When you add an External Link in the Webex Events platform, the 'Pass Data to URL' option lets you simplify attendee interactions on external sites they access by clicking an external link.
What does 'Pass Data to URL' do?
Simply put, 'Pass Data to URL' lets you send attendee and event information from the Event App to a website when attendees click the website's URL in your Event App. Data passed from the Event App can pre-fill forms such as surveys, sign-up forms, calendar apps, and more. This means people don't have to re-enter information they may have already supplied in your Event App.
How to pass data
Passing data is as simple as checking the 'Pass Data to URL' checkbox after entering an external link into any of the following features:
Live Stream feature (Custom Tab)
Sessions (External Links, Custom Tab)
Sponsor/Exhibitor profiles (Attendee Calls to Action, External Links)
Speaker profiles (Attendee Calls to Action, External Links)
Custom List items (Attendee Calls to Action, External Links)
Banners (when the Event App is set to the Banner layout)
Add the link and check the box
In any of the above Event App features, simply enter the URL and check the Pass Data to URL box. When attendees click the external link you provided, Webex Events passes the data listed in the 'Data fields we pass' section of this article to the URL clicked.
💡 Keep in mind, the 'Open link in external browser' checkbox isn't available for the Custom Tab in the Live Stream feature or Sessions.
Prepare the external site
For passing data to work, the website must accept the data in the correct format. While this often happens automatically, some configuration on the external website may be necessary to properly map the data.
For example, if you pass data to Typeform, you have to add the Webex Events data fields as 'Hidden Fields' before passed data can auto-fill surveys. Learn more about passing data to Typeform in our Typeform and Webex Events article.
It's up to you to identify, implement, and test any changes required for the external site to use Webex Events data. As you'll notice in the next section of this article, Webex Events field labels follow a very simple, common convention, so there's a good chance a website already uses these formats. 👍
Data fields we pass
⚠️ Caution! Make sure the website you're linking to accepts the data in the exact format shown below. We strongly recommend testing!
The fields that Webex Events passes depend on the feature or item the data passes from. Here's a breakdown:
All links
Webex Events always sends the following data fields:
user_id
first_name
last_name
email
lang
external_id (only when it exists)
💡 Keep in mind, the lang data point sends the language selected in the Webex Event, not the user's device or browser language selection. Also, keep in mind that external_id only passes when Lead Retrieval is active for the Event.
Session external links
A Session's external link with 'Pass Data' activated includes the following data points, in addition to the data points in the 'All links' section above:
session_id
session_name
Item external links
Links in list-based feature items such as Sponsor profiles or Custom List items pass the following data points, in addition to the data points in the 'All links' section above:
item_id
item_name
Slido
When the Webex Events platform detects a Slido URL, only the following data points are sent. Slido also automatically adjusts its display language based on the user's language selection in the Event App!
user_name (full name)
user_email
user_company
lang
Example
Here's an example of how data passes in the URL to Slido. The format of the data passed from Webex Events won't change, regardless of the website it's sent to.
URL pasted into the Webex Events platform:
https://app.sli.do/event/7q0zb4jq/live/questions?
URL after an attendee clicks it:
https://app.sli.do/event/7q0zb4jq/live/questions?user_id=1234567&first_name=Hans&last_name=Gruber&email=email@domain.com&lang=de&item_id=1234567&item_name=Webex&external_id=SC-123456-1234567&user_name=Hans%20Gruber&user_email=email@domain.com&user_company=NakatomiPlaza
Fun fact: Slido doesn't require any configuration to accept data passed from Webex Events! Read Slido & Webex Events for more on integrating Slido with your Webex Events App.
Now you know all about using 'Pass Data to URL' in your Event! That wasn't so bad, was it? 😉
Questions? Chat with us or email support@socio.events.