time block.
3. Set Registration mode (paid, free RSVP, or volunteer).
4. If free or volunteer, set Signup approval (auto or manual).
5. Optionally enable Multiple sessions per signup for public multi-select.
6. Publish the event; place a signup block on a Page or share the public URL.
7. Submit a test signup with a personal email and confirm the correct email arrives.
8. For volunteer programs, test Add volunteer and complete the accept link once.
9. Before event day, review Attendees, approve any pending rows, and use check-in as needed.

What you'll see

Sessions show the correct schedule. Signups respect capacity. Manual modes keep pending people off the confirmed roster until you approve. Volunteers invited from the dashboard get an accept link by email.

Verifying your setup

• Sessions have times and capacity set where you need limits.
• Registration mode matches the public form (paid vs RSVP vs volunteer).
• Manual approval: pending email → approve → confirmed email.
• Volunteer invite: Add volunteer → invitation email → accept page succeeds.
• Attendee list is usable before the event date.

Conservation field programs: see also Conservation & nonprofit workflow.