Can entries be submitted into multiple categories?

The Award Force platform is structured in a way that requires entrants to provide a name for their submission and select a category. The rest of the form is entirely dependent on your organisation's needs. Some programs, however, may wish for entries to be considered in multiple categories. Historically this has been done by copying an entry and submitting that copy into the other category, but can now be accomplished using automated tagging of optionable fields. In this guide we'll cover how to configure those fields and set up your judging. 

Configure an auto-tagging field

The creation of an auto-tagging field is nearly identical to any other with one specific difference. To configure an auto-tagging field follow these steps: 

1. In the Manage workspace, navigate to Entries
2. Click Edit form
3. Configure a new field listing your program's categories using an optionable field type:
   • Checkbox list
   • Radio buttons
   • Drop-down list
4. In the 'Options' section of the configuration tray, key in your categories list
   
   Tip: unless your program has a requirement for entries to have multiple categories selected, keep the Required checkbox in the 'Access' section of the configuration tray unticked. 
5. Toggle on Auto-tag
   
6. Specify your desired tag for each label
   
   Note: the Value associated with your field will be the tag created.
7. Click Save when finished

Once this has been done, your program's entries will automatically be tagged with the additional categories an entrant has selected upon submission. To learn more about auto-tagging fields, see our dedicated guide: Automated tagging.

Judging entries with multiple selected categories

When allowing for entries to be "submitted" into multiple categories, your judging configuration will rely heavily on the use of tags. This will allow you to allocate submissions to the proper judges through the use of judging panels. If you're configuring judging for the first time, see our Recommended steps to start judging article for guidance on where to begin. 

1. From the Manage workspace, go to Judging > Settings > Panels
2. Click New panel
3. Provide a name for your panel and choose your desired score set
   
   Note: this name is not shown to judges and can be named as granularly as you like to manage your program. 
4. Under the 'Entries' heading, select your desired categories
5. Select your category tag(s)
6. In the 'Who' section, choose the role or individual judges who should evaluate the submissions
7. Click Save when finished
8. Repeat for additional categories as necessary

For more information on how to use tags, check out these guides:

• Ultimate guide to tags
• Using tags in your judging configuration
• Tags in panels: Any of, All of, or None of