Add Booths & Poster Sets

Gather 1.0 Events provide the perfect opportunity to showcase sponsors, vendors, or poster sessions. Event guests can stop by any booth to talk to a sponsor, check out a vendor's merch, or talk to a presenter about a poster. 

Add a Booth or Poster Set

Our conference templates include Rooms with both booth sets and poster sets. Admins and Builders can easily customize these sets, adding posters or logos as desired.

If the template you've chosen does not already include booths, head to the Mapmaker. From the Object Picker, search for "booth set" or "poster set." Choose your preferred color, then click Select.

Place the booth or poster set on the map. Next, you'll need to add Private Area and Impassable tiles. 

Add Private Area Tiles

Private Area tiles are important because they allow presenters or vendors to easily speak with attendees. In Private Areas, you connect only with the audio and video of the people in the Private Area with you. This means people can walk past booths or posters and choose when to step in and talk to someone. 

In the Mapmaker, select Tile Effects from the Top Nav Menu. In the Tile Effects panel on the right, select Private Area. All private areas now appear in bright translucent pink, with numbers visible.  

Make sure the Stamp tool is selected in the Left Nav Menu. Each private area must have a unique Area ID. Our standard practice is to number our areas, but you can name them anything you like. After entering an Area ID, click the tiles you want to make private.

Add Impassable Tiles

Impassable tiles are important to prevent guests from walking through the backdrop or table on booth or poster sets. 

From the Mapmaker, select Tile Effects in the Top Nav Menu. In the Tile Effects panel on the right, select Impassable. All impassable tile effects now display in bright translucent red.  

Make sure the Stamp tool is selected in the Left Nav Menu. Click the tiles that contain the backdrop and/or table that you wish to become impassable.

Add a Poster

For templates with a pre-designed poster set, you can easily add the poster images. Select Build in the toolbar, then select Edit in Mapmaker. In the Mapmaker, find the room with poster sets. (Poster sets do not have tables and chairs in front of them.) 

Select the poster set you want to edit. In the right panel of the Mapmaker, the Object Details panel includes fields for uploading the poster image and the preview image. Select Choose File and find the image you want to upload.

Select Save in the Top Nav Menu of the Mapmaker. From the hamburger menu in the top left of the Mapmaker, select Go to Space to view and test the poster.

Advanced Options

• Activation Distance: When a person walks into the Private Area of the poster set, they are prompted to press "x" to interact with the poster. However, if you'd like attendees to be able to see your poster as they walk by without entering the private area, set the activation distance to 1. Unless your booths are several tiles apart, you should not set the activation distance higher than 1.

• Prompt Message: You can customize the interaction message. By default, it reads "Press x to interact." You could change it to something like "Press x to view poster."

• Object Image and Active Image: You do not need to change the Object Image or Active Image. Uploading your own files will remove the poster set. 

• Caption: You can create a caption for the poster, which is available by clicking on the Info icon when the poster is full-screen. 

• Display Start and End Time: If you want to only make the posters visible during a specific time frame, you can set a custom date and time for the poster image to be available.

Add a Logo

For templates with a pre-designed booth set room, you can easily add a logo or banner image to the booth set. Select Build in the Left Nav Menu, then select Edit in Mapmaker. In the Mapmaker, find the room with booth sets. (Booth sets have tables and chairs in front of them and come in two sizes.) 

Open the Object Picker. In the Left Nav Menu, select Upload New. Drag and drop or browse your computer's file explorer to upload the logo or banner image. Enter an object name and click Create and select.

From the Object Picker, select Upload New. Drag and drop or click to upload your logo or banner file.

Place the logo or banner on the booth set. To fine-tune the logo's placement, select the Zoom In tool in the Left Nav Menu and click the Map several times. Then, with the Select tool in the Left Nav Menu, drag your logo to the desired position.

In the Left Nav Menu, use the Zoom In tool to enlarge the Map. Then use the Select tool to drag the logo to the perfect spot.

Select Save in the Top Nav Menu of the Mapmaker. From the hamburger menu in the top left of the Mapmaker, select Go to Space to view and test the booth.

Tips and Tricks for Poster Sessions

Poster File Tips

• Must be a .png or .jpg file

• Use a 16:9 aspect ratio:

  • Minimum width is 1000 px (24.46 cm)

  • Minimum height is 600 px (15.88 cm)

  • Landscape is preferable to view the full image, but portrait can be used with scrolling.

  • You can use PowerPoint, Canva, or another third-party application to design and save a 16:9 image.

  • You can use the same file for the preview image, but for the best view, we recommend an image that is half the width and height of the image. 

• Maximum file size is 3 MB.

• Do not use a transparent background.

Poster Hall Tips

• Plan a dress rehearsal: Plan a time ahead of the event and invite your sponsors or presenters to join. Demonstrate how the Space works and review basic troubleshooting steps. 

• Number the booths: Direct people to a specific booth by adding number labels.

• Understand interactive objects: When a person walks up to a booth, they will need to press "x" on their keyboard to view the poster full screen.

• Understand Private Areas: Anyone who comes into the shadowed area in front of a booth can see and hear each other's videos. Anyone outside the private area cannot see or hear the videos of people in it.

• Use Presenter Mode: If you have pressed "x" and are viewing the full-screen image, select the Presenter Mode icon on the right of the image. Anyone who is also viewing the image in full-screen can see where you click on the screen.

• Zoom: If you press "x" to view the full-screen image, below the Presenter Mode icon on the right is a Zoom icon. Select Zoom In to enlarge the poster; if zoomed in, you'll see a Zoom Out tool. Click and drag to move the image when full-screen.

• Have one Builder upload all poster files so no changes get overwritten. Have presenters email files to the Builder.

Booth Logo File Tips

• Must be a .png or .jpg file

• Minimum width is approx 64 px (two tiles wide)

• Maximum height is approx 64 px (two tiles tall)

• Landscape is preferable.

• Maximum file size is 3MB.

• Use a transparent background for your logo.

Booth Hall Tips

• Review tips on having a dress rehearsal, using interactive objects, and understanding private areas from the Poster Hall Tips above. 

• Plan a day where you turn on Global Build, invite your sponsors in, show them how to use the Mapmaker and add decorative and interactive objects, and have them spiffy up their booths!

• Use interactive objects like the file object or TV and embed marketing materials, like PDFs or promo videos. 

• Have one Builder upload all booth logos so no one overwrites changes. Have vendors email logo files to the Builder.

Video Tutorials

We have several Mapmaker tutorials that you may find helpful when designing a poster or booth hall. The interface on these videos is a little outdated, but basic functionality remains the same. You can also search the internet for "Gather Poster Sessions" to see videos of other organizations that have used Gather for poster presentations.