TOPIC: [ADDED] Eureaka! Why Minimum Group Registration should be 1!

Hi - I haven't gone MAD but the MINIMUM number of registrations for a Group Entry that can be set in the back-end should be 1 for better flexibility... Here's why....

PROBLEM (which I've been tolerating for years having not realised this is the solution!):

I use GROUP registration for 2 types of event - Those where people want to register multiple individual participants AND those which require teams (eg a 6 man relay event)... Many of my TEAM entries can also be entered by 1 brave individual too... so I need to offer BOTH GROUP and INDIVIDUAL options at the front-end.

The problem then comes when I try and add sensible language at that very first front-end page. I have to say 'Register as a Team, or Register Multiple Individuals' but this is not good in events which want to offer multiple individual entry but not team entry... It just confuses the user.... (eg They think "What? I can enter a team for this?!" when for that event, no they can't!)

SOLUTION:

If the minimum number of participants for a group entry was 1 then I have my solution because:

a) For events like a marathon where a team of 4 can enter to run separate legs, or a single individual can register, I can select GROUP ONLY in the back-end with a Minimum of 1 - and so the FRONT-END will start immediately with 'How many People?' - Perfect flexibility...

b) For events where it is individual participation only, but the registrant might want to register several people, I can select BOTH in the back-end and the FRONT-END will work with the default language text when it offers 'Register One Individual' or 'Register More than One Individual'

Do you see the logic of this? It is real simple but real hard to explain clearly!

To avoid confusion Group Entry should probably be renamed 'Allow Multiple Entry' or something like that....

Andy

Yes, well explained Andy.

I could really do with being able to set the group minimum to one as well. A big part of my site is for parents to book courses for children. When you use the individual registration method you only add one lot of first and last names. I need to register the parents names (as the registrar / billing info), and one, maybe two, three, + children as the 'event participants', or group members.

I'm currently set up using both individual and group, with new fields for Child Names, but then these don't tally up with the names of the 'register an individual' name fields in the database, and thus 'Attendees' view (which I'm using to generate a printable register for each event).

I get the thought process of having a minimum group size of two ("well, it's not a group if it's only one"), but I'm not sure of the value-add by limiting this to a minimum of 2, as (hopefully) explained above.

Wouldn't this following suggestion work as a simple solution to boost flexibility as required above - and cut out a step for the front-end user too!....

If a Group could be as low as 1 then there would be no need for the current front-end 'Registering as an Individual or a Group?' screen...

Why?

Because if Admin wants to allow individual AND group reg - he can set the 'group' min and max exactly as he wants - either to enable 1 (individual) or not.... Now at front end the system doesn't need to ask first if it's group or individual, and then if it's group ask how many... It can simplify that into just asking straight away 'How Many?'

If Admin wants only individual reg he sets event to Individual only just like now...

Hope that's clear - This solution achieves what we're asking for on this thread AND cuts out the need front-end to select between group or individual when both those options are available.

Perhaps simpler version of immediately above (sorry!).... If back-end settings would allow 1 as a Min Number in group bookng then front-end should be able to work out what's needed and not ask the user for individual or group prior to asking how many if it's a group.

Back-End settings:

Min 1 & Max 1: Means Individual Reg only front-end
Min 2 & Max 2+: Means Group Reg only front-end
Min 1 & Max 2+: Means allow either - so start screen should be 'How many registrants?' rather than the 'Individual or Group'

That all sounds really good to me. Much simpler for the user. Well thought out!

In addition, I remember using a registration system at some stage (ages ago, can't remember what it was!) which started out asking how many you want to book in (e.g. 1 or more), then using a simple check box next to each registrant it asked whether that person was also the organiser (currently labelled as billing information) for the booking. If no check boxes where checked, it assumed the organiser was another person altogether (e.g. parent, boss, secretary, manager, etc.) and then presented another registration form for that person to fill out. In other words, if the organiser is also a registrant, the person doesn't have to fill out the same details again - and the details are automatically populated as billing information.

Just another thought for an addition to this great extension!