Entry Question Overview

What are Entry Questions?

Entry Questions are custom questions you can ask exhibitors to fill out when they are entering your show. They allow you to collect additional information (non-entry specific) from exhibitors. Many shows use these questions to ask about stalling, bedding, camping, or apparel. The possibilities are truly endless depending on your unique show needs.

Question Fields

Label - This is a short form text (under 25 characters) that is meant to uniquely identify your question. Think of it as a title to your question; i.e. "T-Shirts," "Pens," "RV spots," etc.
Due Date - This is the date the question needs to be answered by. After this date, exhibitors will no longer be able to add/edit their answer to this question, but you will still be able to make edits from the Admin Dashboard. *Do not delete Entry Questions after a due date passes; this will cause any information collected from that question to be lost.*
Question - This is the text question that will appear to exhibitors when they are completing their entry; i.e. "How many pens would you like to reserve?" or "How many t-shirts would you like to order?"
Pricing Question - Check this box if the question you are asking has a price or cost associated with it. This pricing will be reflected in the invoice for the exhibitors, according to their answers.
Base Price - This is the amount charged for the pricing question; only visible when "Pricing Question" is checked. This is the default rate, however if there are multiple answer options or a dropdown format, prices can be different for each option (i.e. if XL shirts cost more than Small shirts). Learn more about pricing questions
Details Text - A place to add in any additional information necessary to help exhibitors answer the question. This shows up as small text underneath the answer box.
Answer Type - The answer type determines how the answer box will be displayed to the exhibitors, and what they can enter as an answer. Learn more about answer types
Multiple Answer Options - If you select text, number or checkbox as your "Answer type," you'll be given a checkbox to select Multiple Answer Options. This allows you to create multiple answer boxes under the same question. Very helpful for apparel questions or for pens of different sizes/species. Learn more about Multiple Answer Options
Required Question - Makes a question required to be answered before the entries can be submitted. Learn more about Required Questions
Separate Answer Box for each Exhibitor - Check this box if you'd like to provide a unique answer box for each exhibitor in the Entry Group to answer the question. Learn more about exhibitor questions
Admin Only - This question will only be visible to the show administrator. Exhibitors will not be able to see or answer this question.

Answer Types

*number - will require the exhibitor to input a number for their answer.
*checkbox - This will present the exhibitor with a checkbox to either check or leave unchecked.
text - This will allow for free form text input from the exhibitor.
*dropdown - The exhibitor will be presented with a dropdown of preset options. List is based on the Dropdown options that you create for the question.

*These are the only answer types that are compatible with pricing questions. Keep scrolling to learn more about pricing questions.

Pricing Questions

If the Pricing Question option is checked then the question can have a rate associated with it. This rate will be used to add a line item to the entry group's invoice when they check out. This is a great option if you would like to charge an exhibitor for additional items besides their animal entry fees. Some examples include pens, shavings, t-shirts, RV/camping spots, etc.

For pricing questions to work properly the question Answer Type has to be either checkbox, number, or dropdown:

Checkbox - A check box answer type will apply the line item at the rate specified to the invoice. This is perfect for questions that have a flat fee not based on quantity, such as fairs that charge a flat rate per species shown.
Number - A number answer type will apply the item at the rate multiplied by the answer supplied by the exhibitor. This works well for questions where the fee is variable based on quantity needed. A great example is a pen fee based on the number of pens they would like.
Dropdown - A dropdown answer type will apply a rate for whichever dropdown option is selected. Each dropdown option can have a different rate associated with it. For example, perhaps you want to ask each exhibitor (Exhibitor Question!) if they will participate in the Junior Skill-a-thon, Senior Skill-a-thon, or neither. You can create a dropdown with those three options, charge $5 for the junior or senior skill-a-thon, and $0 for choosing neither.

Multiple Answer Options

If the Multiple Answer Options box is checked (only available for Answer Type number, text, and checkbox) then the question can have multiple answer options. This will create multiple answer boxes under the same question, so that exhibitors can choose or enter more than one answer. This is helpful if you would like to collect data or charge for items that have different varieties, such as different sizes of t-shirts, different types of pens, etc. or questions for which you'd like exhibitors to submit multiple answers, such as nominating multiple judges for next year's show.

Required Questions

If the Required Question option is checked, exhibitors will not be able to finish their entries and pay without answering the question.

Checkbox - A required checkbox question will require that the exhibitor check the box (or all the boxes if you select multiple answer options). This is helpful if you wish to require them to acknowledge or agree to a statement of ethics in order to enter the show. This is not helpful if you wish to require them to opt in or out of something, since they won't be able to leave the box unchecked if the question is marked as required. Instead, for a required question asking for a yes or no answer, use a dropdown:
Dropdown - You can require exhibitors to answer a dropdown question, the dropdown options could be simply "yes" or "no," or there could be more options.
Text or Number Questions can also be marked as required.

Exhibitor Questions

By default each entry question is only answered once per Entry Group. However, because Showman allows multiple exhibitors to enter under the same Entry Group, there may be times you wish to gather information specific to each exhibitor. If a question is marked as an Exhibitor Question then there will be a unique answer box provided for each exhibitor in the group to answer. Please note: If an answer doesn't depend on specific exhibitors or can be combined across all exhibitors then it will be best to NOT use the Exhibitor Question option.

When to use Exhibitor Questions?

Exhibitor Questions should be used when you need to know a specific answer for each exhibitor. A great example of this is if you want each exhibitor to be able to nominate a judge for next year's show. You can use an Exhibitor Question of Answer Type text to allow every exhibitor in the group to nominate a judge, or multiple judges (Multiple Answer Options!)

Still stuck on how to format a particular entry question for your show? Reach out to your show specialist to help you figure it out!