zFairs Newsletter

Issue 24 • October 2026

Some Hauntingly Great Updates!

I am cutting the editors note short and leaving you with out a "tip" this month to instead use up the space to tell you all of the updates we have made over the past couple of months.

So strap in, because it's a lot!

I tried to give a short but clear description of the update, but reach out if you have questions about these functions.

Best Always,

Anna Dewey

zFairs Manager

Welcome To Our Newest Clients!

Falls Church High School Science Fair

Chantilly High School Science Fair

And

Anne Arundel County NHD

What's New

National History Day: You might have seen some updates to layouts and setup. We are holding special webinars just for you to show you how NHD sites work. See below for details.

Updates

Registration 

• Flex Flow Templates

Owners can publish flows to a shared catalog for other events to use in two ways:

Locked Snapshot: Keeps the core structure fixed while letting you set local details like the name, dates, menu, password, and notification emails. You can convert this to a full copy at any time or re-sync to get template updates.

Editable Copy: Creates a standalone copy right away so you can customize every detail from scratch.

• Private registration: Run a registration Flex Flow that is not accessible in the public Create Account and add an optional password for access.

• Reminders and Emails: Send reminders to users who started a flex flow and did not finish. You can also now send bulk emails to flex flow users.

• Team Fees: You can now charge per team instead of per participant or project

• Multiple Mentors: When asking for Mentor information in your participant registration, participants can now select if they are using more than one mentor and can include information for all their mentors.

• School registration limits: Cap how many students a school can register, with an optional bonus when the school sponsors judges. Turn on the config "Enable School Registration Limit". Then set the limit in the "School Registration Base Limit" config.

• Custom Entry ID: Turn on the config "Show Entry ID Manager Page" and then navigate to your staff menu to access the Entry ID page. You can individually change each participant's ID or have them automatically renumbered. You can also click on the entry ID in the people page to change it.

• Checkout moved: Registration is finished after the event policies/ terms are accepted. Participants will then be directed to pay fee. You can change it so registration is finished only after fee is paid by turning ON the config "Registration - Create the account only after store checkout". By default this config is turned OFF.

• Min Word Count: Add a minimum word count to your Abstract and Project Descriptions so kids will have to enter in that amount for the requirement restriction to be cleared. If you do not set a minimum, the default is 100 words. The entry form shows a live counter to help participants keep track.

Paperwork

• Teacher Dashboard: Teachers now have their own dashboard to view their student's entry and forms.

• Media Release and Hold Harmless Review: A hold harmless and media release review page has been added to the staff menu. Use this to quickly review which participants have had these signed and send reminders to those who haven't (only when using the zFairs media release and hold harmless feature; not applicable with forms packets or uploads). This also shows the links so you can copy and paste them into emails or access them as needed.

• Participant Reply: Opt in if you want your participants to be able to reply to paperwork review comments from SRC and staff. For paperwork upload only - turn the config "Paperwork Review - Allow Participants to reply to comments". For form packets (interactive forms), turn on this option in Form Packets Manager.

• Short Codes: create common response short codes in Form Packets Manager. The list of short codes can be found in paperwork review and can be used by the SRC to comment on participant forms.

• Tag Management: Staff can now add or remove project tags within paperwork review.

• Request Signature: New request signature button appears for participants at the top of the form instead of the participant having to click into the signature fields.

Judging and Awards

• Times Judged: This is now viewable on the dashboard

• Slideshow has had a major facelift! Slides are now configured to fit a 16:9 window. You can also customize slides to contain any information desired and have a background with your logo or other image. Check it out by searching for Slideshow Manager in All Settings.

• Recorded Name Clips: Have your participants, and other users, record themselves saying their name so that emcees can say the name correctly during award presentations. Turn on the config "Name Sound Clip: Hide | Ask | Require" for each user account to have the setting show during their registration.

• Judge Limits: Limit how many judges can pick a category for their first preference.

• Bulk Award Import: Use the Import page (under the Staff menu) to bulk upload Special Award information

• Auto Tags: For Judge sessions and Judge Type

Staff and Admin

• School Invoices: Generate school invoices when schools are paying registration fees. Use "Invoice Management" found in the staff menu to create the invoices.

• Bulk Delete: You can now bulk delete accounts on the People Page. Click on "Select" in the people page and then check the boxes of the accounts you would like deleted. A delete option will appear at the top of the list of names. Click "Hide" to exit out of the selection option.

• Removed Items: Admin can see an audit log if setup items were changed and are contained in a "Recycle Bin" so they can be restored if needed.

• Record History: Staff can see an audit log of user and entry changes, including uploaded files and custom question responses. Add or remove project tags during paperwork review.

• Flex Flow Importing: You can now import data to a flex flow

• Sponsors Page: Manage all your sponsor information from the Manage Sponsors page located in the Staff menu.

• Sponsor Tiers: Add sponsorship tiers in your store and set it for guest checkout so sponsors can pay online.

• Important Links: More options have been added to the Important Links Widget (new style only). You can now add links to the Showcase (everyone), People Page (teacher, staff and admin access), Dashboard (teacher, staff and admin access), and My Entries (participant access).

• Password Reset: When admin set a password for users, a reset password prompt is automatically engaged for that user when they login.

• Bulk Invite: Navigate to the "Create account" dropdown to access the bulk invite. Upload a csv file or copy and paste the names and email addresses of the people you want to invite to register for your event.

• Nested Questions: Custom questions can be nested within each other so that questions will only appear when certain responses are given. You can nest multiple questions within each other.

New Look

Take a look at these areas that have received a facelift!

• Showcase - New layout, can rank "top-entries"

• Paperwork Uploads - New layout

• Auto Judge Assigning - Added assignment records, updated stats, notice of successful or issues with assignments

• Bulk Mailer - Added scheduling and confirmation records, added history, added more sorts/filters,

• Password reset - Easier form, confirmation shown when successful change has been made

• Hold Harmless and Media Release forms - New layout

• Circle Judging - updated auto assign, new layout, assignments shown in circle preview

• Slide Show - formatted to fit screens better, new custom slide creation

📜 NHD Webinars

Schedule: 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 12:00 PM (Noon) MST

October 

October Topic: Getting to Know Your Site and Registrations

🙋 Open Office Hours

Tuesdays at 11:00 AM MST and Thursdays at 4:00 PM MST 

Come in and ask any question you may have, or get help setting up your site.

NEED HELP? GET IN TOUCH