The agenda data file needs to be a CSV file following a specific schema. The CSV file contains one individual event per line. Not all the information is required for all types of events.

Tip: You can download the demo test data which allows you to quickly set up the correct file structure.

The CSV file needs to include these columns:

  • date_start: The start date, in ISO 8601-format (e.g., 2025-01-01T12:00:00)
  • date_end: The end date, in ISO 8601-format (e.g., 2025-01-01T12:30:00)
  • type: The type of the event. Must be one of:
    • session_presentation: A regular presentation or lightning talk that is part of a (parallel) session.
    • meta: A meta-type of event. These do not have authors or abstracts and are intended to identify, e.g., coffee or lunch breaks.
    • single, keynote, special: These types all are technically the same, but allow you to categorize different types of events. Our intuition is to use the keynote type for Keynotes, special for special conference-wide events (such as a conference dinner, opening and closing remarks), and single for any type of event that doesn’t match the other categories. You are free to re-define any of these categories depending on the types of events your conference offers, since the categories won’t be displayed to the users.
  • title: The title of the event
  • abstract: The abstract for the event
  • author: The author(s) for the event
  • location: The location for the event. This is used to match up parallel sessions and group events by location, so make sure to not vary the spelling of your locations. Usually, you will want to use just room numbers for anything happening in the main venue, and include more information only for external events (such as conference dinners).
  • session: The name of the session for this event (only needed for session_presentation). This is used to group presentations in sessions together. Examples could be “Parallel Sessions 1” or “Parallel Sessions 2”.
  • session_order: A number specifying the order of a single session presentation within their session (e.g., for four presentations, you would use 1, 2, 3, and 4).
  • chair: An optional chair for the session, keynote, or other event.
  • notes: This column does not need to be present in the CSV file, but if it does, it can contain some text with notes for an event. For example, if you offer hybrid sessions, you could add the Zoom link here. Notes will be shown in the event details below the chair.

Example

The following shows the demo data as a table, which gives you a visual impression of how the data could look like:

date_start date_end type title abstract author location session session_order chair
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 1 Title Abstract for presentation 1 Author One TP22 Parallel 1 1 Author One
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 2 Title Abstract for presentation 2 Author Two TP22 Parallel 1 2 Author One
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 3 Title Abstract for presentation 3 Author Three TP22 Parallel 1 3 Author One
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 4 Title Abstract for presentation 4 Author Four TP22 Parallel 1 4 Author One
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 5 Title Abstract for presentation 5 Author Five TP23 Parallel 2 1 Author Five
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 6 Title Abstract for presentation 6 Author Six TP23 Parallel 2 2 Author Five
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 7 Title Abstract for presentation 7 Author Seven TP23 Parallel 2 3 Author Five
2025-01-01T12:00:00 2025-01-01T13:00:00 session_presentation Presentation 8 Title Abstract for presentation 8 Author Eight TP23 Parallel 2 4 Author Five
2025-01-01T11:30:00 2025-01-01T12:00:00 special Opening remarks These are the opening remarks Conference Committee TP21      
2025-01-02T15:55:00 2025-01-02T16:00:00 special Closing remarks These are the closing remarks Conference Committee TP21      
2025-01-01T13:00:00 2025-01-01T13:30:00 meta Coffee break            
2025-01-02T13:00:00 2025-01-02T13:30:00 meta Coffee break            
2025-01-01T13:30:00 2025-01-01T15:00:00 keynote Keynote Title Abstract for keynote Keynote Author TP24      
2025-01-02T13:30:00 2025-01-02T15:00:00 keynote Second Keynote Abstract for second keynote Keynote Two Author TP24      

Tips

From having used Conferia.js in production, here are a few tips to help you save more time and make your experience more pleasurable when working with the schedule CSV file:

  • Make use of colors in your spreadsheet. Since those won’t be exported to CSV, they won’t mess with your formatting, but can make it easier for you to navigate your schedule.
  • The library will automatically filter out empty lines. Make use of this to space out groups of events to make identifying individual sessions easier.
  • You can add as many arbitrary columns as you want to. Conferia ignores any column it doesn’t recognize, so it is safe to store arbitrary data.
  • Make use of Conferia’s callback functions in the constructor to adjust your data in bulk. It can be faster to change a certain column in bulk using the callback function rather than ensuring that it has the appropriate format in the first place.