Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to launch a magical countdown

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🚀 Getting Started

Account basics, onboarding, and how to reach your first live calendar.

🛠️ Calendar Management

Editing workflows, duplication, analytics, and collaboration tips.

🎨 Branding & Delivery

Customization, premium options, sharing, and distribution.

🔐 Security & Support

Authentication, compliance, file safety, and support options.

  • Getting Started

    Who can create a Dagatal calendar?

    Every verified Dagatal user can publish unlimited calendars with rich content.

    Anyone with a Dagatal account can design, test, and publish as many calendars as they like. You are not charged per calendar, and you can work on drafts all year before the holidays hit.

    • Unlimited calendars, doors, and media uploads
    • Secure hosting under your own vanity slug (for example /c/brand)
    • Live preview links so stakeholders can review changes
    Included in the free tier: door scheduling, quiz and info blocks, youTube video, external links, email support.
    #accounts #limits
  • Getting Started

    What do I need before launching?

    Bring a background, a story, and 24 ideas. Dagatal handles the rest.

    You only need three ingredients to get rolling:

    Visual identity

    Upload a 16:9 background (JPG, PNG, or WebP). We scale it for desktop and mobile visitors.

    Door content

    Prepare blurbs, quiz questions, links, or videos for each day. Drafts can stay hidden indefinitely.

    Timeline

    Pick a timezone and start date. Dagatal locks each door until midnight in that zone.

    Tip: Start with one day and duplicate it later—no need to finish everything before inviting collaborators to preview.
    #assets #planning
  • Getting Started

    How quickly can I publish?

    Most teams launch within an hour thanks to the guided editor.

    Our editor keeps every task in one workspace so you can ship a calendar in a single sitting.

    1
    Set the basics

    Name the calendar, pick the timezone, and upload a hero background.

    2
    Place the doors

    Drag doors directly on top of your artwork. We save percentages so layouts stay responsive.

    3
    Add day content

    Use rich text, quizzes, external links, or GDPR-safe YouTube embeds. Preview instantly before publishing.

    Fast track: Duplicate last year's calendar to reuse layouts and update only the copy that changed.
    #timeline #publishing
  • Getting Started

    How do door unlocks and previews work?

    Timezone-aware locks protect surprises while owners can always peek ahead.

    Every calendar tracks its own timezone. Doors unlock automatically at midnight, and visitors only see the current or past days.

    Owner previews

    Logged-in creators can open any day, any time. Share the private preview link with collaborators.

    Public view

    Guests see a countdown until the next unlock and cannot inspect source files for future days.

    Door states

    We distinguish locked, unlocked, and completed doors so nobody loses the narrative.

    Need an early reveal? Temporarily change the start date or unlock a single day, then switch it back after testing.
    #scheduling #preview
  • Calendar Management

    Can I change content after publishing?

    Yes—edits go live instantly and visitors always see the latest version.

    Update copy, images, quizzes, or CTA links whenever you need. Database writes are transactional, so partial saves never leak drafts.

    • Editor autosaves your work and rolls back if validation fails.
    • Visitors receive the new content the moment you click Save.
    • We log every update time so you can confirm changes in analytics.
    Heads up: Reordering doors after publishing can confuse returning visitors. Duplicate the calendar if you need a brand-new layout.
    #editing #live
  • Calendar Management

    Can I duplicate past calendars?

    Use copies as templates for new campaigns.

    From the dashboard, choose Duplicate calendar to clone backgrounds, doors, and all day content.

    What is copied

    Slug, layout, door count, day content, quizzes.

    What is new

    We generate a fresh slug suggestion and keep the copy in draft until you publish.

    Best uses

    Seasonal refreshes, localization projects, or A/B tests with alternate content.

    #duplication #templates
  • Calendar Management

    How do I create doors?

    Click anywhere on the background to add a numbered door.

    The editor stores door coordinates as percentages so layouts remain consistent across desktop and mobile breakpoints.

    Create a door

    Click on the background artwork where you want the door. A numbered box appears instantly and is saved when you release the mouse button.

    Creating a door by clicking on the background
    Tip: Use auto-numbering to drop multiple doors in sequence without manual renaming.
    #doors #create
  • Calendar Management

    How do I move doors?

    Drag a door to reposition; we persist percentage coordinates.

    Move a door

    Click and drag any door to a new spot. The new X/Y percentages are saved for a responsive layout that scales on all screens.

    Moving a door by dragging it
    Precision: Fine-tune positions with the arrow keys after selecting a door (if enabled in your browser).
    #doors #move
  • Calendar Management

    How do I resize doors?

    Drag the bottom-right handle to adjust door hitbox dimensions.

    Resize a door

    Grab the resize handle in the bottom-right corner and drag until the hitbox fits your artwork. Sizes are stored as percentages for consistency.

    Resizing a door using the corner handle

    Placement tips

    • Keep spacing consistent—visitors scan numbered clusters quickly.
    • Adjust hitbox size independently from the label for intricate designs.
    • Use the overlay grid to align doors symmetrically.

    Accessibility

    Doors include keyboard focus states and can be activated with Enter/Space. Maintain logical numeric order to support assistive tech.

    #doors #resize
  • Calendar Management

    Do I get analytics or insights?

    Premium or admin accounts can open the stats dashboard for each calendar.

    If you unlocked premium for a calendar you can access the stats tab:

    • Daily views, unique visitors, and completion rates
    • Door-level opens so you know which surprises landed best
    • Device mix and popular referrers
    No premium yet? Data is still stored. Upgrade later to unlock historical insights.
    #analytics #insights
  • Branding & Delivery

    What customization does premium unlock?

    Brand the entire experience without writing CSS.

    Premium calendars unlock an additional tab inside the editor where you can override every color token and hide Dagatal chrome.

    Theme controls

    Set background, text, modal, and door colors with live previews and HEX validation.

    White-label mode

    Toggle Hide Dagatal branding to remove our header and footer for a bespoke feel.

    Unlocking

    Redeem a staff-issued premium code or use the Stripe Checkout to activate the premium features.

    #premium #branding
  • Branding & Delivery

    Is premium a subscription or a one-time purchase?

    One-time per calendar; duplicates and new calendars require a fresh upgrade.

    Premium is a one-time purchase scoped to a single calendar. There is no recurring subscription and no automatic rollover when you duplicate or create a new calendar.

    Scope

    • Applies only to the calendar where the code or Stripe checkout was redeemed.
    • Duplicating a premium calendar creates a non-premium copy (upgrade again if needed).
    • Each calendar you want branded or analytics-enabled must be upgraded separately.

    Activation

    • Redeem a staff-issued premium code or complete Stripe Checkout in the editor.
    • No hidden renewals—your invoice shows a single charge.
    • You can upgrade later; existing data (views, door opens) will appear once premium is enabled.
    Planning tip: Decide which calendars truly need premium branding or analytics to optimize costs.
    #premium #pricing
  • Branding & Delivery

    Can I use my own artwork or video backgrounds?

    Yes—upload custom backgrounds and preview them instantly.

    Upload JPG, PNG, GIF, or WebP backgrounds up to 10 MB. We validate MIME type, resize automatically, and store assets outside the public docroot.

    Security first: Files pass through the UPLOAD_SECURITY playbook—extension and MIME checks, dimension validation, and safe permissions.

    Need animated visuals? Convert your video into a lightweight looping GIF or WebP before uploading.

    #assets #media
  • Branding & Delivery

    How do I share the calendar?

    Every project receives a secure public URL and optional preview link.

    Share the /c/{slug} link anywhere—email, chat, signage, or intranets. We pre-render meta tags so previews look polished on social platforms.

    Public visitors

    • See the hero background and available doors immediately.
    • Receive a timezone-aware countdown for upcoming doors.
    • Never see draft content.

    Preview links

    Add ?preview=1 to the URL to review locked doors. Only owners can access that mode.

    #sharing #distribution
  • Branding & Delivery

    Can I embed Dagatal elsewhere?

    Use the share URL inside iframes or link out from your intranet.

    The hosted calendar loads over HTTPS and can be dropped into an iframe or linked from other microsites. Because unlock logic runs server-side, there is nothing extra to configure.

    #embedding #integration
  • Security & Support

    Do you support two-factor authentication or passkeys?

    Yes—enable TOTP 2FA and register hardware or platform passkeys.

    Visit Manage → Profile to enable TOTP codes or register WebAuthn passkeys. We store credential IDs in binary-safe format and require confirmations before finishing enrollment.

    • TOTP for account recovery
    • Passkeys work across Face ID, Windows Hello, and FIDO2 keys
    • 2FA gating on access and upload routes
    #2fa #passkeys
  • Security & Support

    Who can view draft calendars?

    Only the owner and invited admins see unpublished content.

    Draft calendars live behind authentication. Anonymous visitors only see published doors, even if they guess the slug.

    Owners

    Full access to edit and preview every door.

    Public visitors

    Must wait for the unlock schedule—you control when the surprise drops.

    #privacy #drafts
  • Security & Support

    How are uploads and data protected?

    Uploads live outside the docroot and route through image proxies.

    Dagatal follows the same hardening described in UPLOAD_SECURITY.md:

    • Strict MIME plus extension checks and size caps from MAX_BACKGROUND_SIZE
    • Storage in resources/backgrounds or resources/days with 0644 permissions
    • Delivery through a script so files never execute directly
    GDPR friendly: Assets stay on EU infrastructure and we do not inject third-party trackers.
    #security #uploads
  • Security & Support

    How do I get help?

    Email support or request a guided walkthrough.

    Need a hand? Reach out and we will respond within one business day.

    Email

    support@dagatal.de for onboarding, feature requests, or incident reports.

    Walkthroughs

    We can schedule a 30 minute call to plan your calendar structure or premium rollout.

    Status updates

    Follow @SilverDayMedia for feature releases and maintenance windows.

    #support #contact

Need a personal walkthrough?

Send us your goals and we will help plan the right door flow, content strategy, and premium options.

Prefer self-serve docs? We update this FAQ whenever features ship so you always have the latest guidance.

Contact & availability

Email support@dagatal.de or message @SilverDayMedia for quick help. We typically reply within one business day.