August Roundup: Multiple improvements

Your bumper-pack roundup of all the new features being released this August 

We've got so much tell you about this month that we'll keep the intro short so we can try and keep this email down to a reasonable length! 

All these features will be in our upcoming release on August 5th 2021. If you have any questions or would like a demo before that, please get in touch and we'll be happy to train or support you in using new functionality for your upcoming events. 

Here's what on its way...

Mobile & Tablet 'Tab Bar' Menus & New Navigation options

A new feature we're really excited to launch is our Tab Bar navigation. This will allow you to choose a device optimised experience for both mobile web, tablet and native apps. 

With this new option, you'll be able to select up to 4 of the most important items to display along the bottom of the screen when viewing on any device smaller than a tablet in portrait mode (less than 768 pixels for those who care!). All other menu items will automatically be added to an 'overflow' menu represented by three dots, which users can tap to bring up all the other menu items. 

Regardless of this new setting, the desktop experience will always retain the left-hand menu. You can still choose to keep this style of navigation for mobile and tablet visitors if you prefer that experience. You may already know that this already collapses down to a 'hamburger' icon on smaller screens so whichever option you choose, there is no compromise on experience. 

As with everything we build at CrowdComms, flexibility is at its core. You can choose whether to display labels or not, reorder the menu by dragging and dropping, quickly change the menu around, display certain menu items to specific audiences and much more. 

This is a really great way to give a truly native experience and will really make your event stand out. 

Menu open or closed by default

This is a little one, but something we get asked for a lot. In our new Menus & Navigation setting we've added a toggle so you can choose whether you'd prefer the left hand menu to be collapsed [icons only and tools tips on hover] or open [icons and labels] when a user first opens the page. In both scenarios the user has the option to open or close the menu themselves, but this is a nice way for you to control that first impression when they open your event app. 

Activity Feed Videos

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We're please to announce that we can now support video uploads into our activity feed posts.  It's the same great experience as posting an image or text so you'll be able to watch, comment and like videos on the feed just as you can in your main social platforms. 

As with all other content, videos can be reported by viewers if they feel the content is inappropriate, or you can choose to moderate each post in the Dashboard before they become live. 

This is a premium feature, so you'll need to talk to your account manager if you'd like attendees to be able to upload videos. It's a simple thing to add on to your event, so we can have you up and running instantly. Just get in touch and we'll be happy to help. 

Agenda Calendar View

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Another feature that we know you've been waiting for is the flexibility to display your complicated agendas in a calendar format. Sessions that start at the same time but are in different locations, as well as sessions that fall under different filters tags can now be displayed along side each other so attendees can clearly plan their day.  

Turning this feature on will enable list and calendar tabs on the agenda screen for users to toggle between the two views. Sessions can be added to personal schedules from either view, and you have the choice in the dashboard which you would rather have as the default for users as they land on the agenda. 

Of course, this feature works on any screen size and is another option that can be added in seconds. If you'd like to see how this could benefit your event, as always we're just a phone call away. 

Site-wide Message Banners

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You all know that flexibility is a core principal here at CrowdComms, but some event types can have specific and occasionally unique requirements. At pharmaceutical events for example, when you mention a drug you must also present prescribing information which cannot be scrolled past or removed. With this in mind, we've built a new persistent banner tool to fulfil that requirement.

Now we're not the sort of place that simply stops once an itch has been scratched. We also built this feature so you can toggle on and off a 'dismiss' button, and you're able to add formatting and media to your message through the rich text editor we've implemented.

Essentially, we've tried to make it fit the need of one industry and also flexible enough that all you creative people might be able to come up alternative, clever ways to use it. 

Get in touch to try it out.