Note:Every kiosk form delivers context-specific instructions and explanations.
The red incontext help button at the top of most kiosk pages takes you to explicit instructions on that page.

If you need more details or an overview, just, jump to this help desk from the bottom of any kiosk page, by clicking on the Help desk button:

EventKiosk makes finding, posting and updating of events and notices simple and quick for all users.

Kiosk listings databases can be public, private, stand-alone or linked into an expanding and cross referenced network of searchable EventKiosk databases. EventKiosk software is designed to be easily adaptable to meet the needs of diverse users and groups. This guide describes the standard features and components of the EventKiosk service running on CitySource Inc. servers and the standard EventKiosk application. To search public listings posted on CitySource servers, you don't need to supply any personal data, and we do not secretly collect it.

EventKiosk displays what's current and upcoming in two simple and direct formats: automated"headlines" and efficient multi-criteria searches.

Listings are never out of date. EventKiosk ends the hassle of scrolling through squares of truncated listing links, outdated listings and blank calendar spaces to find out what's happening. EventKiosk's "reaper" function removes out-of-date listings so that user searches never turn up stale data. When an event date or announcement period has passed, the record is automatically moved from active to inactive Kiosk listings where old listings are easily edited, updated and recycled.

EventKiosk also streamlines the posting, updating and sharing of listings for content owners and editors who can contribute listings one at time or in batches by uploading a database file of listings.Generally, registered users can add, update, correct, or remove their own listings at any time. They can open some or all of their listings to the public or restrict them to a select group.

Listings can be screened on a category by category, kiosk by kiosk basis, and posted or rejected with a single mouse click. Any listing--suggested, posted, or archived--can be edited and posted on-the-fly.

Any number of kiosks, each with its own unique set of editors and categories can be created on-the-fly. Kiosk editors can control access, set custom event & announcement categories, customized graphics, posting requirements, screening criteria, a selection menu and optional, extra user data field.
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PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY

EventKiosk-branded services use no hidden techniques to track your behavior:

• No cookies, No hidden gifs

• No distracting home page banners

• No profiling of individual users

• No hidden sale of your personal data

• When you click on a link to a non-CitySource or MeetingWeb site, no personal data from EventKiosk goes with you.

• You must explicitly chose to "opt in" to an offer to allow any personal or contact information you provide to this site to be sent to a third party.

To search our public listings, you don't need to supply any personal data, nor do we secretly collect it.

If you want to directly add a listing, we require that you register to encourage accuracy and to enable you to protect and update your own listings.

A listing submitter's name is not displayed with listings and is only visible to kiosk editors. Only the "contact" name or organization you enter is posted to the searchable kiosk database.

Commercial interests can reach kiosk users by posting event and announcement data to appropriate kiosk categories--their listings are displayed when their contents meet a user's search criteria or when their start/key date triggers display in an automated headline.

We allow posters to insert within their listings links to other web sites. We do not have control over the content or privacy policies of those sites. A well managed site should display easy to find links to a clearly written privacy policy. We suggest you read any linked sites privacy policies before submitting personal data.
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LISTING TYPES AND COMPONENTS

The standard version of Event Kiosk has two color-coded, time-sensitive, information listing types--"events" and " announcements." All listings must have a submitter, a contact, a phone or email address, a title, a main date (start date for an event, key date for announcement) and at least one category designation. Each listing can include a description of up to 100 words and a link to a web page or site containing more details.

Event Listings

Events must have a location and a start date. Events may also have multiple event dates, a start time of day and an end time and an event price. When an event appears in a kiosk headline, the current event date is listed. In search results, events titles are color-coded red.

Announcement Listings

An announcement is not tied to a definite start date or place. Deadlines, special promotions, notices of future events before locations are set, outcomes of competitions, awards, requests for volunteers, upcoming votes on important issues can addressed in a eventkiosk announcement listing. Instead of a start date, an announcement has a key date which is used to order listings in the "Hheadlines" section. An announcement also has an optional release date, the earliest date it will appear in a kiosk search and a "remove" date, the last date it will appear in a kiosk search. In search results, announcements are color-coded green.

Kiosk Headlines

EventKiosk automatically scans all listings in its database of active listings for inclusion in the headlines section. Kiosk editors set the number of listings (from 3-10) that can appear at one time on a kiosk search page's headline section. Listings are ordered according to event start or announcement key date under "Today", This Week" and "Upcoming" sections. Each category editor can choose to include or exclude category listings from headlines.
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FINDING LISTINGS

| Via Headlines | Setting Search Criteria | Search Results | Printing Personal or Group Listings | Finding Other Kiosks |

Find a Listing Via a Headline Link

Headlines, consisting of listing titles, event dates and brief descriptions, are automatically generated based on the current dates of events and the key dates of announcements. From the kiosk's main search page, click on a listing's headline title to go to the full listing. You can use this full listing's categories and other fields to streamline a new search for similar listings. Kiosk editors determine how many headlines will be display, generally 3-10. To display a larger set of current listings, scroll down to the Search Options section of the main search page.
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Setting Search Criteria

You can search a kiosk's listings by one or more search criteria, including categories, date, location, title, descriptive text, contacts and price. Pressing the "Search Listing"s button at the top of the main search page or on any listings page will display the "Kiosk Search Options" form. Setting no search criteria results in a list of all active events and announcements, the equivalent of clicking the Show All button at the top of the main kiosk page.

• Search by category
  A kiosk's search categories match those on the kiosk's posting form. Select any number of categories for your search by clicking to mark an "x" in the checkbox to the left of each category. If you set no categories, all categories will be searched.

• Search by date
  You can search by standard time periods or by setting either a range of dates or an exact date in the "Date Range" section of Search Options.
  • Search one of the standard periods--"Today", "This week", or "This month"-- by selecting the period from the Select Period drop-down menu.

  • Set a precise date in the "enter dates" fields using the month/day/year format by replacing the left "mm/dd/yy" with your start date and the right " "mm/dd/yy" with your end date. (Leave the pop-up menu set to "Select period."

  • Search for a single day by entering the same date in both the left and right date fields.

• Text searching
  Currently kiosk text searches are limited to whole word searches. Searches are not case sensitive and spaces are ignored. For example the search text, "summer" will find listings containing the whole word summer, including phrases such as "Summer Fest", but entries containing the compound word "Summerfest", or the plural "summers" will not be found. If you enter two words, EventKiosk will search for all listings with either word.

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Search Results

Results are ordered chronologically. Only active listings matching your search criteria appear in search results.

Results exceeding 10 listings are diplayed on additional results pages. To forward through the results,press the "Next" link or the next number in the sequence of pages displayed at the top and bottom of the page.

To navigate back to the first results page, click the "Previous" link which is displayed on all but the first page of results.

Note: To view outdated listings you have posted or listings in a category for which you are an editor, go to the Edit Your Listings page. Searches will not turn up "removed" and outdated" listings. Suggested listings will not appear in searches unless an editor has approved them.

Using Kiosk Searches to Create Printable Personal and Group Calendars

Set your date range to match the period you want your personal calendar to cover. Then select all the categories you want included. Print out the chronologically organized Search Results page from your browser or save it as a text file to edit and then print.
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Finding Other Kiosks

Click on the List kiosks button on the bottom of a kiosk's search page to see a list of all kiosk to which you have access. Any kiosk you have permission to edit will also have a "manage this kiosk" link. The default kiosk listing page is ordered by the descriptive name, followed by a kiosk's internal name. To reorder your list of kiosks by internal name; just click on the "Sort by Internal Name" button above the list.
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ADDING LISTINGS

| Posting Permission | Error Checking and Security |Direct and Screened Posting | Dates |Categories | Descriptions & Links | Uploading Multiple Listings |

Kiosk Posting Access and Restrictions

To see what can be posted and who can post in any one kiosk, press the "How to Add a Listing" button at the top of the kiosk's search page. If you have been given posting privileges to the kiosk, you can directly enter listings. If registration is required, the "How to..." section may contain a link to a registration form.

If you do not have posting permission, your posting form data is forwarded to a category editor who must approve your listing before it can be posted. Some kiosks allow anonymous users (with logs in names such as "guest"or "visitor" to post directly. See the How to Add a Listing section for instructions. If you still have questions on a particular kiosk click the "Contact for this kiosk" button at the bottom of the form.

Submitter names are automatically recorded from the user log in. Only the listing submitter and assigned "listing editors" can alter a listing or change its status.

If the kiosk allows batch posting you can upload multiple listings at once.
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Error Checking and Security Controls

EventKiosk checks all items for time, date, and contact information. You are asked to review your submissions before they are posted. Incomplete listings require reediting before they can be posted. Only the original, identifiable submitter of a listing or an authorized category editor can change a listing.
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Direct Posting

You can instantly post a listing to any kiosk category to which you have posting permission. If you do not have posting permission, your posting form data is forwarded to a category editor who must approve your listing before it can be posted.

Posting instructions appear at the bottom of the posting form. Posting access to a kiosk is determined by the kiosk administrator and/or the kiosk editor. Generally direct posting is restricted to registered users of the server running EventKiosk. Administrators may further restrict direct posting by limiting certain kiosk categories to particular users or user groups, or by screening listings in some or all categories.

Suggested or screened posting
Generally, all registered users may suggest listings to restricted categories. Some kiosks also allow non-registered users to suggest listings. These users fill out a standard posting form. When they click the Post button a message appears explaining that the "suggested listing" will be sent to an editor for review. If a suggested listing is not approved (posted) or deleted by an editor, it will be automatically deleted at the end of a fixed number of days (set by the kiosk editor for deletion of removed and outdated listings.)
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Required fields and optional fields
A listing must have a "type" designation as either an "event" or an "announcement". The event type is the default setting. If you are posting an announcement, reset the radio button to "announcements." Every event and announcement is also checked for required fields: title, contact, initial date and at least one category label. Events also require a location. Other entries are optional. The contact field can include an optional e-mail address that will be posted as a hot link.

Dates

Dates are entered as numbers ordered by month, day and year (mm/dd/yyyy). The first and only required date is "start date" for events and the "key date" for announcements. The announcement key date is the date used by EventKiosk to order the announcement chronologically in search results lists and to select it for display in headlines.

• Recurring event dates
  For events that span several days (occur "daily") from the main date or events that recur once a week, or once a month, you can set the recurring event option. Just select the interval from the Date Range menu and enter the end date. Your recurring event listing will reappear in the search results list at each interval.

• A series of event dates
  You can also post any set of individual dates by setting the "series of dates" option and entering dates in the mm/dd/yy format, separating each entry with a semicolon.

• Setting announcement dates
  In addition to the key date used to order announcement listings on a search results page, you can add a "release date" and a "remove date". The release date sets the first date your announcement will appear in a date search of the active listings. On the "remove date" the announcement will be removed from the active listings. Removed listings remain available to the submitter for editing for an additional period (set by the kiosk editor) after which the listing is deleted from the Kiosk database.

• Event time of day
  This is an optional entry. If a time of day is not filled in, no time field will be entered in the listing. When you fill in a time, set the pop-up menu to either "AM" or "PM" for the start and the end time. A start times may be entered without an end time.

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Event and announcement categories

You must check at least one category. You can check up to 3 categories for your listing. Note: If you check more than 3 categories, only 3 will be recorded. Reedit to control which categories are listed.

Restricted categories: If one of the categories you check is restricted, the listing will not be posted until it is approved by a category editor.

Hint: To avoid delays in posting your listing, reedit to omit restricted categories. Contact the category editor by e-mail to request that you be allowed to post directly to a restricted category.

Optional description for your listings
You can enter up to 100 words to describe your event or announcement. Use this description area to include any information not covered by other form fields, including additional date and time information for announcements. For issues related to batch upload of multiple listings files, see "Multiple Listings" and "Troubleshooting" sections below.

Important: To improve readability for longer descriptions, press the Return key twice between paragraphs to insert extra white space.
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Adding hypertext links to your listing
You can add an optional link to your web listing in EventKiosk. It will appear at the end of your description or in place of a text description. You enter the full URL, including the "http:" prefix in the "Web address" field. You can also include a descriptive name for the link.

Uploading Multiple Listing Files

In EventKiosk version 2.0, the kiosk editor can set up a kiosk to accept multiple listing files. You must have direct posting access to upload ("batch upload") a file of listings. Export the file from your database application in tab-delimited text format. The order of fields in the records (listings) in your file must match the order of fields in the kiosk.

• From the kiosk search page, press the Post or Add a Listing button to reach the kiosk posting form.

• At the top of the posting form press the Upload Multiple Listings link. All necessary instructions are included on this "batch upload" page. Just press the red help button to jump to these in-context instructions.

• Your listings data file must be in tab-delimited format--one tab separating each field in a listing record and one paragraph return separating each listing. (Note: Each blank, optional field should replaced by a single tab.)

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REGISTRATION OPTIONS AND USER ACCESS LEVELS

Accessing Public Kiosks to Read and Search Listings

Standard public versions of EventKiosk allow any user to view a list of public kiosks, view the main search page of each kiosk and conduct searches of public kiosks residing on the same server. This is called read-only access.

Suggesting and Posting Access to Public Kiosks

Posting to a kiosk requires a log in name and password. Many public kiosks will allow users to post directly or to suggest listings by using a "guest' or "visitor" log in and password published in the "How to Post..." section of the kiosk's main search page. Some kiosks restrict guest passwords to suggesting listings (suggest access) which are only posted after they are approved by kiosk editors. Other kiosks require that all suggesters and posters be registered as individual users on the server running the EventKiosk application. For public kiosks a link to a kiosk registration form may be included in the "How to post..." section.

Registered Users and User Groups

A registered user has a unique user name and password on the kiosk server. A kiosk administrator may group users into specific user groups. A kiosk editor can give any member of a user group suggest or posting access to one or more kiosk categories in one or or more kiosks. A kiosk category editor can add or remove any individual or user group from specific kiosk categories. Registered users with posting access can always edit their own listings in a kiosk.

Access to Private Kiosks

Private kiosks may restrict both reading and posting access to designated registered users only or to user groups who must log in to access the kiosk. As with public kiosks, the kiosk administrator determines who has kiosk-editing access to a particular kiosk. The kiosk editor then sets up a kiosk's categories and may delegate category-editing access to particular registered users.

Editing Access Levels

• Registered posters may access and update, copy, remove or delete their own listings.

• Category editors may edit or copy the suggested, posted or outdated listings in categories to which they have access.

• Kiosk editors may access, update, copy, remove or delete any listing in the kiosks which a kiosk administrator or another editor has made them an editor.

• Kiosk Administrators have editing access to the set of kiosks created by them or other administrators on a particular server.

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EDITING YOUR OWN LISTINGS

Editing Privileges

A unique kiosk user with direct posting privileges can always edit all his or her own available listings. An active listing is one with a current date. An inactive listing is one that has been automatically moved to the inactive list because its dates have passed or because the poster or an editor has manually removed it from the active listings.

Note: A listing posted by an anonymous user (such as "guest" or "visitor") can not be edited using an anonymous account. Only a designated kiosk editor or a category editor of one of the listing's categories may also edit the listing.

When a kiosk or category editor alters a listing, the editor's name is inserted along with the original submitter's name on the posting form. This reduces the chance for accidental or intentional tampering with a listing and makes clear who is responsible for the information. If necessary the kiosk administrator can edit or remove a problem listing. A designated category editor will also have access to all suggested listings in that category. You can edit any field in an active listing or create a copy of an inactive listing and then edit that.

Unless a kiosk category has a designated editor or editor group, only the submitter of the listing can edit it. This reduces the chance for accidental or intentional tampering with a listing and makes clear who is responsible for the information. If necessary the Kiosk administrator can edit or remove a problem listing.

The Kiosk Listings Editor

The kiosk Listings Editor gives registered posters instant editing access to all their active and inactive listings. Designated editors will also have editing access to any suggested listings awaiting their approval and to any posted or "removed" listings via a "Categories You Can Edit" button at the top of the Editor page.

Editing Your Active Listings

From your active listings you can change ("update") any field in a current listing or quickly create a new ("similar") listing based on a current listing. You can also remove a listing from the active list for use at a later date.

Note: Active listings may appear in kiosk headlines only if they are in categories that the kiosk editor had set to appear in headlines.

• From the main search page, click the "Edit your Listings" button at the top or the bottom of the search and edit pages to reach the Listings Editor.

• Update any data in an existing listing: Scroll to the active listing you wish to change and click the "Update button". The Kiosk form containing the listing's data is displayed for you to edit.

  Or

• Add a new listing based on an existing one: Scroll to the active listing you wish to change and click the "Update" button. The kiosk form containing the listing's data is displayed for you to edit.

• When are you have completed your changes, press the "Do it" button on the bottom of the posting form page.

• A "Confirm Your Listing" page reviews your changes, showing both the previous version and your newly updated version or your edited copy. Omissions, errors and possible problems with your listing will also be pointed out.

• Press the "Do-it" button on the "Confirm" page to replace the old version with the new version of your listing.

Editing Your Removed or Outdated Listings

From your inactive listings you can edit and reactivate an outdated listing or cull old listings from the kiosk database. Clicking the "Edit" or the "Edit your listings" button available on many Kiosk pages brings up your chronologically ordered active and inactive listings of events and announcements. The number of days an outdated or removed listing is available is set by the kiosk editor and displayed on the confirm page displayed when you remove an active listing.

• From the main search page, click the "Edit your Listings" button at the bottom of the search and edit pages.

• Click the "Outdated & Removed" link at the top of the Lisitngs Editor page to jump to "Your Removed and Outdated Listings" section of the Editor.

• Scroll to the listing you want to edit.

• To reuse a listing and return it to the active listings, click the listing's "Create Similar" button. In the posting form that is displayed edit all relevant fields, making sure the date fields are current.

• Click the "Do it" button at the bottom of the posting form.

• On the Confirm page displayed, review your listing for accuracy and if it's OK, click the "Do it" button again. If your listing has errors that prevent posting click the reedit button.

• To permanently erase a selected listing from the Kiosk database Click the listing's "Delete" button.

• Before the listing is permanently removed, a page appears asking you to confirm your deletion command.

• Click the "Do it" button to erase the listing. Note: Most kiosks are set to automatically erase all listings that have been in the inactive area of the kiosk for over 30 days. Contact your kiosk administrator about other options.

  Hint: One way to retain a removed event or announcement beyond 30 days for later use is to "Create a similar" listing as an announcement with a new "Release Date" and "Remove Date" farther into the future. The listing will only appear in search results including the distant dates.

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EDITING LISTINGS IN A KIOSK CATEGORY
Editing and approving other people's listings

Category Editor Access

If you have category editing privileges a "Categories You Can Edit" link will appear at the top of the Kiosk Editor Page. Click on the link to jump to the list of "Categories You Can Edit" section of the Editor. Click any category in the list to go to the Category Editor containing all current and suggested listings in the selected category.

You edit "Active" and "Outdated & Removed" listings in the Category Editor just as you do in the standard Editor.

The category editor's name is inserted along with the original submitter's name documenting the changes.

Screening Suggested Listings

A kiosk editor can set a kiosk to send you e-mail notification when a listing is suggested to a category you edit. The full text of the listing is sent to you in the e-mail message.

To Act on a Suggested Listing:

Go to the Edit Kiosk Listings Page and click on the "Categories Your Can Edit" link. Click on one of the suggested listing's categories to reach the Edit Listings in Category: "categoryname" page.

Click the "Pending Approval" link to jump to the "Suggested Listings Awaiting Approval" section for the selected category and scroll to the listing you wish to act upon.

To post the suggested listing as is, click the listing's "Approve" button. To make changes to the suggested listing, click the "Edit" button to go to the listing's posting form.

To deny approval and erase the listing from the database, click the listing's "Delete" button.

Note: If another editor with category access has processed the suggested listing, it will have been removed from the pending approval list. If the listing has been posted, scroll back to the category's "Active Listings" to locate a listing you wish to edit. The listing will not be available if it has been deleted by an editor.

To Edit Additional Categories of Listings

Click on the "Categories You Can Edit" link at the top of the Category Editor page. Select a new category from your list to display category editing options for that category.
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ERROR MESSAGES, ALERTS, AND TROUBLESHOOTING

EventKiosk generates a number of special messages offering advice or explanations when there is a problem in directly executing your commands. If the questions and answers below, the incontext help or the sections of this help desk do not address the problem you are having contact your kiosk administrator. If your kiosk is running on a CitySource server (citysource.com, meetingweb.com or eventkioks.com) you may also send email to help@meetingweb.com. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions.

Searching Problems

Why don't all "Today's" listings appear in the kiosk headline section?

The number of headlines displayed is set by the kiosk editor? If the number of today's listings exceeds the number of headlines set by the editor, the rest of today's can be displayed by first clicking on the "Search Listings" button to go to Search Options section. From the Date Range drop-down menu list select "Today." Then click on the section's "Search listings: button.

A search for a known word in a listing does not locate any listings. Why?

Only active listings are searched. Outdated and removed listings will not appear in a search. If you are an editor or you posted the listing, you can find it using the Edit Your Listings command.

Note spaces are ignored in current kiosk searches. Enter a single word and avoid word endings that may not match exactly.

Problems Posting Single Listings

How can I tell if my listing has been sent to the EventKiosk server?

An alert, error or confirm message will appear after you press the "Add a Listing" button. An alert message will tell you if are restricted to suggesting a listing to your selected categories.

If no confirm or alert message appears after your send a listing, check that your network connection is still active.

Problems Uploading a Multiple Listings File

EventKiosk reports that an uploaded file has more event and announcement records than you know it does and/or that some of the required fields are empty.

Check that the field order in your exported tab-delimited text-file are in the same order as in the EventKiosk posting form. For example, an optional field that is out of order could be interpreted as a required field.

EventKiosk interprets any paragraph return as the end of a listing record. Check that your database program converts any paragraph returns within a field into simple line breaks. Remove any extra paragraph returns within fields or between listing records.

Can't Access a Kiosk?

Can't access the main search page of a public kiosk? First check that you have the correct web address and that you internet connection is active? (For example, try the URL of one of the major public search services.) If you have a contact e-mail or phone number, contact the kiosk administrator or kiosk editor for the particular public kiosk.

Denied access to a private kiosk, a posting or editing page on a public or private kiosk?

Check the user name and password set you have used, making sure you correctly type any upper or lower case letters in your username or password. If the kiosk accepts an anonymous password for searching, try using that to determine if the problem is with the kiosk or with your user account? Contact the kiosk administrator with the details of your access problem, name of kiosk, time of day, username, specific URLS to which youwere denied access. If you've forgotten your password, ask the system administrator to reset it for you.
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Use your CitySource EventKiosk user name and password to access the Manager's interactive guide.

This guide is structured as a screened MeetingWeb meeting.

Post any questions or comments directly to the most relevant guide topic in the guide meeting.