Event Sessions

Learn how to add sessions and breakout blocks for a community event in PEARS.

If your community event spans multiple sessions, use the Sessions section to define each one individually. Each session can have its own name, date, time, location, and registration capacity. Sessions are only available when Has Multiple Sessions is set to Yes on the General Information form.

When several sessions run at the same time and each registrant should attend only one of them, group those sessions into a breakout block. Registrants pick at most one session from each block.

TIP: If your event is a single session, you can skip this step. The event's start and end dates from the General Information form will be used.

GLOSSARY: Sessions terminology

• Session — A scheduled segment focusing on a specific topic or activity within the larger event agenda.

• Breakout block — A named group of sessions that run at the same time. On the registration form, a registrant can select at most one session from each block.

• Breakout session — Any session that belongs to a breakout block.

Add a Session

1

Navigate to the Sessions Tab

After saving the General Information and Collaborators sections, PEARS takes you to the Sessions page. You can also access it by opening an existing event and clicking the Sessions tab in the progress panel.

2

Click Add Session

On the Sessions page, click the Add Session button to open the session form.

3

Enter a Session Name

In the Session Name field, enter a descriptive name for this session, such as the topic or focus area.

4

Set the Session Date

In the Session Date field, select the date this session takes place. The picker is limited to dates within the event's start and end dates.

5

Set the Start and End Times

Enter the Start Time and End Time for the session.

TIP: Sessions are allowed to overlap. If the times you enter overlap another session, PEARS shows a warning but still saves the session.

6

Set a Registration Capacity (optional)

In the Registration Capacity field, enter the maximum number of people who can sign up for this session. Leave it blank for no limit.

7

Enter a Location and Description (optional)

In the Location field, enter the location for this session. If the session takes place at a different site than the main event, specify the session-specific location here. Use the Description field to add any details registrants should see.

TIP: If all sessions share the same location as the main event, you may leave this field blank and the main event location will apply.

8

Save the Session

Click Save Session to add the session to the event. The session now appears in the sessions table.

Screenshot: The Add Session form showing the Session Name text field, Session Date picker, Start Time and End Time fields, Registration Capacity field, Location field, and the Save Session button

The Sessions Table

Saved sessions appear in a table with the following columns:

Column	Description
Session Name	The session's name. Breakout blocks show the block name with an expand control; click it to reveal the sessions inside.
Capacity	The session's registration capacity, if one is set.
Date	The session date.
Time	The session's start and end times. A breakout block shows the range spanning its earliest start to its latest end.
Location	The session location.
Actions	The actions menu for that row.

Breakout Blocks

Use a breakout block when several sessions run at the same time and each registrant should attend only one of them — for example, three concurrent workshops in the same afternoon slot.

Create a Breakout Block

1

Click Add Breakout Block

On the Sessions page, click the Add Breakout Block button.

2

Name the Block

Enter a Block Name, such as "Afternoon Workshops." The block name must be unique within the event.

Optionally add a Description. The description is shown above the session choices on the registration form.

3

Add the Breakout Sessions

Each session inside the block gets its own tab under Breakout Sessions. Click Add to create another tab, then complete the session fields — Session Name, Session Date, Start Time, End Time, Registration Capacity, Location, and Description — for each one.

NOTE: A breakout block must contain at least two sessions. Session names must be unique within the event, so give each session in a block a distinct name.

4

Save the Block

Click Save. The block appears in the sessions table as a single row that expands to show the sessions inside it.

TIP: Sessions in the same block are not required to overlap in time. "Pick one per block" is a selection rule, not a scheduling rule — a block such as "Morning track" can hold sessions spread across the morning.

Convert an Existing Session into a Breakout Block

To turn a session you already created into a breakout block, open its actions menu and click Convert to breakout. The breakout block form opens with that session as the first tab, ready for you to name the block and add the concurrent options.

Manage a Breakout Block

Open a block's actions menu for these options:

• Add breakout session — Add another session to the block.

• Delete block (keeps sessions) — Remove the block. The sessions inside it are kept and become ungrouped, so they revert to multi-select on the registration form. Registrations are never deleted.

Inside a block, each session's actions menu offers Duplicate session and Delete session.

What Registrants See

On a registration form with a session picker, a breakout block appears as a single item showing the block name, its description, the number of session options, and the time span across its sessions. Selecting the block reveals the sessions inside it, and only one can be chosen. Ungrouped sessions on the same form remain multi-select.

If every session in a block is full, the block shows "Every session in this group is full." and cannot be selected. See Public View: Register for an Event.

Edit a Session

To edit an existing session, open its actions menu and click the edit option, or click the session row. Update the fields as needed and click Save changes.

NOTE: You can't lower a session's Registration Capacity below the number of people already registered for it. PEARS rejects the change and tells you the current count. Set the capacity equal to or above that count, or clear it for no limit.

Copy a Session

To quickly create a similar session, open the session's actions menu and click Duplicate session. PEARS creates a new session named "Copy of {name}" with the same date, time, location, capacity, and description. Fees and registrations are not copied. Duplicating a session inside a breakout block adds the copy to the same block. You can duplicate a session even after an event is live, as long as you have permission to edit the event.

Delete a Session

To remove a session, open its actions menu and click Delete session, then confirm the removal.

CAUTION: Deleting a session may affect registrations that are associated with that session. Review existing registrations before removing a session. Once an event is live, the delete options are removed from the actions menu because its sessions carry registration records.

Session Capacity and Registration

To collect registration per session (and session-specific payment, if needed), add the "Session Picker" to your registration form.

The session picker option allows people to register for sessions, and enforces session capacity and payment.

Capacity is enforced per session, never per block. A session that has reached its Registration Capacity shows as full on the registration form and cannot be selected. If two registrants try to claim the last remaining seat at the same time, only one succeeds — the other sees a "session is full" message.

Cancelling a registration frees the seat back up.

Continue to the Next Step

After adding all sessions, click the Save and Continue button to proceed to Registration Types.