Managing Your Conference

Everything you need to go from a new account to a live conference page.

Create a conference

1. Sign up or log in to your Brownbag account.
2. Click Create Conference and enter your conference name.
3. You'll land in the Editor, where you can add and edit all details about your conference.

Note: Everything in the Editor stays in draft mode until you click Publish. Use View Conference at any time to preview what attendees will see.

Set up your conference details

In the Editor, click Add Dates to set your start and end dates. Conferences can span multiple days.

Click Add Location to add your venue or virtual event details.

Add content to your conference page

Pre-built components

Pre-built components are the fastest way to add key functionality to your page.

Paper Submission Form

Collects submissions from authors. By default, every submission requires a paper title, author list, abstract, and a PDF.

• Set the submission window: Click the ⚙️ icon, choose a start and end date, and click Save.
• Add custom fields: Click the ✏️ icon to add single-line text, multi-line text, checkboxes, or radio buttons.

Note: Submitters must have a Brownbag account to submit. Submissions appear in your Submissions table.

Registration Form

Collects RSVPs from attendees. Anyone who completes the form appears in your Members table as a Participant.

Note: Registrants must have a Brownbag account to register.

Program Calendar

Displays the agenda you build in the Program section directly on your public conference page. See Building your program for details.

Basic formatting

Type / anywhere in the Editor to access formatting options — headings, bullet lists, numbered lists, and emojis.

Use tabs to organize your page. For example, put the submission form and instructions on one tab, and the final program on another.

Add conference objects manually

If you'd prefer to build your agenda directly in the Editor instead of using the Program Calendar component, you can insert conference objects inline. Hover over each option to see more details. Available objects:

• General event
• Paper event
• Session event
• Person

This works especially well for single-day events or when you want more control over formatting.

Overview page

Once your conference is live, the Overview page shows:

• Page views over the last 7 days
• Submissions received in the last 30 days
• A log of recent activity

Reviewing Submissions

All submissions to your conference appear in the Submissions table. Each column maps to a field in your submission form, plus two additional columns for review rounds: Internal and External.

View and download a submission

• Click the ⬇️ icon to download the PDF.
• Click the › icon to open the full submission detail view, including paper title, submission date, authors, abstract, assigned reviewers, and their ratings and comments.

Assign reviewers

1. Select one or more papers in the table.
2. Click Assign Reviewers.
3. Choose from your reviewer list. The list shows how many papers each reviewer is already assigned to, so you can balance the load.
4. Use the Internal / External filter or search by name to find the right reviewer.
5. Click Overwrite to replace existing assignments, or Append to add to them.

Once a reviewer completes their review, a ✅ appears next to their name.

Note: Reviewers must be added in the Members tab before they appear here. See Managing members.

Organize with labels

Labels let you categorize submissions — accepted, rejected, waitlisted, or anything else that works for your team.

Go to Labels → Create New Label to get started. You can apply multiple labels to the same paper.

Sort, filter, and search

Sort by clicking ↕ Submitted At and choosing from: Paper Title, Weighted Score (Internal), or Weighted Score (External). Toggle ascending or descending.

Filter by clicking the ⚡ Filter icon and selecting values from the dropdown.

Search by Paper Title or Authors using the search bar.

Click ↺ Reset All Filters to clear everything and start fresh.

Customize your view

Click ⊞ View Columns to show or hide specific columns in the table.

Export submissions

Click Export to download all submissions — or just your current filtered view — as a CSV file.

Program, Members & Analytics

Building your program

Build your conference agenda under the 📅 Program section. Dates are pulled from your conference settings — update them in the Editor if needed.

Set up rooms

By default, your agenda has one room called Default Room.

To change this, click Modify Rooms:

• Edit any room name inline.
• Click ➕ Add Room to add more rooms.
• Drag the ⠿ handle to reorder rooms.
• Click the 🗑️ icon to delete a room.

Click Save when you're done.

Add events

Click Add New Event → General Event and fill in the Date, Time, Event Title, Room, and an optional Description. Click Save.

To quickly adjust an existing event, drag it to a new time slot or room directly on the agenda.

Add the program to your conference page

To make your agenda visible to attendees, add the Program Calendar component to your page in the Editor. See Pre-built components.

Members

Manage everyone connected to your conference under the 👥 Members section.

Add a member

1. Click ➕ Add Member.
2. Search by email address.
3. If the email matches a Brownbag account, select their role: Admin, Internal Reviewer, or External Reviewer.
4. If the email isn't registered yet, enter their first and last name to invite them.

Important: Members must sign up to Brownbag with the exact email you used, or they won't see their assignments.

Roles

Export and remove members

• Click ⬇️ Export to download your member list as a CSV.
• To remove a member, select their name → Actions → 🗑️ Remove Member.

Analytics

The 📊 Analytics section shows how your conference page is performing:

• Total page views over time
• Referrers — where visitors are coming from
• Device breakdown — desktop vs. mobile

Use the date range picker to view the last 24 hours, 3, 7, 14, or 30 days.