How To Create A Test Event
Create a duplicate of your event for testing and practice without affecting your live event.
Need to practice, train volunteers, or test new features without affecting your live event? Auctria makes it easy to create a safe testing environment. The recommended approach is to use the Create Test Event feature, which duplicates your event for practice purposes.
- From the main Event Dashboard, click Events in the sidebar
- Under Actions, click Create Test Event
The Create Test Event page will open.
Click the button to create your test event. This will copy:
- All event settings
- All items
- Your event website
What's NOT copied: Participants and transactions (to protect your real data).
Your test event includes built-in safeguards:
Test Website Address
Your website URL will have -TEST appended to it.
Red Warning Banner
A large red banner appears at the top of the test website as a reminder you're in test mode.
No Real Participants
Add yourself as a test participant, but don't include real participants to avoid accidentally emailing them.
No Text Messaging
Texting is disabled by default. To test texting features, manually transfer your phone number via Communication > Text Settings > Transfer Phone#. See Actions for details.
Update Online Bidding Times
Your test event copies the bidding times from your live event. Update these to test online bidding now. See Online Bidding Times for instructions.
If you've tested changes and want to make your test event the live event, use the Copy Event function.
Important Notes
- The test banners won't copy over
- Review all settings and options before going live
- Verify online bidding times are correct for real bidding
If creating a test event doesn't fit your needs, here are other options:
Give it an obvious name like --TEST EVENT ONLY-- so it's clear which event you're working in.
Which Event Opens First?
If you have multiple events, Auctria opens the "default" event based on the date in the Event Summary tab. It shows events from the last week first, or the next upcoming event.
Create a new organization for testing (click Organization > Create New Organization). It will have an Explorer license with enough functionality for testing.
Or, sign out and create a completely new account with a different email address. You can share these credentials with others for training.
Sign out and use Auctria's demo event at www.auctria.com/Demo.
Demo Event Data
Using the demo event automatically signs you out. The demo comes pre-populated with sample data so you can start testing immediately.
Copy Demo Data
You can copy the demo event's data into your own test event: Organization > Copy Demo Event. This creates a new event titled with the demo name and copy date, like EnviroCare Spring Fundraiser (copied 03-Feb-2026).
Advantage: These options aren't attached to your main account, reducing confusion about which event you're working in.
Test within your live event by creating a test item (Items > Add Item).
Set the Override online bidding start/end time so the item is open now. Practice bidding on it, then delete it when finished.
Test Like a Participant
Use a different browser or incognito tab with a different email address to register as a participant. This shows you exactly what participants will see.
Advantage: Work with your actual event data to see how everything functions while adding minimal test content.
After testing, you may need to remove test bids. See Can I Delete Test Bids? for more details.
- Copy Event
You can copy an event to create a new event and select what information will be brought into the new one. - How To Set Up An In-Person Event
Creating an Auctria In-Person event. - How To Add A New Event
Create a new event within your organization.
Last reviewed: February 2026