This tutorial is for Guidebook app users. If you are using a branded app, the steps to access a guide and the features available may differ and you should refer to the instructions sent by the organizers.
Downloading Guidebook
If you are looking for a specific guide, refer to the instructions provided by the guide organizers before following the details outlined here.
You can find and download the Guidebook app on the Google Play store or iOS App Store. When you have found it, tap to download and install the Guidebook app.
Guidebook is currently supported as an app on the devices listed in this support article.
A quick tip: Guidebook is a mobile-first experience, and download or deep links to a guide are built to open the app, straight to the guide you've been linked to, on your phone or tablet. If you click or scan one of these links on a desktop or laptop, you'll land on a web page that shows a QR code and store badges, prompting you to switch over to your mobile device — an extra step that's easy to skip by starting on your phone in the first place.
For the smoothest path to your guide:
- Open the link directly on your phone or tablet, or scan the QR code with your device's camera.
- On mobile, if you're prompted to choose how to open the link, pick Guidebook (or your branded app), not a browser.
If you only have a desktop or laptop, your guide may be available on Guidebook Web — check the instructions from your event organizer, or reach out to them about the best way to access the content.
Accessing a Guide on the Guidebook App
There are three tabs at the bottom of the Guidebook app. The Find Guides tab will show guides for events happening now or coming up soon. How to access a guide will depend on the privacy setting of the guide.
We recommend allowing push notifications so you don't miss any important announcements and allowing location services so you can use the Map features in the app. We can also provide location-specific guide recommendations, so you get better search results faster.
Public Guide
To access a public guide, tap the Find Guides home icon at the bottom middle of your display. Type in the name of the guide in the search box and tap Download Guide to download and open the guide.
Passphrase Guide
If you received a passphrase in the download instructions for the guide, this means the guide is private. You will need to use this passphrase to find and access the guide.
To access a passphrase guide, please tap on the Passphrase lock icon at the bottom right. Then, type in the passphrase provided to you. Passphrases are not case sensitive and do not contain spaces. Tap Download Guide and Open to access the guide.
Alternatively, you can tap the Find Guides home icon in the bottom middle. Tap the purple button labeled "Have a passphrase?" then type in the guide's passphrase.
Guidebook cannot provide passphrases to users. Please search your inbox for an email from invitations@guidebook.com or reach out to the event organizers if you do not know your passphrase.
Invite-Only Guide
Log in to your account in order to see restricted-access guides. You have to be on the invited users list to access these guides. In many cases, event organizers will send invitations from Guidebook with a login link that will direct the user to download the app and log in. This comes from invitations@guidebook.com. Learn more about login links here.
If the link in your invitation email isn't working: Scroll to the bottom of the invitation email. You'll see a "Download button not working? Click here" link — tapping that link from your mobile device will take you directly into the guide.
You can also manually log in by tapping the silhouette icon in the top-right corner of the app. Remember to use the email address you were invited with. Once logged in, you'll see the Invite-only guide at the top of the My Guides tab.
If you're trying to access an invite-only guide and you're not sure whether your email was added to the invite list — or if you've logged in and the guide isn't appearing — reach out to the event organizer. For privacy reasons, Guidebook can't add users to a guide's invite list; only the event organizer can do this.
If you are having issues logging in using login links, please see this article on troubleshooting Login links.
Access Using a QR Code
You may have received a QR code for both public or passphrase-protected guides. If you received a QR code to download the guide, tap the Find Guides magnifying glass and then tap the QR icon in the upper right next to the silhouette icon.
My Guides
Once you download a guide, you will see it on the My Guides page. All locally stored guides will show here. If you have many guides downloaded, you can filter them using the search bar at the top of the screen.
To remove a guide from the Guidebook app, tap on Edit, then the minus icon, and then delete. You will be prompted to confirm by tapping on Yes, remove to remove the guide from your device.
Please note that since guides are stored locally per device, deleting the app will also delete any previously downloaded guides. Logging in on a different device will not carry over your downloaded guides to the new device.
Nearby Guides
You can explore public guides that are geographically set near your location! You will be prompted to enable your location for the Guidebook app per your standard device settings. You can always update those choices in your device's app location settings.
If you don't want to see the Nearby Guides section, you can hide the card, and that will persist for 7 days.
Accessing a Space on the Guidebook App
The guide you are looking to access may be on a branded space within the Guidebook app. If this is the case, the processes outlined above will remain the same. You will automatically be prompted to download the guide within the space.
If you would like to access a branded space directly, you can search for the name of the space after selecting the space icon at the top left.
To remove a space from the Guidebook app, tap on Edit in the Space selection area, then the minus icon, and then delete. You will be prompted to confirm by tapping on Yes, remove to remove the Space access from the app on your device, and delete all the guides within it.
Guide Onboarding
When you download a guide for the first time, you will go through an onboarding flow.
You will be asked if you allow Guidebook to make certain information visible to the Guide organizer. You can read what information is available to the guide organizer by consenting to share your information in our GDPR article.
When you first download a guide your profile is public within the guide. This means that your name will be shown to all users in the Connect feature. This allows you to make connections and chat in-app with other users. You can also be invited to attend a meeting by another public user using Meeting Booking when your profile is public in a guide.
When downloading the guide you may be prompted to select your interests. Your chosen interests will help us suggest connections to you based on the interests you select, and the interests of other public users in the guide.
These interests are generated by the Guide organizer if they have chosen to set any for their guide.
If you do not wish to be visible to other users, you can choose to make your profile private by navigating to your account.
In-Guide Navigation
Tap on the icon in the top-left corner of the screen to access the navigation menu.
Once the menu bar is open, there are three icons on the right-hand side. You can search for content within the guide using the magnifying glass. The share icon will allow you to share the cover page URL if this is enabled for the guide. Tapping on the arrow circles will download the latest available updates to the guide.
Learn more about creating an account, signing in and managing your profile in our User Accounts support article.
Features
From the menu, you can access the various components of your guide. Guidebook provides a few different tools to help you get the most out of your event experience.
The guide builder may have named the menu items differently or used different icons for your guide than what you see in these examples. Tap on the menu items to explore everything in the guide.
The Interact feed is a great place to see what’s going on at your event. Read announcements, post pictures, find popular sessions, and have discussions with fellow attendees all in one place.
If you choose to log in, your profile will be public and you will show in the Connect list. You’ll be given suggested connections based on the interests you filled in upon onboarding (if the guide creator has set any). You can add a picture and modify your profile (if you would like to share information) and chat with other attendees. When you are checked in to a guide you can be invited to meet other users using Meeting Booking.
You can find everything you need to know about sessions in the Schedule. Tap on the dates at the top of the screen to navigate through the schedule. Tap on a session name to get more details.
You may see colorful dots on some sessions. These indicate schedule tracks, which are tags for sessions according to topic, intended audience, etc.
Below the session description text, you may see links to other items in the guide, surveys, PDFs, and/or website as additional resources.
If YouTube, Vimeo, or Twitch videos have been added to the session, you can play these in the header of the session details page.
When exploring the schedule, you will see plus sign symbols next to session titles when viewing a schedule overview. Tap on the plus sign (+) to add a session to your My Schedule.
If you tap on a schedule session name to learn more about it, you will have the option to Add to My Schedule at the bottom of the screen. Tap this button to add the session to your My Schedule.
If the guide-builder has set space limitations and enabled registration for sessions, you will be required to log in to your account before you can add sessions to your My Schedule.
You can also create your own schedule items by tapping on My Schedule feature in the app and tapping on the plus sign (+) near the top-right corner. Add your personal session details, and click Save.
Personal schedules can be created and shared with others via My Schedule, learn more in our article on meeting booking.
Now that you know what’s happening and when you need to know where to go. You can tap on a location on the floor plan to see what sessions are happening there.
Content within a guide is added using lists. You will see plus sign symbols next to each custom list item. Tap on the plus sign (+) to add a list item to your To-do List.
If you tap on a custom list item name to learn more about it, you will have the option to Add to To-Do List at the bottom of the screen. Tap this button to add the item to your To-Do List.
You can visit the To-Do List to clear completed items and to edit any existing to-dos if you need to rename them or add notes.
You can create your own to-dos by tapping on To-do List in the app. Then tap on the Add New button at the bottom of the screen. Type in your to-do item, and click Save.
The Photo Album is a fun place to view and share pictures in the guide. The guide-building team may have enabled user uploads, meaning you can add your own images to the guide. If user uploads are disabled, you will only be able to view images here.
You can scroll through the image here and tap on them to view them enlarged. When viewing an image, tap the menu to Share or Report an image.
To add your own photos, to like photos, and to comment on photos, you will need to log in to your account.
After logging in, tap Add Photos at the bottom of the Photo Album screen. You'll have the option to Choose from gallery or Take a photo.
After you choose or take a photo, you will have the option to add a caption to your picture. Click Post to proceed.
You can access Notes from the Notes menu item in a guide. You can also tap Create note or the note symbol from any schedule session or list item.
All notes are stored locally on your device. Tap on a note to edit, delete, or export/share it.
- The export/share button looks like
on Apple devices.
- The export/share button looks like
on Android devices.
You can also export/share all of your notes from the Notes menu item screen.
To be able to export/share your notes, sharing must be enabled in your guide under Guide Details > Privacy.
Any notifications that have been sent to this guide will show in the Notifications feature. If you have signed in to the guide, notifications can be sent directly to you by the guide builder.
If the guide you are using has an audio tour, you can find pro tips about taking the tour in our support article.