Should you have a seating plan that you use across multiple events, or a venue that you return to over time, a Venue template can be used to save you time and help avoid errors. It allows you to set up the seating plan once in the system, and import it directly into an event during Create New Event when needed.
This article covers:
- Creating a venue template
- Editing a venue template
- Uploading a venue template into an Event
- Exporting a venue template
- Importing a venue template
Vanco Events works with venues across the country and has many templates saved. Check with our Client Support Team via support@vancoevents.com before you create, as we may already have that plan on file and we would be happy to share with you (at no cost).
Creating a venue template
To create a venue template:
- From the left menu, click Dashboard
- From the left menu, click Templates then click Venue template
- Click the button Add venue, then click Next
- Fill in the venue's details, including the address (required) and contact details (optional)
- Select the allocation type from the drop-down menu
- a Seat venue is usually used by halls and theaters and has allocated seat numbers that guests can select during booking
- a Space venue is any other type of venue
- Fill in the maximum number of attendees if space, or the number of rows and seats per row if seat
- Click Create venue, then click Finish
For venues with a Seat allocation, see Seating Plans: Editing and Further Customization further guidance.
We understand that some seating plans have complicated arrangements, and it is important that you get them right. We are happy to assist you with the creation of your venue template at no cost. Simply send a copy of the floor plan for your venue to support@vancoevents.com
Editing a venue template
Venues may update over time, with new seats and rows added or removed. You will be able to edit the Venue template within your account to reflect these changes.
Edits made to the venue template will not carry through to events that have already been created using the venue template. If you have already uploaded the venue template into your event and changes are required, you will need to update both within the event and venue template.
Don't forget, our Client Support Team are happy to assist you with these changes.
To edit the seating plan:
- From the left menu, click Dashboard
- From the left menu, click Templates then click Venue template
- In the table, click on the name of your venue
- Click Seat/space under Allocation to view your current seating plan. Select:
- Edit seating plan to change the layout of seats
- Edit stage to change the appearance of the stage on your plan
-
Edit door list to set up doors in your venue and allocate seats to these doors
See Seating Plans: Editing and Further Customization further guidance
Uploading a venue template into an Event
Once the venue template is complete in your account, you will be able to upload it into a new event.
Whether you are creating your own template or using a template provided by Vanco Events, it is important that you double-check the venue template against the floor plan provided to you by the venue prior to uploading it to your event. This ensures it is 100% correct before sales have been taken, and save you time and effort in the long run.
This section will walk you through:
- Uploading a venue template upon creation of the event
- Uploading a venue template into an existing event
Uploading a template upon creation of the event:
To upload a venue template during Create an Event:
- From the left menu, click Dashboard
- From the left menu, click Events then click Create New Event
- In Step 2: Venue Details, select Use venue Template
- Select the require Venue Template the Venue Template drop-down field
- With the venue template selected, click Next: Session Times and proceed with completing Create New Event
Uploading a venue template into an existing event
If you have already created your event, you will still have the option to upload a venue template. Doing so will import the sections on the venue template into the event. It will not update the venue name and address.
To upload a venue template into an existing event:
- From the Dashboard, click on the name of your event under the Manage Event Overview
- From the left side menu, select Sections under Allocation
- Click Import a Venue Template
- Select the template you wish to import in the Venue Template field, and click Import
- The section from the venue template selected will be imported into the event
Remove any sections that you no longer require by selecting and clicking Remove Section
Should you have already taken bookings on Sections that you wish to remove, you will need to move the bookings into the new sections before they can be removed.
Exporting a venue template
If you have a venue template in one Vanco Events account and you would like to share it with another Vanco Events account, you are able to export the template as a .venue file. From there the other account holder will be able to import the file into their own Vanco Events account.
To export a venue template:
- From the left menu, click Dashboard
- From the left menu, click Templates then click Venue template
- In the table, click on the name of your venue
- Click Export venue to download the venue template as a .venue file
Importing a venue template
Should the .venue file of the seating plan be provided to you, you will be able to upload it into your Vanco Events account.
To import a venue template into your Vanco Events account:
- From the left menu, click Dashboard
- From the left menu, click Templates then click Venue template
- Click the link To upload a venue template, click here
- Click Choose file and select the .venue file from your computer
- Click Upload
To upload a venue template into your account the file does need to be a .venue file type. Files outside of this file type (eg. pdf, csv, jpeg, png) will produce an error message upon upload. The .venue file type is unique to Vanco Events as a result of the seating plan being created on the system.
If your file is not a .venue our Client Support Team would be happy to assist. Simply send them a copy of your floor plan via support@vancoevents.com.