Why Activation Is Disabled for Finished Events
What is this for?
This guide explains why you cannot activate an event that has reached the Finished or Closed Subscribe status, and what you should do instead to run a similar event again.
Understanding the Activation Flow
When you create a new event, it starts in the Created status. To make it available for registrations, you must activate it:
- Open the event in the Event Constructor or find it in the Library.
- Click the Check & Activate button (or the Activate action from the event card menu).
- The system runs a validation check:
- The registration form must have at least one field.
- An Email field must exist in the form.
- A Journey must be selected for the event.
- A Start Date must be set and it must be in the future (at least tomorrow).
- If all checks pass, the Activate button becomes enabled.
- Click Activate to change the event status to Active. Registrations can now begin.
When Activation Is Blocked
The Activate button is disabled and a warning message appears in the following cases:
| Event Status | What You See | Why It Is Blocked |
|---|---|---|
| Active | "Your event is active!" | The event is already running. No action needed. |
| Finished | "Activate disabled by status: FINISHED!" | The event has ended. You cannot restart a finished event. |
| Closed Subscribe | "Activate disabled by status: CLOSED SUBSCRIBE!" | Registration was manually closed. The event cannot be reopened. |
Backend enforcement: Even if you bypass the interface, the server will reject any activation request for a Finished or Closed Subscribe event with an error: incorrect event status!
What to Do Instead
You cannot reactivate a finished event. This is by design — a finished event represents a completed cycle with finalized registrations, reports, and potentially sent communications.
To run the same event again:
- Go to the Library.
- Find the finished event.
- Open the menu (three dots) on the event card and select Copy.
- A new event is created in Created status with all your settings, forms, and journeys copied over.
- Open the new copy, adjust the Start Date and any other details, then Check & Activate.
Tip: Copying an event preserves your Journey, form fields, email templates, and design. You only need to update dates and any event-specific content.
Common Questions
Why can't I just change the date and reactivate? A finished event locks in its history: attendee lists, check-ins, sent emails, and analytics. Reopening it would corrupt that record. Creating a copy gives you a clean slate while keeping your setup work.
What about a Stopped event? A Stopped event can be reactivated. The popup will show an option to notify subscribers when you restart it.
Will copying the event duplicate my subscribers? No. The new copy starts with zero subscribers. Your original attendee data stays with the finished event.