# Common Tasks and Workflows

This section provides step-by-step guides for common tasks you'll perform when managing events.

### Setting Up a New Event from Scratch

**What you'll need:**
- Event title and basic information
- Start and end dates/times
- Location information (destination or custom address)
- At least one image (recommended)
- Categories (recommended)

**Steps:**
1. Navigate to **Events** → **New Event**
2. Choose an event type
3. Fill in required fields:
   - Title
   - Slug (or let it auto-generate)
   - Type
   - Starts At
   - Ends At
   - Publish At
   - Author
4. Add location information (link to destination or enter custom address)
5. Upload a main image
6. Write a description in the Content field
7. Select at least one category
8. Fill in contact information if needed
9. Check **Enabled** to make it visible
10. Check **Approved** (if you're an admin creating it directly)
11. Click **Save**

**Tips:**
- Start with the essentials, you can always add more details later
- Use a descriptive title that clearly identifies the event
- Choose a slug that's readable and SEO-friendly
- Set publish date appropriately (can be in the future)

### Creating a Recurring Event

**Setting up weekly recurring events:**
1. Create a new event with the first occurrence's date and time
2. Set **Recurrence** to "Weekly"
3. Set **Weekly Weeks** (e.g., 1 for weekly, 2 for bi-weekly)
4. Select **Weekly Day(s)** (e.g., Mon, Wed, Fri)
5. Set **R End Date** (when recurring should stop)
6. Save

**Setting up monthly recurring events:**
1. Create a new event
2. Set **Recurrence** to "Monthly"
3. Choose pattern:
   - **Monthly First**: Specific day of month (e.g., 15th of every month)
   - **Monthly Second**: Specific weekday occurrence (e.g., first Monday)
4. Set **Monthly Months** (e.g., 1 for monthly, 3 for quarterly)
5. Configure the specific day/weekday settings
6. Set **R End Date**
7. Save

### Adding Multiple Events

When adding many events:

1. **Prepare your data** in a spreadsheet with columns for:
   - Title, start date/time, end date/time
   - Location, contact information
   - Categories, etc.

2. **Create events one at a time**:
   - Start with the first event
   - Fill in all information
   - Save and move to the next

3. **Use consistent naming** for easier management later

**Time-saving tips:**
- Copy similar events and modify rather than starting from scratch
- Use the same categories for similar events
- Batch upload images if possible, then assign them to events

### Organizing Events with Categories

**Planning your category structure:**
1. List all the main types of events you have
2. Group them into categories
3. Create the categories in the admin panel

**Example categories:**
- Music
- Sports
- Arts & Culture
- Food & Drink
- Community Events
- Workshops
- Festivals

**Assigning categories:**
1. Open an event for editing
2. Find the Categories field
3. Select one or more appropriate categories
4. Save

**Best practices:**
- Don't create too many categories (aim for 5-10 main categories)
- Assign multiple categories if an event fits in more than one
- Review and refine your category structure periodically

### Creating a Featured Events List

To highlight special events:

1. **Identify events** you want to feature
2. **Open each event** for editing
3. **Check the Featured checkbox**
4. **Save**

Featured events will appear when using featured event filters and can be displayed prominently on your frontend.

**Tips:**
- Feature events that are particularly noteworthy or popular
- Rotate featured events periodically to keep content fresh
- Consider featuring seasonal or special events
- Limit the number of featured events for better impact

### Managing User Submissions

**Daily workflow:**
1. Check for new unapproved events
2. Review each submission:
   - Verify date and time information is accurate
   - Check that location information is correct
   - Ensure descriptions are complete and well-written
   - Verify images are appropriate
   - Check recurrence patterns if applicable
3. Make any necessary edits
4. Approve and enable if ready, or contact the user for more information

**Communication:**
- Use the comments field to track review status
- Contact users if submissions need changes
- Provide clear guidelines for what makes a good event submission

**Quality control:**
- Ensure all required information is present
- Verify dates and times are logical (end after start)
- Check for duplicate events
- Verify location information is accurate

### Updating Event Information

**When to update:**
- Date or time changes
- Location changes
- Contact information changes
- New images become available
- Event details change
- Recurrence patterns need adjustment

**How to update:**
1. Find the event (use search if needed)
2. Open it for editing
3. Make your changes
4. Save

**For user-submitted events:**
- Users can update their own events via the API
- Admins can update any event
- Changes to approved events may trigger notifications

**For recurring events:**
- Editing the master event affects all future recurring instances
- Past instances are not affected
- You can change recurrence patterns, which will affect future instances

### Archiving or Removing Events

**Disabling an event:**
1. Open the event
2. Uncheck the **Enabled** checkbox
3. Save

The event will no longer appear in public listings but remains in the system.

**Deleting an event:**
1. Open the event
2. Use the delete option (if available)
3. Confirm deletion

**Note:** Deleting a recurring event's master will remove all future recurring instances. Past instances may remain in search results until they expire.

**When to archive vs. delete:**
- **Disable/Archive**: Event cancelled but you want to keep the data, or event ended but you want historical records
- **Delete**: Test entry, duplicate entry, or permanently remove with no need to keep data