How do I create a meeting?

Select Sign-Up from the site's Tool Menu.

Select Add.

Select Add from the Actions Menu.

Enter a title.

The Title field identifies this meeting in the site meetings list.

Change organizer. (Optional)

If there is more than one instructor or site owner, a different organizer can be selected in the Organizer dropdown menu. By default, the organizer will be set to the user that is creating the meeting.

Enter a location.

Use the Location dropdown menu to choose a location for the meeting.

Note: Once a location has been inputted at least once for a site, it will appear in the Location drop-down menu. Add a new location by selecting the + enter a new location link.

Enter a category. (Optional)

Use the Category dropdown menu to choose a category for this meeting.

Note: Once a category is entered at least once for a site, it will appear in a drop-down menu. Add a new category by selecting the + enter a new category link.

Enter a description. (Optional)

Use the Rich Text Editor to provide a description of the meeting or event.

Add attachments. (Optional)

Select the Add Attachments button to browse for and attach a file to your meeting.

Enter start and end times.

Use the date picker to specify the Start Time and End Time for the meeting.

Note: The date picker in the Sign-up tool utilizes military time rather than AM/PM. In the image above, the meeting end time would be 12/21/21 at 13:00 or 1:00PM.

Select meeting frequency.

To set up recurring meetings, choose an option here. Any of the meeting frequency types can be recurring. Selection of a meeting frequency other than “Once Only” will create a series of entries in the meetings table with the same name but different details, where any of the individual entries can be modified as necessary.

Enter the point at which the meeting should be opened for sign-up. Before then, participants will not have an active Sign-up button next to a meeting entry. To allow immediate sign-up, choose “Start Now” from the dropdown menu.

Also, enter the point relative to the meeting at which to close the sign-up process. This blocks further sign-up by participants, and also blocks cancellation of a meeting for which a participant has already signed up. This period is measured from the scheduled meeting end, allowing sign-up even after the meeting has started, when that is appropriate.

Take attendance.

To take attendance for this meeting, check the Attendance checkbox.

Specify meeting availability.

This field determines who can sign up for the meeting. To limit sign-ups to members of a group (defined on this site) or to extend the sign-up offer to the membership of other sites, check the appropriate checkboxes. The option to extend to other sites allows inclusion to members of other sites, or groups defined there. The other site must also have the Sign-up tool in order for its members to participate. (The default setting is "members of this site only.")

Choose meeting type.

The relevant options for each of the three meeting types appear when that meeting type is selected via its radio button. See What are Sign-up meeting types? for more information.

Open Meeting

Single Slot

Options to choose between Max number (specify the number of participants allowed) and Unlimited.

Multiple Slots

Options create time slots, either computed to occupy a single continuous time span, or occupying separate irregular time spans manually defined, covering one or more days. Each method creates a single meeting with multiple entries in a time slot table.

Number of slots available for sign-up: Enter the number of individual time slots over which to divide the meeting time.
Number of participants per slot: Enter the number of people that can sign up for each slot.
Estimate duration per time slot (min): This figure is calculated as a function of the total meeting time span and the number of slots available, and cannot be edited. It allocates the available time across the slots. For example, if the number of slots is defined to be 5, and the start and end times of the meeting span two hours, the duration will be set to 24 (120 minutes divided by 5). A number of slots that does not divide the period evenly will give rise to a warning message and an adjustment of the total span. Note: In any case, the resulting time slots can be edited after the meeting is published through the “Modify” process by selecting “Advanced user-defined time slots.” See How do I edit a meeting?
Advanced user-defined time slots: This option allows a multiple-slot meeting to be defined as a set of irregular time slot choices, over several days at different times. (Each person can sign up for only one.) Select this checkbox,” and then select the “Edit Time slots” link that appears. Enter new time slots with the “Add a new time slot” link, edit the data, and delete extraneous ones with the red X. This option does not allow unlimited participation. A warning that this meeting covers more than one day can be ignored.

Select Next.

Continue to the second page by selecting Next. This will go to the Meeting Summary to verify the details set so far, and then to complete the meeting settings.

Review settings and select notification preferences.

Display Participant Names: "Yes" means that names of participants will be visible to others.
Meeting Coordinators: Select the coordinators to receive notifications, if enabled.
Send notification: Check the appropriate box to manage email notifications when participants sign up or cancel.
Announce Availability: "Yes" means that all the potential participants will receive an e-mail announcing that this meeting has been published.
Default Notification setting: "Yes" means that the notification box will be selected on the modify meetings page.
Other Default Settings: Select Show the other default settings to view additional meeting options.

Review other default settings.

Other settings include the following:

Allow Wait List: "Yes" means that a Wait List will be kept, and participants can join it if this meeting is filled to capacity.
Allow Adding Comment: "Yes" means that a participant can add a comment during sign-up.
User ID Input Mode: "Yes, I want to use User ID input mode for adding participants" allows the organizer to use User IDs rather than choosing from drop-down list. This is useful for very large classes where a drop-down list could be very long.
Auto Reminder: "Yes" means that all attendees of the meeting will receive an e-mail reminder one day in advance.
Publish to Calendar: "Yes" means that the meeting will appear on this site’s Calendar tool, regardless of attendance status of the current user.
Create groups for time slots: "Yes" means that groups will automatically be created for each time slot. You may manage these groups via Site Info.
Max # of time slots per participant: Select more than one time slot per participant if desired.

Publish meeting.

Publish the sign-up by selecting either Publish or Assign Participants & Publish. Publish allows participants to select their own time slots. Assign Participants & Publish leaves the event organizer to assign participants to time slots. The meeting can be published and assigned participants at a later time if desired.