How to test with demo user accounts

Want to explore EntryThingy without creating your own account? Or need to test features from different user perspectives? Demo accounts are here to help! These pre-configured accounts let you experience EntryThingy as an administrator, artist, or juror—perfect for learning the system or testing workflows.

What Are Demo Accounts?

Demo accounts are pre-created user accounts with sample data that let you explore EntryThingy's features safely. Think of them as a "try before you buy" experience, or a way to test workflows without affecting real data.

Important: Demo accounts are available on our staging/testing environment. They're designed for exploration and testing, not for production use.

Available Demo Accounts

We've set up several demo accounts so you can experience EntryThingy from different perspectives:

Gallery Administrator

• Email: admin@demo.com
• Password: demo123
• What you can do: Full administrative access—create calls, manage entries, review submissions, assign jurors, and more. This is the "all-access pass" account.

Artist

• Email: artist@demo.com
• Password: demo123
• What you can do: Experience EntryThingy as an artist would—browse calls, submit entries, upload artwork, manage your portfolio, and track your applications.

Jurors

• Email: juror1@demo.com or juror2@demo.com
• Password: demo123
• What you can do: Review submissions, vote on entries, leave comments, and experience the jury review process.

How to Log In

1. Go to the login page (usually https://app.entrythingy.com/login/ or your staging URL)
2. Choose the appropriate login type:
3. For Gallery Admin or Juror: Click "Gallery/Admin Login"
4. For Artist: Click "Artist Login"
5. Enter one of the demo account emails above
6. Enter the password: demo123
7. Click "Login"

That's it! You're now logged in as that user type and can explore all the features available to that role.

What's Included in Demo Data?

When you log in with a demo account, you'll find:

Sample Calls/Exhibitions

• Multiple calls in various states (accepting submissions, in jury review, closed)
• Realistic call configurations with different settings
• Sample categories, requirements, and custom questions

Sample Entries

• Entries in various statuses (Draft, Submitted, Accepted, Rejected, Waitlist)
• Multiple pieces per entry
• Sample artwork with titles, dimensions, materials, and descriptions
• Artist statements and entry descriptions

Sample Voting Data

• Juror votes and scores on juried exhibitions
• Comments and notes from jurors
• Voting patterns you can analyze

Sample User Profiles

• Complete artist profiles with contact information
• Portfolio pieces
• Application history

Testing Different Workflows

Testing as an Administrator

Log in as admin@demo.com to: - Create a new call: See how the call setup process works - Review submissions: Practice accepting, rejecting, or waitlisting entries - Manage jurors: Assign jurors to calls and see how they interact - Download data: Try the downloader feature with real sample data - Send emails: Test email notifications to artists - View analytics: See call statistics and entry counts

Pro tip: Try creating a demo entry for the artist account to see the full submission flow from both sides!

Testing as an Artist

Log in as artist@demo.com to: - Browse calls: See how artists discover opportunities - Submit an entry: Experience the submission process step-by-step - Upload artwork: Practice adding images and artwork details - Track applications: See how artists monitor their submission status - Edit your profile: Update artist statement, resume, and contact info - Manage portfolio: Add or remove portfolio pieces

Pro tip: Try submitting to a call that's currently accepting entries, then switch to the admin account to see how it appears on the review side!

Testing as a Juror

Log in as juror1@demo.com or juror2@demo.com to: - Review submissions: See entries assigned to you for review - Vote on entries: Practice voting and scoring artwork - Leave comments: Add notes and feedback on entries - View voting results: See how your votes compare to other jurors - Experience blind jury mode: If a call has blind jury enabled, see how artist information is hidden

Pro tip: Log in as multiple jurors to see how voting works from different perspectives, then switch to admin to see the aggregated results!

Quick Login Method (Development Only)

If you're testing on a development environment, there's an even faster way to log in:

Add ?loginas=email to any URL

For example: - https://app.entrythingy.com/?loginas=admin@demo.com - https://app.entrythingy.com/calls/?loginas=artist@demo.com - https://app.entrythingy.com/admin/?loginas=juror1@demo.com

This instantly logs you in as that user without needing to enter credentials. Just visit any page with ?loginas= followed by the email address.

Important: This feature only works in development/staging environments for security reasons. It won't work in production.

Common Testing Scenarios

Scenario 1: Testing the Full Submission Flow

1. Log in as artist@demo.com
2. Browse to a call that's accepting entries
3. Click "Apply" and go through the submission process
4. Upload artwork, fill in details, add statement
5. Submit the entry
6. Log out and log in as admin@demo.com
7. Navigate to that call's entries page
8. See your new submission appear
9. Practice reviewing, accepting, or rejecting it

Scenario 2: Testing Jury Voting

1. Log in as admin@demo.com
2. Find a call that's in jury review
3. Assign jurors (if not already assigned)
4. Log out and log in as juror1@demo.com
5. Navigate to the jury review page
6. Vote on entries and leave comments
7. Log out and log in as juror2@demo.com
8. See how voting works from a second juror's perspective
9. Log back in as admin@demo.com
10. View the voting results and see how scores are calculated

Scenario 3: Testing Email Notifications

1. Log in as admin@demo.com
2. Create a new call or modify an existing one
3. Change entry statuses to trigger email notifications
4. Check the demo artist's email (if email is configured in your environment)
5. See how artists receive notifications about their submissions

Scenario 4: Testing Downloads

1. Log in as admin@demo.com
2. Navigate to a call with multiple entries
3. Go to the Downloads page
4. Try different download options:
5. Complete Gallery Package
6. Custom CSV Export
7. Entry Checklist
8. Juror Votes
9. See how the data is organized and formatted

Tips for Effective Testing

Test end-to-end workflows: Don't just test individual features—try complete workflows from start to finish. For example, create a call as admin, submit to it as artist, review it as juror, then download the results.

Use multiple accounts simultaneously: Open different browser windows (or use incognito mode) to log in as different users at the same time. This lets you see how actions in one account affect what others see.

Test edge cases: Try unusual scenarios—what happens if an artist submits after the deadline? What if a juror votes on an entry that gets deleted? Testing edge cases helps you understand the system better.

Check different user types: Don't just test as admin—make sure to experience EntryThingy as artists and jurors do. This helps you understand the full user experience.

Reset when needed: If you've made changes and want to start fresh, demo data can often be reset. Check with your system administrator about resetting demo accounts.

Troubleshooting

"I can't log in with the demo credentials" - Make sure you're using the correct email (check for typos) - Verify you're on the staging/testing environment (demo accounts may not be available in production) - Try a different demo account to see if it's account-specific - Check with your administrator to ensure demo accounts have been set up

"I don't see any calls/entries" - Demo data may need to be seeded—ask your administrator to run the seed data command - Try logging in as admin first to see if calls exist - Check that you're looking in the right place (some calls may be hidden from public view)

"The demo account seems to have old data" - Demo accounts may have been used by others for testing - Ask your administrator to reset the demo data if you need a fresh start - Remember that demo accounts are shared—changes you make may affect others

"I want to test with my own data" - Demo accounts are for exploration—for real testing with your own data, create your own account - You can create additional test accounts if needed - Consider using demo accounts to learn the system, then create your own account for actual use

Security Note

Demo accounts are designed for testing and exploration in non-production environments. They use simple passwords (demo123) and are not intended for production use. Always use strong, unique passwords for real accounts.

Need More Help?

Demo accounts are a great way to learn EntryThingy, but they're just the beginning! Once you're comfortable with the system, you can create your own account and start using EntryThingy for real calls and submissions.

If you have questions about using demo accounts or need help setting them up in your environment, reach out to support—we're here to help!