A space holds everything you set up and run for one collection, such as conference abstracts, award applications, committee nominations, or another batch of submissions you want to gather and often review. Every submission process, submission type, review setting, bucket, round, team, and submission you work with in Submissions belongs to one space.
Some spaces collect entries members submit through a Portal form. Others do not collect entries directly; they mirror records that already exist in another Rhythm application, such as membership applications or certification applications, so you can review those records in Submissions. The kind of space you use controls almost everything about how that space behaves.
The Six Kinds of Space
Every space has a kind (sometimes called its type), which you choose when you create the space:
| Kind | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Portal form | Submissions members fill in directly on the Portal |
| Membership application | Membership applications copied in for review |
| Certification application | Certification applications copied in for review |
| Accreditation report | Accreditation reports copied in for review |
| Abstract | Event abstracts copied in for review |
| Award application | Award applications copied in for review |
The Abstract and Award Application kinds are not available when you create a space from scratch in the Submissions Console. The Type: list on that screen leaves them out because those spaces are meant to be created from the Events and Awards applications instead. When you edit an existing Abstract or Award Application space, its kind still appears correctly, but the list is not editable after any space is saved.
Why the Kind Can't Change
After you save a space, its kind is fixed. When you open an existing space, the Type: field shows you what kind it is, but you cannot change it. This is true for day-to-day Submissions users and administrators because the Console does not offer a way to convert one kind of space into another.
If you need a different kind for the same purpose, create a new space of that kind instead of trying to convert the current one. A new space starts empty, so cloning the existing space is usually the better starting point when you want to keep the processes, types, and review configuration you already built.
Every Space Has an Identifier
Along with its name, each space has an identifier that starts with the space’s kind. When you create a Portal-form space, for example, Rhythm builds the identifier from the kind and an ending you can influence. That ending is usually generated from the name you enter, though you can adjust it before you save.
After the space exists, you cannot change its identifier. Rhythm will not save a change to that value, so the only way to give a space a different identifier is to clone it or create a new one.
Status: Draft, Open, or Closed
Separate from its kind, every space also has a status:
- Draft — you are still preparing the space.
- Open — the space is live.
- Closed — the space is finished.
You can move a space between these three statuses at any time, in any direction, including from closed back to draft or open. Rhythm does not check whether the space still has open reviews or active submissions before you make that change, so the status is entirely up to you. Rhythm does not change it for you, and it does not stop you from changing it.
Keep this in mind if you close a space by habit at the end of a cycle. Closing a space does not stop submissions or reviews from being edited; it is simply a status you and your colleagues can use to see where a space stands.
A brand-new Portal-form space defaults to Open and is also visible in the Portal. This means a space you just created can be live for members as soon as you save it, unless you set its status or visibility differently first.
What This Means Day to Day
Because kind and status do not change automatically, check them whenever a space does not behave the way you expect. A space’s kind tells you whether you should configure Portal intake yourself or expect records to arrive from another application. Its status tells you whether the space is meant to be actively collecting or finished. Everything else about the space, including its submission processes, review setup, and the pages members and reviewers see, builds on those two decisions.