If you have started building a guide on a subscription that does not match your event dates, or activated it on the wrong plan, you do not need to rebuild from scratch. This article walks through what to do next, what content carries over, and how to avoid the issue in the future.
A subscription is also called a plan, a pre-purchased guide, or a provisioned guide. They all mean the same thing in this article.
Why This Happens
When you create a new guide in Builder, you select a subscription to activate it on. Each subscription has its own date range. Once a guide is activated on a subscription, that pairing cannot be changed on your end.
This usually comes up when:
A subscription was selected that hasn’t started yet or has already ended.
The subscription’s date range doesn’t cover the event dates.
An old guide was reused for a new event year instead of starting a new guide on a current subscription.
How to Fix It
The content from your existing guide can be copied into a new guide on the correct subscription. To do this:
From your Builder homepage, make sure your organization’s name appears in the upper left. If it doesn’t, select your org from the drop-down menu.
Click Build New Guide in the upper right corner.
Choose a guide whose active dates cover your event. Guides in Available Now are in service and should be used first. Guides in Upcoming can be built now but can’t be published until their activation date.
Click the guide, then click Select features under Copy features from another guide.
Pick the guide you want to copy from and click Import.
Once the copy completes, click Start editing your guide to fill in the guide details that didn’t transfer.
Note: Only org admins can start new organization guides. If you’re an org member, you’ll need to request access to the correct guide from your org admin first.
For the full walkthrough with screenshots, see Copy Content: Re-use Your Guide Information. Once the copy is complete, follow the steps in After You Copy: Update Your New Guide to refresh your schedule dates, guide icon and cover image, and other event details before publishing.
What Does Not Get Copied
Some types of content do not transfer when copying from one guide to another. Plan to set these up again on the new guide.
Guide-specific information: Any information in the Audience Management section, the Notifications section, or the General Info module will not be copied.
User-generated content: Interact posts, Photos, and Live Polls are tied to the original guide and will not be copied.
Video and virtual meeting links: Links from the Virtual Meetings and Videos feature will not transfer with the copy.
After copying, review the new guide to confirm all content transferred as expected before deleting or archiving the original.
Avoiding This in the Future
Each guide on the Build New Guide page shows its active dates and status, so check that the dates cover your event before you start building. If you choose an Upcoming guide, you’ll be asked to confirm before you start, since it can’t be published until its activation date.
If no subscription with the correct date range is available, a new one will need to be purchased. Your account manager can help, or you can reach out to myam@guidebook.com.
FAQs
Can I change the subscription a guide is activated on?
No. Once a guide is activated on a subscription, that pairing can’t be changed. Instead, copy your content into a new guide on the correct subscription using the steps above.
What if I already published the guide on the wrong subscription?
Contact your account manager, or email myam@guidebook.com, as soon as possible so they can help you sort it out, especially if attendees have already downloaded the guide.
What happens to the original guide after I copy its content?
The original guide remains on your account. It will continue to exist on the original subscription and can be archived once you have confirmed everything copied successfully.
Can I copy content from a published guide to a new guide?
Yes. The copy process works whether the original guide is published or unpublished.
Will my Audience Management lists transfer with the copy?
No. Audience Management data is guide-specific and will need to be set up again on the new guide.
What should I do if I do not have a pre-purchased guide with the correct date range?
Reach out to your account manager, or email myam@guidebook.com, to discuss your options.
I started building a guide, but it says I can’t publish until a later date.
Your guide is on an Upcoming subscription, which can’t be published until its activation date. If your event is before then, copy your content into an Available Now guide that covers your event dates using the steps above.