Events in the near future – no fixed date yet

Here is a step by step example of what I did to overcome the issue of a mandatory date in the correct format to be entered in EM.
When you complete these steps, you will be able to enter an event with your estimated (TBD) mandatory date and the event will be displayed in various places showing that the date is “To Be Determined”. You may use any text as a literal by changing the code supplied below.

Please be advised that if you changed the format in any of these, you must pay attention to include your current format and it is not lost. The best way is to first copy your formatting and saving it somewhere for later reference.

Changes were as follows.
1. Added a location “Location to be determined”.
2. Added a category “TBD”.
3. When adding the TBD event, use the “TBD” category and the “Location to be determined” for the location.
4. The following code was changed in the Event Manager Widget in order to check for the category, print the “TBD” text:

From Original:

#_LINKEDNAME<ul><li>#j #M #Y | #_EVENTTIMES</li><li>#_TOWN</li></ul>

To New:

#_LINKEDNAME<ul><li>{no_category_TBD}#j #M #Y | #_EVENTTIMES{/no_category_TBD}</li><li><strong>{has_category_TBD}Date to be determined{/has_category_TBD}</strong></li>     #_TOWN</li></ul>

More info on how to use the placeholders were found here: https://wp-events-plugin.com/documentation/placeholders/

5. The following code was also changed in the “Default event list format” under Settings => Formatting:

From Original:

<tr>
<td>
                #_EVENTDATES<br/>
                #_EVENTTIMES
            </td>
            <td>
                #_EVENTLINK
                {has_location}<br/><i>#_LOCATIONNAME, #_LOCATIONTOWN #_LOCATIONSTATE</i>{/has_location}
            </td>
 </tr>

To New:

<tr>
<td>
                {no_category_TBD}#_EVENTDATES<br/>{/no_category_TBD}
                {no_category_TBD}#_EVENTTIMES{/no_category_TBD}
                {has_category_TBD}Date to be determined<br/>{/has_category_TBD}
                {has_category_TBD}Time to be determined{/has_category_TBD}
            </td>
            <td>
                #_EVENTLINK
                {has_location}<br/><i>#_LOCATIONNAME, #_LOCATIONTOWN #_LOCATIONSTATE</i>{/has_location}
            </td>
 </tr>

6. The following code was also changed in the “Default single event format” under Settings => Formatting

From Original:

<p>
	<strong>Date/Time</strong><br/>
	Date(s): #_EVENTDATES - <i>#_EVENTTIMES</i>
</p>
<p>
	<h3>What</strong></h3>
	#_EVENTNOTES<br/>
</p>
<br />
<h3>Event Map</h3>
<br style="clear:both" />
<div style="float:left; margin:0px 150px 15px 15px;">#_MAP</div>
{has_bookings}
<br />
<h3>Reservations</h3>
#_BOOKINGFORM
{/has_bookings}
{has_location}
<p>
	<strong>Location</strong><br/>
	#_LOCATIONLINK
</p>
{/has_location}

To New:

<p>
	<strong>Date/Time</strong>
	{no_category_TBD}Date(s): #_EVENTDATES - <i>#_EVENTTIMES</i>{/no_category_TBD}
	{has_category_TBD}Date and time to be determined{/has_category_TBD}
</p>
<p>
	<h3>What</h3>
	#_EVENTNOTES
</p>

<h3>Event Map</h3>
<br style="clear:both" />
<div style="float:left; margin:0px 150px 15px 15px;">#_MAP</div>
{has_bookings}

<h3>Reservations</h3>
#_BOOKINGFORM
{/has_bookings}
{has_location}
<p>
	<strong>Location</strong>
	#_LOCATIONLINK
</p>
{/has_location}

This completes the process and hope you find this helpful!