Programs

Purpose

The Programs tab is where you build the structure of your conference. A program is one logical submission stream: a main paper track, a workshop, a poster/demo session, a keynote or panel call, or a container that groups several sub-programs together. Each program gets its own submission type, timeline, committee, and (on the Full tier) review workflow.

This tab also gives you a read-only overview of how each program is doing: submissions, and (on the Full tier) how many are under review, accepted, and rejected. The summary's Paper Submissions counts papers in every program, workshops included; proposals to run a workshop or tutorial are shown separately beneath it.

Each program card leads with the program's acronym, then what it takes (Paper, Abstract, Proposal; a Multi-Programs program always shows Proposal) and its status (Running or Paused). The full name sits underneath in smaller text.

When you use it

• At setup, to create your first program before any call for papers can open.
• When you add new streams later (a workshop track, a poster session, a late-breaking-results call).
• To reorder how programs appear, run or pause a stream, or rename and reconfigure one.
• To check headline numbers per program and across the whole conference.

Walkthrough

Create a program

1. 1

   Open the Conference Leadership Console, pick your conference, and open the Programs tab.

2. 2

   Click Create Program (top right). If the tab is empty, use Create First Program in the center of the page.

3. 3

   In Program Info, enter the program name, acronym (filled in from the name; the refresh button beside it regenerates it after you edit the name), and description, and choose the program structure: Single program (authors submit to it: Research, Posters, Panels, a workshop) or Multi-Programs (it groups sub-programs such as Workshops and takes proposals for new ones; when the Multi-Program Chair approves a proposal, its sub-program is created automatically). Add any tracks for a single program here.

4. 4

   In Submission, configure what authors submit in the shared Submission Configuration editor: the Paper, Abstract and Proposal types the program offers (Paper with Full and Short Paper is on by default), their categories, items, choices, affirmations and each category's dates. Next stays off while the editor lists a problem. A container skips this. See Submission Configuration.

5. 5

   In Dates, the program's dates are filled in from the conference's dates (or, when those are not set, from a template), with the conference period, registration and presentation material deadline shown read only. Program start date and Program end date are the days this program runs; they default to the conference's, so change them only for a program on its own days (a workshop the day before the main event, for example). Every date stays editable: change it, rename it, delete it, or use Add date. Calculate… fills the dates again from the conference or a template and keeps the dates you changed. Timeline shows every date on one line, month by month; Phases groups them. Export downloads the dates as a CSV file and Import fills them from one (Name, dateType, dateValue). Paper, Abstract and Proposal each have a tab when the program takes them.

   A Multi-Programs (container) program, such as Workshops, takes no submissions: you create its sub-programs from its Sub-Programs button, and each sub-program sets its own schedule. In the Submission Portal its card shows Sub-Programs, which jumps to its section, instead of Submit.

6. 6

   For paper programs that use a non-AI review mode, set the review configuration in the Review step. (This step is skipped for program types and review modes that don't need it.)

7. 7

   Finish on the Create step. The new program appears as a card in the grid.

Structure and reorder programs

1. 1

   When the conference has container programs, the tab is split into sections: Programs lists every main program, the containers themselves included, and each container then has its own section, titled with the container's name (for example Workshops), listing its sub-programs as full cards or rows.

2. 2

   Reorder: drag a program card by its handle, or use the up / down arrows beside it, to change the order within its section. The new order is saved automatically and is the order the Submission Portal lists programs in. Only conference organizers can reorder the top-level programs; if the save is refused, the old order comes back with a message.

3. 3

   Move a sub-program to another container: drag it into that container's section (an empty section accepts a drop too) and confirm Move. It's the same as Move to…: its submissions, reviews, committee and link stay as they are, the proposal that created it moves with it, the other container's chairs oversee it, and the chairs and the proposal's authors are notified. A sub-program can't be dropped into Programs, and a main program can't be dropped into a container.

4. 4

   Container programs (Workshop / Session containers) show Sub-Programs, Committee, and Dates buttons. Use Sub-Programs to add and manage the workshops or sessions grouped inside.

5. 5

   In a container's section you can open, edit, clone and reorder its sub-programs directly (the order is saved for that container). The container's Sub-Programs button opens the full manager (its Back to Programs button and breadcrumb return to this tab), where you can also Move to… another container (see Multi-Program Chair Console → Programs). As an organizer you can move a sub-program between any two containers of the conference.

Manage an existing program

1. 1

   Edit a program (name, structure, submission configuration, tracks) with the Edit button on its card. The page has sub-tabs, laid out like the PC Console's Settings: Program Info, Structure, Submission Config, Important Dates, Committee and, for Full conferences, Review Config. It opens on Program Info; click a tab to see its section. Update Program under the section saves every tab at once, and if something on another tab stops the save (an empty program name, a problem in the submission configuration), that tab opens. Inside Submission Config each numbered sub-section (Paper, Abstract, Proposal, Email Templates) folds, and only the first one starts open. A problem listed in red names where it is: General Paper settings › … is under General Paper settings for every category (below the categories list), and Paper › Full Paper › … is in that category (see Submission Configuration). Your edits are kept in this browser as you type (including an open category): if you leave without saving (for example with Back to Programs at the top of the page), reopening Edit Program offers Restore or Discard, and a floating Save changes bar appears whenever there are unsaved edits. Program Structure can't change once the program has submissions, and a category with submissions can't be removed. In Program Committee Setup the roles offered follow the structure: a container offers only the roles that manage its sub-programs (Multi-Program Chair and Multi-Program Co-Chair, titled with the container's acronym or name, e.g. "Frontier Sessions Chair"); any other program offers the regular committee roles (Program Chair, Co-Chair, PC Member, Workshop Chair, Session Chair, …). A pending invitee shows when the invitation was sent, turns Expired after 30 days, and has a Resend button that renews the link.

2. 2

   Clone (beside Edit) makes a copy of a program: name it, and the copy gets the same structure (single or container), submission configuration, archival default, review, camera-ready and presentation settings, tracks, dates and email templates, starting Paused. It is the same as Clone Program in Edit Program. People (committee, submissions, reviews) are not copied.

3. 3

   Switch between card and list view with the two buttons next to the Programs heading (the same toggle as All Conferences: the current view is the solid button). List view shows one program per line; the tab remembers your choice.

4. 4

   Run or Pause a program with the button beside Edit at the top of its card (a play or pause icon). Run lists it in the Submission Portal; Pause hides it there without deleting anything. The badge beside the name shows where it stands: Running or Paused. Run each program once it is ready for authors.

5. 5

   Dates opens the program's Important Dates, the same editor the program chairs have in PC Settings: change dates, Lock or unlock category dates, and give categories their own dates in Category dates. Click Save dates, then Close.

6. 6

   Submissions, Committee, and Reviews open read-only oversight views for that program. Submissions lists only valid submissions: drafts (uploads that never finished), withdrawn and deleted ones are left out, and the card's submission count leaves them out too.

7. 7

   Delete (the trash icon at the card's bottom-right corner) removes a program. A program that still has submissions cannot be deleted. Clear its submissions first. Deleting also removes that program's committee assignments, invitations, email templates, and tracks, and cannot be undone.

Add, edit, or delete tracks

Tracks are topic areas inside a program (e.g. "NLP", "Vision") that share the same submission rules and timeline. Manage them under Program Tracks when creating or editing a program.

1. 1

   In the program editor, open Program Tracks (click its arrow; it starts folded and shows how many tracks there are) and click Add Track.

2. 2

   Enter a Track Name. For the Code (the short badge shown next to the track name), either type one or click Auto to generate it from the name.

3. 3

   Pick a Color from the preset circles, or click the dashed custom circle to open a color picker and choose any color. Optionally add a Description, then click Add Track.

4. 4

   Edit a track later with its pencil icon; the form reopens as Update Track, prefilled; change the name / code / color / description and click Update Track to save it in place (no need to delete and re-add).

5. 5

   Delete a track with its trash icon.

Tips