An abstract is a proposal to present at your event. The submitter describes a session idea, and your organization decides whether to accept it. When you set up a call for abstracts, you choose the abstract types your event accepts, the process each type follows from submission to decision, and the dates and instructions that apply to the whole call.
This article covers setup only. Reviewing submitted abstracts and running review rounds are separate topics.
Tip
If you do not plan to open a formal call for abstracts, you can still gather speaker interest. Build a submissions form to collect speaker applications, then create the speaker record yourself after you choose someone so they can register in the Portal with a speaker package.
What It Controls
Four records work together for one event's call for abstracts:
- Abstract settings — one record per event that turns Portal submission on or off, sets the open and close dates, controls whether submitters see their abstract's status right away, and stores the instructions shown in the Portal.
- Abstract types — the categories submitters choose from, such as "Case Study" or "Panel Discussion." Each type uses one submission process and one approval process.
- Submission processes — the form a submitter completes, optional limits for length and co-authors, and whether Rhythm sends a confirmation email.
- Approval processes — the forms presenters use to accept or decline an invitation to present, plus the emails sent when an abstract is decided or answered.
Prerequisites
Abstracts must be turned on for the event, and the event must have an associated Events website. The Portal pages for submission, review, and the Presenter Center are part of that site. Speakers can reach the Presenter Center only when Abstracts is enabled on the event and in Portals & Microsites. This is true even when the event uses Sessions & Speakers but does not plan to show or collect abstracts, and even when the event is not otherwise using the call for abstracts.
Where to Find It
You can find all of these pages under Meetings & Shows › Events › (the event) › Setup › Abstracts:
- Settings — set the event-wide submission window, status visibility, presenter capabilities, and instructions.
- Types — create, edit, or delete abstract types. Create Abstract Type opens a blank form.
- Submission Processes — create or edit the process a type uses for submission. Use Preview on the confirmation email to see it filled in with real abstract data before you turn it on.
- Approval Processes — create or edit the process a type uses for decisions. Each of its four decision emails also has its own Preview.
The Settings
The Settings page is one form with five sections:
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Submission | On, off | Off | Allows people to submit through the Portal. When this is on, Open Date and Close Date are required |
| Open Date, Close Date | Date and time | The current moment | Sets the submission window that the Portal enforces. You can save a Close Date that is before the Open Date |
| Hide status in portal | On, off | Off | Hides whether an abstract was accepted or declined until the date below |
| Display status in portal on this date | Date and time | The current moment | Sets when the status becomes visible after hiding is turned on |
| Allow speakers to modify their profiles | On, off | On | Lets presenters edit their own speaker profile through the Portal until the deadline you set |
| Allow speakers to upload & manage session documents | On, off | Off | Lets presenters manage their session's documents until a deadline. This appears only when documents are turned on for the event |
| Allow speakers to edit limited session information | On, off | Off | Lets presenters edit selected session details until a deadline, using the page layout you choose. You can also allow co-presenters to do this |
| Abstract Submission Instructions | Rich text | Empty | Appears on the Portal's Abstract Center page, where submitters submit and manage abstracts |
| Presenter Instructions | Rich text | Empty | Appears on the Portal's Presenter Center page, where speakers see their sessions and, when allowed, edit them |
Tip
The Presenter Capabilities section controls what presenters can do after they submit, including editing their profile, managing session documents, and editing limited session details. Each option has its own deadline. If you turn on a capability, make sure the Presenter Center feature is installed on the event's website; otherwise, speakers will not have a page where they can use it.
These capabilities depend on Abstracts being enabled for the event. If Abstracts is off, speakers cannot use "Allow speakers to modify their profiles" or the other presenter options in the Portal, and access can fail without an obvious explanation because the Presenter Center is built to work with Abstracts, not on its own.
Abstract Types
An abstract type is the choice a submitter makes when starting an abstract. It determines which submission process and approval process the abstract follows. Submitters cannot use a type until you add a submission process to it. Assigning an approval process is also part of normal setup because, without one, the Accept and Decline actions presenters need later in the Portal can fail.
The Portal currently lists abstract types alphabetically, and there is no setting to reorder them.
You can hide a type from the Portal form while keeping it available in the Console. Hiding the type only removes it from the display; it does not block a direct submission from using it. If every type you configured is hidden, submitters have nothing to choose from, and the Portal can show that no abstract packages are available.
Submission Processes
A submission process names the web form that submitters complete. It can also store a maximum word count for the abstract body, a maximum number of co-authors, and a maximum number of submissions.
The form enforces those limits, so they do not protect against submissions made another way. You can turn on a confirmation email for the process. If you later resend a confirmation by hand, Rhythm sends it even when the switch is off.
You can also ask submitters to review their contact or organization details before they reach the abstract form.
Warning
The built-in abstract Body field does not support custom help text or a prompt, and you cannot replace it with a custom field because a submission still needs the built-in Body field to go through. If submitters need instructions for what to write there, add a text block above the field with that guidance instead. Custom fields you add to the form can have their own help text.
Abstract custom fields are shared across every meeting and show in your Rhythm account, not limited to one event. A field created for an earlier event's abstracts can still appear when you edit abstracts for a different event.
Approval Processes
An approval process names the form a presenter completes when accepting or declining an invitation to present. You must choose a Presenter Acceptance Form before you can save the process; if you have nothing else for it to collect, choose or create a form that only shows confirmation text. A separate Presenter Decline Form is optional. If you leave it blank, presenters see the acceptance form when they decline too. Every abstract type needs an approval process assigned to it because, without one, the Accept and Decline actions in the Portal can error out for presenters using that type.
The process has four separate emails: one when an abstract is approved, one when it is declined, one when the presenter accepts, and one when the presenter declines. If you leave any of the four off, nobody is notified for that event.
Use Preview to send yourself a copy of an email filled in with real abstract details before you turn it on. The preview can be sent to any address you type, so treat it like any other draft email that contains real submitter data.
Tip
If an image in one of these emails stops displaying correctly, remove it and upload it again. Re-uploading refreshes the stored image source the email uses, which can resolve a display problem that continues even after you re-save the email content.
Dependencies and Precedence
- A submission process needs its web form to exist first. Design abstract forms from the same forms area used across your account, including the abstract-specific co-author, presenter-selector, and session-track components.
- Presenter capabilities depend on the presenter being recorded as a speaker on the session. A presenter who is not linked to a session does not get access.
- Deleting a type, submission process, or approval process is meant to be blocked when abstracts or other configuration still reference it. Unlink it from those records first.
- The website element that links to abstract submission also has its own route setting. If a "Submit Abstract" menu link sends visitors to the schedule instead of the Abstract Center, check that element's route. Leave it blank so it defaults to the Abstract Center, or set it explicitly to
/abstract/abstractsCenter. - If you clone an event that used abstracts, review the cloned submission process itself, not just the abstract settings and types. Turning on abstract submission and making the process visible in the Portal is not always enough; the cloned process can still carry state from the original event that keeps Portal submissions from working until you check it.
Change Impact and How to Revert
- Changing the submission window takes effect immediately in the Portal. Extending or shortening the dates does not change abstracts that were already submitted.
- Turning off Abstract Submission closes the Portal form right away, but abstracts already submitted stay in place.
- Changing a type's submission or approval process affects only abstracts submitted after the change. Existing abstracts keep the process they were submitted under.
Permissions
You need the permission your Rhythm account grants for abstract setup on the event.
Validation and Errors
You can save an abstract type without a submission process, but submitters cannot use that type until you add one. Rhythm refuses to save abstract settings when Abstract Submission is on without dates, or when status hiding is on without a display date. Add the missing information, then save again.
Rhythm is expected to refuse deletion of a type, submission process, or approval process when an abstract or another setup record still points to it.