Plan an event
An event brings the roster, order of service, files, collaborators, and Presenter preparation together. Start with Team & roles, then build Plan.
Choose who can edit
Collaboration is off by default for each event. Owners, admins, and editors can still edit it; invited volunteers and guests receive read-only access to the Plan. They can read the sections, durations, notes, assigned names, and files, download attachments, and respond to their own invitations. They cannot change durations, remove people, or open roster and guest management lists with other people's response statuses.
To let the invited team work on this service:
- Open the event as an owner, admin, or editor.
- Tick Collaboration in the event header.
- Wait for the saved confirmation.
While enabled, everyone with an active invitation to this event, including guests, can edit its plan, assignments, and files and manage its external collaborators. Only owners, admins, and editors can change Collaboration itself. Untick it to return invitees to read-only access; existing work stays in the event.
This choice applies to this event only. It does not grant organisation management rights or access to other events. A guest remains an event-only visitor. To give a person access to all events as a planner, use Settings → Team access instead.
Event actions
The event header provides Create another like this and a More actions menu. Depending on your access, More actions includes:
- Calendar QR code — share the date without granting Hub access.
- Set reminder — schedule one combined roster email per assigned person.
- Save as template — reuse the tested structure in future events.
- Copy outline to events — copy the plan outline to selected events.
Copy outline to events starts with Replace existing outline selected. Applying that option permanently deletes the target events' current Plan sections, items, and attachment links for those items, then recreates the source outline. There is no undo, so the Replace action requires a second click. It does not change Team & roles assignments, replies, external collaborators, or event-level Attachments, and source files are not copied. Choose Merge (append) to keep the target outline and add the source outline after it; review the result because this can create duplicate sections or items.
A reminder combines a person’s roles for the event. People without an email address are skipped. If you add a missing email after a reminder ran, set a new reminder to start another sending cycle.
Build Team & roles
- Choose Add team and add the teams serving at this event.
- Add or rename the required roles under each team.
- Select a role to assign a person or group.
- If the person does not exist, create them from the picker. Add their email before sending invitations.
- In Scheduled teams, choose Send invite beside one new person, invite one team from its row, or choose Invite all volunteers when the whole roster is ready. Team and event actions send only to available people who have not been invited yet.
A blue Invite sent label means Hub submitted that person's invitation to the email provider; it is not a button and does not prove the message reached their inbox. A newly added person shows Send invite. If their email is missing, choose Add email first, then send only their invitation.
Assignment states mean:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Added to the roster, but no invitation has been sent |
| Invited | An invitation was sent and is waiting for a reply |
| Accepted | The volunteer accepted |
| Declined | The volunteer declined; replace them or leave the role open |
| Confirmed | The assignment has been confirmed by the planning team |
Use the People and Groups sidebar to find scheduling options. Red Unavailable warnings mean an assignment overlaps a saved absence. Resolve those warnings before inviting.
Build the Plan
- Choose Add section for the main parts of the service.
- Choose Add item within a section for songs, speaking moments, media, and other actions.
- Add a title, duration, and notes. Notes are included in the Presenter handoff.
- Search the song library from an item to link the correct song record.
- Add sub-tasks when an item needs smaller actions.
- Assign a person or group to a whole section or to an individual item.
- Use the grip to reorder or move sections and items.
Keep titles short and put operational detail in notes. Linking a song is better than typing only its title because the linked lyrics and song record can be used by Presenter.
Add and find files
Use the paperclip on an item for a file that belongs to that moment. Use Attachments in the Plan sidebar for event-wide files. Attachments lists both event files and files attached to individual tasks, and lets you preview supported files.
Hub accepts images, video, audio, PDF, and PowerPoint files. An active Team subscription provides 50 GB of media space per organisation; an individual file can be up to 50 GB if enough space remains. The shared quota includes originals and generated previews. Large uploads show progress and can resume after a connection interruption while you keep the tab open. For a Google Slides deck, first share it as Anyone with the link, then choose Import Google Slides as PDF under Attachments. Both .ppt and .pptx originals remain available. A Team plan can create a PDF preview from .pptx only; save a legacy .ppt as .pptx first.
Inline previews and PowerPoint preview conversion remain limited to 50 MiB. Larger originals can still be uploaded. For a large download, open the attachment page and follow its browser guidance; Chrome and Edge can save directly to a chosen file, while browsers without that support can download files up to 250 MiB through Hub. Access is checked when you open or download a file; sharing its Hub link does not grant access.
Upload, Choose from Hub, and the storage allowance remain visible on every plan. Hub explains when an active Team subscription is required. If Team ends, existing attachments remain readable and removable under their normal retention rules; new uploads need an active subscription. An upload that was already authorised can finish.
Use Choose from Hub to find an existing file and attach it to this service or item, including files first uploaded for another service. Any supported media type can be attached to any service or item. Reusing a file does not upload or charge its bytes again. A source PowerPoint and its PDF preview are separate files; choose the one you need.
Service attachment links expire 30 days after the service ends. A shared file remains available while another service still uses it. Deleting an attachment, item, section or service removes its links; it does not remove a file that another service uses or that is kept in Hub.
Deleting a section permanently deletes every item and its attachment links. Shared or kept files remain protected by the rules above.
For a recurring welcome movie or other reusable file, choose Keep in Hub. Your organisation can keep up to 10 GB beyond service expiry, within its existing 50 GB media allowance. These files survive deletion of the original service and remain in Hub media for later reuse. Turning off Keep in Hub returns the file to its service retention rules. If no service links remain, it is queued for deletion immediately. Download a local copy first if you still need it. Deleting the organisation also deletes kept media.
Import from Canva
Connect your personal Canva account in Settings → Canva, or directly from Attachments → Canva. After approving the connection in your browser, return to Hub; it checks the connection again. Choose a presentation, search or load more designs if needed, and select PDF for slides you advance yourself or MP4 for timed animation. Leave the page range empty for all pages.
Hub first exports and downloads from Canva, then saves the file to the service. Wait for the confirmed result before treating the file as attached. If saving fails after downloading, retry while the dialog remains open to reuse the downloaded export. An imported file follows the same storage and Keep in Hub rules as other media. Changes in Canva require a fresh import; disconnecting Canva does not remove saved copies.
If an upload fails, read the message before retrying. Use a supported file type, check the connection, and try again. A failed upload is not attached to the event.
Prepare Presenter
Open Presenter to review how the current plan can become a Presenter deck. It shows the plan summary, cue estimate, useful suggestions, and whether Presenter has acknowledged the latest event version.
- Up to date means a successful receipt matches the current event version.
- Create locally, Not yet created in Presenter, or Plan changed since last sync means Presenter has not acknowledged the latest changes yet.
- If the plan changes after a successful sync, sync it again from Presenter before the service.
Apply a suggestion only when it belongs in this event; suggestions change the plan. The Hub screen does not claim a successful sync until it receives a matching Presenter receipt.
Invite external collaborators
Use Guests for a guest who should view this event without joining the organisation. Enter the guest’s name and email. Their invitation gives read-only access unless Collaboration is enabled for this event. Even with collaboration enabled, a guest cannot open the organisation-wide People or Songs destinations.
Invitations follow the organisation’s email privacy settings. A blocked or unsubscribed recipient must not be treated as successfully invited; read the delivery result before trying again.
Use Activity to review recorded planning changes. This tab is for planners and is not shown in the volunteer event workspace.
If an event looks out of date
- Wait for Live sync and check whether another planner is editing.
- Reopen the event.
- Check the active organisation.
- Repeat only the change that showed an error.
- For a missing invitation, check the delivery result and the person’s email. Correct an address if needed; if the recipient has unsubscribed, sending again will not turn email back on.