Ultimate guide for judges

Registering for an account is easy! Simply navigate to the URL provided by program organisers and key in the your email address or mobile number before clicking Continue. 

If your email or mobile number is not associated with another program you'll be asked to confirm your identity with a six digit security verification code before providing your first name, last name, and a 12-character password. 

If you've forgotten your Award Force password, there's no need to worry. From your program's login page, simply click the Forgot password link shown below and follow the prompt. For more information check out our Ultimate guide to user passwords.

If you continue to have issues logging in, contact your program's organisers. 

You can update your login information at any time by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the page and selecting Profile.

From here, you can change your email address or set a new 12-character password containing uppercase and lowercase letters, a number, and a symbol.

If you aren't receiving messages from this program, there are a few things you can check:

• Look for the message in your junk or spam folders or any social/promotional tabs that you have configured in your inbox. Broadcasts and notifications from the Award Force platform can occasionally be routed to these areas.
• Mark the domain from which notifications and broadcasts are sent, app.awardforce.com, as allowed or safe listed.
• Check your profile settings to see whether you've opted out of broadcasts and notifications. To do so, click on your name in the top right corner of the page and then open the Preferences tab. 
  

You can quickly enable dark mode for your user profile by following these steps: 

1. Click on your name in the top right corner of the page
2. Select Profile
   
   
3. Open the 'Preferences' tab
4. Under 'Dark mode' select your desired setting
   
5. Save

Program organisers may reach out to you through a feature of the platform called broadcasts to alert you of important dates, new entries to evaluate, and more. It's important that, during registration, you opt into broadcasts and notifications for this purpose.

If you've already registered and would like to view or edit your selections, click on your name in the top right corner of the page, select Profile, and open the Preferences tab. 

You can learn more here: Do I need broadcasts and notifications? Are they important?

It's possible that you've accidentally logged into the platform or registered using a different email address. If you're not sure which email address to use to evaluate your assigned entries, contact your program's organisers. 

You can filter the entries you've been assigned by using the 'Browse by category' filter or the 'Advanced' search. 

The 'Advanced' search also allows you to filter by status, i.e. 'To be scored', 'In progress', or 'Complete'.

Entries that require your attention will be marked as 'To be scored' in the VIP judging mode...

or have no decision shown in the Qualifying judging mode.

You can evaluate these by clicking on the entry's ID number or name, depending on configuration. For instructions on how to evaluate entries, see the sections below. 

'In progress' entries have had the evaluation process started, but have not had their requirements fulfilled. For example, a scoring criteria may have been missed or a judging comment may be required.

Once all requirements have been met, the status will change to 'Complete'. 

If commenting has been enabled by program organisers, you'll see a 'Comment on this entry' area at the bottom of the page similar to what is shown below. 

Files can also be uploaded into your comments on an entry using the image icon shown below. Accepted file types include .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .doc, .docx, .pdf, .xls, and .xlsx.

In the VIP judging mode, commenting may also be enabled for individual scoring criteria. 

The Award Force platform will auto-save your progress every 20 or so seconds, but we do recommend saving your progress as you go along just in case you lose internet connection. 

Depending on the configuration of the program's judging, you can print out your assigned entries by clicking the small PDF icon associated with an entry. Additionally, if bulk downloading has been enabled you can click the Bulk download button at the bottom of the page to receive an email containing a .ZIP file of all assigned entries and their PDFs. 

If you've downloaded your assignments as outlined in the previous question, each entry PDF may include boxes for you to pencil in your scores and comments. These scores and comments, however, will need to be added to Award Force platform to be counted.

Once you've completed all of your judging assignments, you're all set! There's no need to submit anything further as your scores and comments have already been saved. 

1. From the Judge workspace, go to the Entries view, click on the entry's ID number or name
2. Locate the scoring criteria and input a score
   
3. Repeat for additional scoring criteria
4. Click Save + next to save your progress and move onto the next entry, Save + previous to go back to the last entry, or Save + close to return to the Entries > Judge entries page

To edit a score:

1. In the Judge workspace, go to Entries, and click on the entry's ID number or name
2. Review the content of the entry
3. Locate the scoring criteria and edit the score
4. Click Save + close when finished

Editing of completed scores may not be available. Please reach out to your program organisers if you'd like to update a score that has been locked.

Top pick an entry:

1. From the Judge workspace go to Entries, and click on an entry's ID number or name
2. Review the content of the entry
3. Select a pick number at the top of the page if desired or click Previous, Next, or Close
   

Picks can also be selected directly from the Entries view. 

To edit a pick:

1. From the Judge workspace, go to Entries, and click on an entry's ID number or name
2. Select a new pick number from the top of the page
3. Click Previous, Next, or Close

Picks can also be edited directly from the Entries view. 

To make a qualifying decision:

1. In the Judge workspace, go to Entries, and click on an entry's ID number or name
2. Review the content of the entry
3. At the top of the page, click Fail or Pass to submit your decision
   
4. Click Previous, Next, or Close

 To edit a qualifying decision:

1. In the Judge workspace, go to Entries, and click on an entry's ID number or name
2. Select the decision you'd like to update to
3. Click Previous, Next, or Close

To remove a qualifying decision:

1. In the Judge workspace, go to Entries, and click on an entry's ID number or name
2. Click the Undecide button beside the decision
   
3. Click Previous, Next, or Close

To cast a vote:

1. Go to the voting view (the heart icon within the navigation menu on the left)
2. To view the content of an entry, simply click it's title or the thumbnail image
3. To cast a vote, click the Vote button near the top of the page
   
4. Click Next to move on to the next entry, Previous to review the last entry viewed, or Close to return to the voting view

Votes can also be cast directly from the voting view by clicking on the Vote button associated with an entry. 

To revoke a vote:

1. Go to the voting view (the heart icon within the navigation menu on the left)
2. Click on the entry that you'd like to remove the vote from
3. Click Unvote near the top of the page
   
4. Click Next to move on to the next entry, Previous to review the last entry viewed, or Close to return to the voting view

To see the entry/entries you've voted for:

1. Go to the voting view
2. Toggle on the Show my votes only switch
   

To see the total number of votes cast per category, refresh the page and look for the number icons near the category quick filter, if available.