Overview
This guide is for Element451 Captains and other users with admin access who are responsible for configuring the Appointments module for their institution.
Before your team can begin offering and accepting appointments, you’ll need to complete a few setup steps:
Configure your Booking Page
Create at least one Category and Appointment Type
Set your availability and/or train users on setting theirs
Configure Your Booking Page
Each institution is provided with a dedicated Appointments Site where students, guests, or colleagues can browse and book time with staff.
To access Booking Page settings:
Navigate to Engagement > Appointments
Click the More icon in the top-right corner
Select Page Settings
Here, you will find the following settings segmented into cards:
Domains
Domains
Primary Domain: Element451 assigns a default domain such as
yourcampus.appointment451.sites.451.io
. This cannot be edited.
External Domain (Optional): While the primary domain URL is functional, it doesn't share the same institutional brand identity and trust as a URL ending in .edu. To that end, you can configure an external domain to mask or hide the primary domain and use a URL ending in your school name or abbreviation (e.g.,
appointments.yourschool.edu
). You'll likely need to work with your IT or website team for this process. Read more on configuring external domains here.
Images
Images
You can customize the appearance of your Appointments Site by adding your institution’s branding to three key image areas:
Header Logo – 200px x 60px
Banner Background – 1400px (or wider) x 120px
Footer Logo – 200px x 60px
These images may already be populated using your branding content tokens. If they are, you can keep them as-is or choose to replace them. To replace an image:
Hover over the existing image in the settings panel
Click the Remove icon that appears
Upload a new image
📸 The following screenshot shows all three branding areas labeled (1, 2, 3) as they appear on a live Appointments Site:
Element Messenger
Element Messenger
If you use Element’s live chat and/or Bolt Agents, you can toggle Messenger on to display it on your Appointments Site.
You can also select either your primary or secondary color for the launcher icon.
Footer
Footer
The footer is designed to contain your institution's contact and social media information.
You will find settings for:
Text: Add your mailing address phone number, and any other text-based information you wish to include.
Social Media: Add links to your Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts.
Set Up Categories and Appointment Types
Admins must configure at least one Category and one Appointment Type before staff can begin setting availability.
Expand the sections below to learn how to add and manage your appointment categories and types.
Categories
Categories
Categories are used to organize appointments by purpose or department (e.g., Admissions, Financial Aid, Advising). Students can filter by category on the public Appointments Site.
Adding + Managing Categories
If you're already in Appointment Settings, you can click on Categories from the left-hand menu. If not, click on the more (⋮) icon in the Appointments header and select Categories.
From here you can add new or edit existing categories. To get you started, Element451 provides 3 sample Categories (Admissions, Financial Assistance & Advising). These can be edited or deleted.
How-To: Add + Edit Categories
How-To: Add + Edit Categories
To add a new category:
Click the + Add Category button
Give your category a name and click Save
To edit or delete an existing category:
Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) at the end of that category's row
Select the action you wish to perform
Appointment Types
Appointment Types
Appointment Types act as templates that define the structure of meetings offered by staff. They allow you to configure shared information when one or more users can host a specific appointment type.
When adding Types, think about routine appointments offered by your team. For example, you may have four academic advisors available for one-on-one academic advising. In this case, Individual Academic Advising could become one of your Appointment Types.
Each Appointment Type has a Registration Form, which the invitee/student completes when booking.
In addition to Categories, students can also filter appointments by Type.
Adding + Managing Types
If you're already in Appointment Settings, you can click on Types from the left-hand menu. If not, click on the more (⋮) icon in the Appointments header and select Types.
From here you can add new or edit existing types. To get you started, Element451 provides 3 sample types (Admissions Interview, Advising Office Hours, and FAFSA Help). These can be edited or deleted.
How-To: Add New Type
How-To: Add New Type
To add a new type:
Click the + Add Type button
Configure the type settings:
Name
Give your appointment type a name. When selecting a name, remember that appointment types are visible to the student for filtering purposes.
Category
Select the category associated with this type.
Public
Enabled:
Accessible from your Appointments Site or via URL.
Disabled:
Only accessible via URL; hidden from Appointments Site.
The user cannot navigate back to see public details of that appointment type.
Location Type
Select the appointment's location type - physical or virtual.
Location
Provide the location of this appointment. If physical, provide the details like building, room number, etc. If virtual, you can provide how they will access the appointment.
Create Date of Inquiry Milestone
By default, appointment bookings will generate a Date of Inquiry Milestone using the term and major specified on the registration form. Disabling this setting will ensure that no Date of Inquiry Milestone is created when someone books this appointment.
Description
Provide a description of the appointment type.
Configure the Registration Form
Use the Registration Form section to configure the appointment booking form that the student must complete when booking this appointment type. This process uses the same data fields as other forms in Element451.
Note: Currently, there is a known bug that prevents documents from being uploaded on appointment registration forms. We are actively working on a solution. In the meantime, it is recommended to remove the upload fields.
Click Save.
How-To: Edit Existing Type
How-To: Edit Existing Type
To edit or delete an existing type:
Click the more (⋮) icon at the end of that type's row
Select the action you wish to perform
Configure or Support Staff Availability
Once Categories and Appointment Types have been configured, your users can set their availability. Only users can add their availability, while administrators can edit/delete availability for all users.
How-To: View + Edit User's Availability
How-To: View + Edit User's Availability
Navigate to Engagement > Appointments.
Click the more (⋮) icon in the right corner of the header.
Select the Availability button
from the menu.
Locate the availability you wish to manage and select the more (⋮) icon at the end of the row.
Select the action you wish to take:
Copy Link: Copy the URL for the booking page for that availability.
Open: Open the booking page for that availability.
Edit: For adjustments to existing availability, including changing the settings or modifying when the appointment can be booked, opt for the Edit mode. This feature allows you to modify any aspect of an availability, such as appointment type, scheduling conditions, weekly hours, and notifications. The only exception is the assignee, which remains fixed to ensure clarity on who the appointment is with. This approach ensures you can fine-tune the details of your availability without needing to remove the slot entirely.
Delete: If you find that a certain availability slot is no longer necessary or you wish to completely remove the option, use the Delete option. This action permanently removes the availability from the booking page.
What Non-Admin Users Need to Do
Before a staff member can be booked for appointments, they must:
Configure their personal booking link (custom slug)
Set their availability for each appointment type they offer
Optionally connect their Google or Outlook calendar
For more guidance, see: Configuring Your Appointment Availability →
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
For a list of commonly asked questions about the functionality of the Appointments Module, visit our FAQ help article.
Video Guide
The Appointments Module is included with the Element Engage package.