Arrival windows split a show's capacity into timed slots and ask buyers to choose one at checkout. Use them when everyone arriving at once is the problem: a tasting, a gallery night, a market, a run-of-the-day event with limited space inside.
Setting them up for one show
- Open the show and click Edit details.
- Open the Arrival Windows (Optional) card.
- Click + Add Window.
- Set the Time Slot — free text, exactly as buyers will read it, like
5:30pmor5:30–6:30pm. - Set % of Capacity — the share of the show's capacity this slot gets.
- Repeat for every slot, then click Save Changes.
The card header totals your percentages as you type — Total: N% of capacity — and warns in amber when it is not 100%. Percentages that do not add up to 100 leave seats unsellable or oversell the room, so get the total to exactly 100.
Each window's seat count is worked out from the show's capacity. Any seats left over by rounding go to the windows with the largest fractions, so no seat is lost.
The bin icon removes a window.
Deleting a window that has already sold tickets does not move those buyers anywhere. Their tickets stay valid and keep the window they bought, but the slot disappears from the show. Check the attendee list before removing one.
Making the choice compulsory
The card has a switch — Require buyers to choose an arrival time — which decides whether a buyer can pay without picking a slot.
It follows your venue's setting until you touch it. Once you have, a Use venue setting link appears next to it; click that to go back to following the venue. With neither the show nor the venue setting a preference, the answer is required.
Even with it on, Noctern will not deadlock a sale: if no window has room left, the order simply goes through with no window rather than refusing the buyer.
What the buyer sees
At checkout, under the payment details, Choose Your Arrival Time lists every window with its label and how many places are left — 12 spots left, or Full in red for a slot that has sold out. A full slot cannot be picked.
When the choice is required and they have not made one, the page says Choose an arrival time to continue and the pay button stays disabled.
The chosen window is printed on the ticket and on the confirmation, so staff at the door can see it.
A window that filled up while someone was still on the payment screen is refused when they pay, and they are asked to pick again. That is why percentages should reflect what the room can really take at once — the slot is a real cap, not a suggestion.
Venue defaults
If every show at your venue uses the same slots, set them once as venue defaults instead of per show — the Arrival Windows (Optional) card on AdminVenues[venue]Edit. A new show copies the venue's windows, and you can then edit that show's copy without touching the venue list.
On a test GA show with 100 capacity, add three windows at 40%, 30% and 30%, save, and open the public checkout: you should see three slots with 40, 30 and 30 spots left.