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How to Set Up Voting

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Overview

The Entry Display Widget is used to display entries submitted through a ShortStack form. When voting is enabled, this widget also allows campaign visitors to vote on the displayed entries.

When to Use the Entry Display Widget

Display Entries: Use this widget if you want to showcase entries on your campaign, even without voting enabled.

Voting Competitions: Required if you’re running a voting-based competition.

Note: There is no such thing as a fraud-proof voting. If you're using a less secure method (e.g., Anonymous Fingerprint), consider using voting to narrow entries to a top few and then selecting the winner through a panel of judges or your discretion.

Setting Up the Entry Display Widget

Follow these steps to set up voting in the Entry Display Widget. For a full list of features and advanced setup instructions, refer to the Entry Display Widget Help Doc.

1. Add the Entry Display Widget.

Drag and drop the Entry Display Widget into your campaign or into the Edit Widgets Panel.

2. Configure the Entry Source

  1. In the widget settings pop-up, navigate to the Entry Source section.
  2. Select a list to connect to or create a new one.

3. (Optional) Set Filtering Options

  1. Go to the Filtering section.
  2. Choose whether to Include or Not include unapproved entries.
  3. Filter by votes, category, or label. 

4. Enable Voting

  1. Click on the Voting tab on the left side. 
  2. Check the box Enable Voting. 
  3. Click on the blue text Show total votes received to switch it to Hide votes or Show percentage of total votes. 
  4. (Optional) Set a date range. This will automatically show and hide the vote button on the start and end dates. 
  5. Set the timezone. Your account timezone will be the default.

5. (Optional) Enable Voting Restrictions

  1. Check the box to Enable Voting Restrictions.
  2. Restrict by anonymous IP, anonymous fingerprint, or email login. 
  3. Set rules for how often and how many times users can vote. Every text in blue can be adjusted. 
  4. Check the box to enable Google reCAPTCHA. 

Learn more about Setting Up Email Login for Voting.

6. Adjust Additional Settings.

  1. Continue navigating through the remaining Entry Display Widget settings and adjust them as needed. These settings include:
    • Sharing
    • Fields displayed in the Tile (Entry Title, Name, etc)
    • Widget Text
  2. Click the Save & Exit button to apply your settings.

Additional Notes

Field Display: Not all form fields are displayed by default in the Entry Display Widget. Refer to the Entry Display Widget Help Doc for details on customizing displayed fields.

Voting Tips: Using the widget’s voting feature can increase engagement, but consider combining it with manual winner selection for added security and fairness.

 

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