Capacity per session (Session booking)

Capacity per session gives each date, time slot (session) or choice its own number of spots and closes only the sessions that fill up. Other sessions keep taking sign-ups. It is used mostly for business events such as exhibition visits, pop-up entry and one-day classes. The sample form is called Session booking, and saving it switches the check-in method to Personal QR.

Session capacity

Give each session (or choice) a number of seats and full sessions close automatically on the applicant's screen. Even when several people sign up at the same moment, the capacity is never exceeded.

There are two ways to set capacity.

① Creating sessions with the calendar

Picking Session booking from the sample forms opens the session question and shows a short guide. Changing an existing question's type to Session picker (calendar) brings up the same screen.

Step 1: Pick dates and times

1. Tap the dates you want to open on the calendar. You can tap several. → Tapped dates turn blue. Past dates are greyed out and cannot be selected. → If the Date & Time section has a date, the calendar opens on the event month and event days are shaded light yellow (closed days excluded). If only some event days have sessions, you see "Sessions on only ○ of ○ event days" and an Add the same times to every event day button. It copies the times of the earliest session day to the remaining event days in one go, skipping closed and past days. Creating a session outside the event dates shows "Some sessions fall outside the event dates". Nothing is blocked, so you can keep it when a different day is intentional, such as a pre-event briefing.
2. Tap the AM and PM time buttons below. Times run from 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM in 30-minute steps. → A pressed time turns dark, and a session at that time is created on every selected date. Dates you tap later get the same times automatically.
3. To give each date different times, untick Apply the same times to every date. → A "Times for (date)" note appears. Tap a date on the calendar, press its times, and repeat for the other dates.

Step 2: Capacity

1. Enter a number in the Per session box, for example 20. → Each session in the list below shows a faint "20", meaning it follows the default.
2. Leave it blank for No limit, which is fine when you only want to collect a date and time.
3. To give one session a different capacity, type the number directly in that session's box. Clear it to go back to the default.
4. To remove a session, press the X on its row. To drop a whole date, tap that date on the calendar again. (With "same times" unticked, the first tap selects the date and a second tap removes it.)

To the right of the Capacity heading, "(n) sessions · (d) dates" shows how many sessions you have made so far. Sessions that already have sign-ups show "(n) applied" next to the time.

② Capacity on a choice question

1. Open a choice question and enter its choices, for example "Session A" and "Session B".
2. Tick Set capacity under the choices. → A Capacity box appears next to every choice, and a short guide opens the first time.
3. Enter the number of seats for each choice. A blank box means No limit.

Unticking it clears every capacity on that question and leaves just the choices.

The guide "You can set capacity per session"

This short guide appears once when you apply the Session booking sample or tick Set capacity for the first time. It covers the three essentials: blank means no limit, full sessions close automatically, and you check progress and cancel bookings in Responses. On a regular choice question (not the session calendar), the title reads "You can set capacity per option" instead. Tick Don't show again to hide it on that device; the ? button reopens it any time. Learn more in the guide links straight to this section.

What applicants see

• The number of seats left is hidden by default. Turn on Show spots left in the question settings to show it next to each choice, such as 3 left, or in brackets in a dropdown, such as "2:00 PM (3 left)". Whatever the setting, a full choice turns to Full, is greyed out and cannot be picked.
• On the calendar, only dates with sessions are shown with a light background and bold number, and only they can be tapped. Picking a date reveals the AM and PM time buttons; full times are greyed out.
• Past sessions are hidden. Once 2:00 PM on the event day has gone by, the 2:00 PM session disappears from the calendar. If nothing is left, the form shows "No sessions available".
• If a seat is taken between choosing and submitting, the applicant sees "This time slot is full. Please choose another one." and the remaining counts refresh.

Rules worth knowing

• Simultaneous sign-ups never exceed capacity. Submissions are handled one at a time on the server, so a 30-seat session never admits a 31st.
• One sign-up takes one seat. A person who enters "3 guests" still uses a single seat. Think of capacity as the number of sign-ups, not the number of people. If you need per-person limits, ask each person to sign up individually.
• Resubmitting from the same device does not take another seat. The earlier sign-up is updated, so even if they switch sessions they hold one seat.
• Sessions with sign-ups cannot be removed. Pressing X shows "Sessions with responses cannot be removed", and a date containing such a session cannot be dropped from the calendar either. This protects the seats people already hold.
• Capacity cannot go below the current sign-ups. If 12 people have signed up and you type 10, a red note says "12 people have already applied, so it cannot be lower than 12." and the change is not saved.
• Capacity cannot be 0. If you type 0, it says "Enter a capacity of 1 or more. 0 is not saved." and the value is not saved. To stop taking sign-ups, enter the current number of sign-ups. That session closes right away.
• To reopen a full session, raise its capacity or cancel a sign-up from the list to free a seat. A cancelled seat reopens immediately.

Where to see the numbers

Go to Dashboard > Analytics and pick the invitation. On the RSVP tab, session capacity appears below the summary cards. The sign-up count is shown in bold and the capacity in grey, such as "12/20". A nearly full session (80% or more) turns orange, and a full one is marked Full in red. Sessions with capacity appear even before the first sign-up.

Questions with many sessions (a session calendar, or 9 or more options with a capacity) are split into three parts so you can read them at a glance.

1. Summary line: "○ sessions · Signed up ○ · ○ full"
2. Needs attention: only sessions that are full or at least 80% full, up to 5. If there are more, expand them with Show ○ more. If there are none, it reads "No full or nearly full sessions yet".
3. By date: pick a date in Choose a date to see only that day's sessions in time order.

These questions can have hundreds of sessions, too many to read in a donut chart, so no Choice distribution chart is shown for them. Questions with only a few options are listed below the charts one per line, such as "Session A 12/20".

Frequently asked questions

I set a capacity of 30. What happens to the 31st person?

They cannot get in. The moment the 30th sign-up is accepted the session switches to Full and can no longer be picked. Anyone who had already selected it sees "This time slot is full. Please choose another one." on submit. Even when people press at the same time, the server handles them one by one, so there is never a 31st.

Does the same person signing up twice take two seats?

Not from the same device and browser. The second submission updates the first, so it is still one seat. A sign-up from a different device counts as a different person and takes another seat. If you spot a duplicate, delete one row from the list.

I want to remove a session but it will not go away

That session already has sign-ups. The message "Sessions with responses cannot be removed" means someone chose it. To remove it, first delete those sign-ups from the list or ask the applicants to move to another session, then remove it.

I tried to lower the capacity but it turned red and did not save

You cannot go below the current number of sign-ups. The note tells you the number, for example "12 people have already applied, so it cannot be lower than 12." Enter that number or more.

If someone signs up with 3 guests, how many seats are used?

One. Session capacity counts sign-ups, not people. The number in a headcount question only feeds the dashboard totals. For per-person limits, set capacity by number of parties or ask each person to sign up individually.

What happens to sessions whose date has passed?

They disappear from the applicant's screen automatically. They stay in the editor, so you can still view the list for past sessions.

I want to reopen a session that is full

There are two ways. Raise that session's capacity in the editor, or delete a sign-up for that session from the dashboard list to free a seat. As soon as you save, the Full mark on the applicant's screen is lifted.

I want capacity without a calendar

Add choices to a choice question and tick Set capacity. No calendar needed. For example "Session A, 20 seats / Session B, 20 seats".

I want dates and times without any capacity

In the Session booking form, leave the Per session box empty. It shows "No limit" and no remaining counts are displayed.

The remaining count does not update right away

Remaining counts load when the applicant opens the form. If someone else signs up in the meantime, the server checks again on submit, blocks a full session and refreshes the numbers. Capacity is never exceeded.

Related

• Which RSVP type should I use?
• Capacity for one-day events (Limited capacity)
• Custom sign-up form: questions and response limits
• Personal QR: Session booking checks guests in with personal QR codes