Creating a Live Event in Virtual Labs

To setup up a Virtual Labs Live Event, you need to create the event, class(es), and session(s). This article walks you through each step of the setup process.

  1. Create the Event

    You can create multiple events. They will show as individual tabs in the Events view.

    1. Select the Events view at the top left of the main Virtual Labs screen.
    2. Click Add event.
    3. Enter a Name for your event. (This will be the event name your learners see, and part of the URL you provide them.)
    4. Set the Time zone for your event.
      Note: Event parameters, like container start and expiration, will be based off the timezone you specify, and will not be adjusted for local user time zones.
    5. Click Create.

  2. Create a Class

    One event can have many classes. Classes are usually a set of content you want to train people on. Classes allow you to set a window during which a person can launch and use a container.

    1. On the tab for your specific event, click Add class…
    2. Enter a name for your class.
    3. Specify the max Number of students (how many people can access the class at one time.)  
    4. Select your Image from the dropdown (when run in a Live Event, the image’s existing settings apply.)
    5. Optional: Mount a paired image by selecting it in the Volume Image dropdown.
    6. Set your Container expiration time.
    7. Set How early a container can be started before a session.
    8. Set How long after a session ends a container can still be created. 
    9. Define your Learner info template. 
      This field defines what is rendered to the user after they request to start a container. This field accepts HTML; a basic version is pre-populated with content that will work in many cases, but can also be edited. Click Show/hide help to see available variables. 
    10. Click Create

  3. Create a Session

    Sessions are instances of classes. A class can have multiple sessions.

    1. On the tab for your specific event, click the arrow to the left of the ID column.
    2. Click Add session…
    3. Enter the Date, Time (Hour, Minutes, AM/PM), and Duration for your session
    4. Cloud URLs for Learners 
      This field allows you to connect one external URL to each container. For example, if you've started a VM for each student in another Cloud service, you would attach the URLs here. See https://help.appsembler.com/article/551-using-the-cloud-url-feature-with-live-events for details on using this feature.

  4. Provide the event link to your users

    Click 'Learner Dashboard' to get the event's unique link, which you will provide to the attendees. 

    The event link will be in the format:  https://yourAVLsite.com/event/nameofyourevent/. 

    You can supply this link via email, or shorten it with a service like https://bitly.com/ and print it to hand out to users at the event. (The approach is up to you, these are just a few methods we've seen our customers use!)

>> Please note that Live Events is included in the Virtual Labs Premium Plan, and can be purchased for other tiers as an add-on.

Related Articles