Troubleshooting: Event not Imported from Localist

There may be times when you enter an event into the Stanford Events Calendar ( events.stanford.edu ) and it does not automatically import to your unit's website, even after you've waited for the overnight feed to come in. This guide will help you troubleshoot some of the most common root causes.
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Table of contents
1) Double check all URLs
2) Double check the Owner's Email Address
3) Confirm that you've tagged your department or unit
4) Confirm the Event's status
Pending vs Published Events
Canceled Events
Past Events
5) Ensure there is no hidden formatting in the body text ("Description" field) of your event
Quick Recap: Troubleshooting Checklist
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1) Double check all URLsEnsure that:
The URL you enter does not contain any extra spaces or punctuation at the beginning or end
The URL begins with "https://"
Even if the URL looks fine in the  events.stanford.edu  interface, any leading or trailing space will break the import of the event. Skipping the https:// at the beginning will also break the importer.  
There are multiple places where you might add a link, such as fields for the event website and registration URL. They all need to be fully formed URLs with the leading https:// and all URL fields need to only contain the URL characters with no extra space characters. 
Here are some examples:
Bad URL
Good URL
 it-humsci.stanford.edu/events/123 
 https://it-humsci.stanford.edu/events/123 
 tinyurl.com/jan19rsvp 
 https://tinyurl.com/jan19rsvp 
  https://news.stanford.edu 
 https://news.stanford.edu  (no leading space)
 https://stanford.edu  
 https://stanford.edu  (no trailing space)
2) Double check the Owner's Email AddressThe first tab, Basic Information, begins with fields for the Event Name and Event Owner. Ensure that the email address for the event owner is valid. An invalid email will break the import function. Ensure that:
A proper email address is entered in the email field
The email field does not include leading or trailing spaces
The email field does not include additional characters or punctuation beyond an email address
3) Confirm that you've tagged your department or unitYou will notice a field at the very bottom of the first tab, "1. Basic Information," which allows you to enter your department. Clicking inside this box will pull up options from which you can select. There may be one or multiple options, depending on your permissions. 
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Screenshot of the bottom section of tab 1: Basic Information within the event creation module of events.stanford.edu. The section for adding a Department tag is outlined.Screenshot of the bottom section of tab 1: Basic Information within the event creation module of events.stanford.edu. The section for adding a Department tag is outlined.
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Screenshot of the bottom section of tab 1: Basic Information within the event creation module of events.stanford.edu. The section for adding a Department tag now includes two tags, one each for Center for Latin American Studies and Stanford Humanities Center.Screenshot of the bottom section of tab 1: Basic Information within the event creation module of events.stanford.edu. The section for adding a Department tag now includes two tags, one each for Center for Latin American Studies and Stanford Humanities Center.
Ensure that your unit is correctly tagged. If your unit name does not appear in the Department field, the event will not be pulled into your website. In the event that your unit is not in the list of options, please reach out to  Stanford Events support . 
4) Confirm the Event's statusPending vs Published EventsMake sure the top right corner of your event shows Published a rather than Pending. Only published events will be imported into the website. 
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This sketch cannot currently be displayed in exports
Canceled EventsIf your event is canceled, Localist will ignore it. Should you still wish to have it appear on your department's website, you'll need to  follow the steps below for manually creating an event on your site⁠ .
Past EventsAre you entering an event that already took place? While these are great to include on your site for historical purposes, this isn't the way to add them. Localist only imports events that take place in the future.
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To add a past event, you'll need to go to your website. From the Shortcuts menu, select Add Content then Add Event.
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Screenshot demonstrating the path to create a new event on your website: go to Shortcuts, then select Add Content, then Add Event.Screenshot demonstrating the path to create a new event on your website: go to Shortcuts, then select Add Content, then Add Event.
Follow the prompts to create your past event locally on your site. Additional information can be found in the Guide to Creating  Events and Event Series⁠ .
5) Ensure there is no hidden formatting in the body text ("Description" field) of your eventUsers often copy-paste text about their event from Word. Unfortunately, there results in some hidden HTML being carried into the events calendar that can break the page.
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The best practice is typing your content directly into the body of your event (tab 2: Details ⟶ Description) to avoid this very common issue. 
Quick Recap: Troubleshooting ChecklistIf you're still having trouble with your event not importing overnight, please follow this checklist as you move field by field through the form:
Departments field (Basic Information tab): is your unit listed there? 
Description field (Details tab): is your content clean HTML?
Event Website URL field (Details tab):  is the URL a properly formed URL with no extra characters? 
Ticket Cost Registration URL field (Tickets and Registration tab): is the URL a properly formed URL beginning with "https://" and with no extra characters? 
Event Status (Publish tab): is the event published and in the future? 
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