Within Slate, event registrants can be given the option of self-service check-in. Geofencing is utilized for this feature, allowing registrants within 2 kilometers, or about 1.25 miles of the event location, to check in via a mobile device.
Please note that, at this time, Mobile Check-In is only available for Events. It is not currently available for Scheduler.
Configure the Message
To use this feature, simply include the Form-Mobile-Checkin merge field link in the event confirmation and reminder communications (email and SMS). When registrants receive the mobile check-in link, they will be allowed to automatically check in to the event when they are within range of the event location.
Note
When the registrant selects the link, a geolocation authorization prompt will appear, which will ask them to allow Slate to determine their location to make sure they are in range. If the recipient selects “Don’t Allow” an error message ( This browser does not support mobile check-in'. ) will appear and the registrant will not be able to check in.
At a high level, when a registrant tries to initiate the mobile check-in procedure, the technical process requires two sets of coordinates. Slate first grabs the coordinates of the event and looks at the [geo] column on the [form] table. Slate uses the javascript function 'getCurrentPosition' to receive the coordinates (lat and long) of where the user is accessing the page. The end user's IP address is not used for this calculation. With those two sets of coordinates, Slate performs the calculation to determine if the user is within range of the event. This calculation is done only for the purpose of check-in, and Slate does not store the lat long coordinates, and the calculation occurs entirely on the client side.
After a registrant selects the mobile check-in link, if indicated that they should receive a confirmation page, they will receive the following message: “You’ve successfully checked in.” In addition to the Form-Mobile-Checkin merge field link, the event must have a start and end time for the self-service geofencing functionality to be used.
Tip
To encourage self-service check-in, we recommend sending the message as a SMS one hour before the event.