Legacy Events

The guidance below applies to our legacy events system. For events held after Dec. 31, 2024, please refer to our new Events guidance.

Events are a great way to promote your upcoming programming on your website. Because they are feedable content, events can be cross-listed across multiple richmond.edu websites. Events typically appear together within a row on a webpage. Each event receives its own webpage and URL, where event information can be housed, including a lead image and a registration button, among other features. Before creating your event, you may want to consider these items:

  • Naming an Event: When giving your event a title, keep in mind that it becomes part of the general University calendar feed, so please specify the campus unit if the title is generic. (Example: "School of Law Commencement" rather than "Commencement")
  • Promoting with Other Departments: If you are creating an event that is sponsored by more than one department, please coordinate with each department so that the event is not listed multiple times. Events should only be listed once and tagged for each appropriate department. Similarly, if you are trying to promote your event within non-participating departments, please coordinate with those offices before posting your event to their sites.
  • Public Content: All events shared within Cascade are listed publicly. Event pages expire after the date of the event has passed. Events can still be accessed for reference in Cascade after they have passed.

Creating an Event

In the site selector, select _events and then open the MAE folder. This folder houses all events and is organized by site, then date. An event should live in the event owner’s folder. For example, a Human Resources event in 2023 will live in _events > hr > 2023.

To create your event, select the site/year/month folder, then select Add Content at the top of the screen. In the menu that appears, select MAE and then select Create Legacy Event Page.

Note: Once an event is published, you must contact Web Services if you wish to move it to a different folder.

Screenshot of Events editing menu
Screenshot of Events editing menu

Editing an Event

Once you’ve selected Create Event Page, then Edit screen will appear. The first three fields apply to the event’s listing in Cascade:

  • Page Name: This is the file name that will appear in Cascade. Events should follow the convention MM-DD-YYYY-event-name. Standard naming conventions call for lower-case letters and no spaces between words. You cannot change this after an event has been published.

  • Parent Folder: This is where the event will be saved in Cascade.

  • Page Status: An active event will appear on any assigned sites. An inactive event will not. To take an event down from your site, simply mark it as “Inactive” and then re-publish the inactive event. Do not delete the event in Cascade. 

Then, enter your event information in the relevant remaining fields.

Screenshot of Event Main Information fields
Screenshot of Event Main Information fields

Event Main Information

  • Event name (required): This is the title of the event in the public calendar. Keep in mind that your event becomes part of the general University calendar, so please specify office/school/department if the title is generic. (i.e. “Lecture Series” could become “Department of English Lecture Series”)

  • Category (required): Select the appropriate sites where the event should appear using the drop-down menu. Click “+” for additional site assignments. You may begin typing the name of the site to narrow the list options. You can add as many sites as are applicable, but please coordinate with organizers outside your department if your event crosses into other areas. You can also remove the site assignment manually by clicking the “-“ when you want to take the event down from a particular site.

  • Category - Edited only By University Communication staff: Please leave this set to none. Pay particular attention to this if you are copying a previously listed event.

  • Event Description (required): The body copy or summary description of the event. If you are creating calendar events to supplement a page on your website (such as a lecture series or events that are part of a larger program), please include a link back to the page on your department site.

  • Audience Group (required): Check the box next to any audience group for whom your event is relevant. Then please check the Yes box to acknowledge that your event listing will be displayed on the public calendar.

Lead Media

If you would like to have a lead image at the top of your event page, please use the Hermes Promo Image field to enter your image. A caption and image/artwork credit may also be included.

Keep in mind that the image resolution must be set to 3840×2160 pixels. Images should be uploaded to _cdncontent. For more information, follow our Lead Media image guidance.

Screenshot of Schedule fields
Screenshot of Schedule fields

Schedule

Event Date(s): This is where you can indicate the exact timing of your event, and whether it is a one-time or recurring event.

  • Start Date (required): Select the date of the event.

  • Recurring Event: If it’s a recurring event, select Yes, and then select the days the event will recur and the end date. If you have an event that will occur on more than one day at different times, you will need to create a new event for each separate event time. For example, if you have an event that occurs Mondays and Wednesdays at noon, but Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m., you will need two separate entries for the M/W and T/Th occurrences.

  • Event Time(s): If this is an all-day event, enter Yes. Otherwise, select No and enter the Start and End Times.

Locations: Enter the location information for your event to the extent that it is necessary. Note that you can use the + symbol to add multiple locations. Keep in mind this system will not reserve your space; you must reserve space before promoting an event.

  • Location Name: Enter the name of the room where your event is being held.

  • Building Name: Enter the building name.

  • Registration/Purchase URL and date: If you have a link to register for your event or to purchase tickets, please enter the URL here. This is also where you can assign a registration/purchase deadline.

More Information

Enter event contact information if applicable.

To publish an event, be sure the page status is set to Active, and then select Publish.

Once your event is ready, review our guidelines for Connecting to a Page and Deleting, Moving, and Renaming.