> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.9pic.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create Your First Event

> The 90-second happy path from a fresh dashboard to processed photos on a live event link.

## Overview

This page is the **shortest possible path** from dashboard home to "my first event has photos". If you only have a minute, follow the steps below in order. Deeper references for every option live in the [Events](/dashboard-guide/events/list) section and the product reference sections later.

<Info>
  Expect about ten to twenty minutes total: the form itself takes under a minute, but syncing and processing photos depends on how many images you have.
</Info>

## Before You Start

You need three things:

* An organiser account on 9Pic — see [Sign in](/dashboard-guide/getting-started/sign-in) if you haven't signed in yet.
* An event name, date, and city or venue.
* At least one source of photos: a folder of images you can upload, a 9pic Uplink, or a cloud folder link (Google Drive, S3, and similar). You can also add sources after the event is created.

## The 90-Second Happy Path

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Create New Event">
    From dashboard home, click the **Create New Event** card in **Quick Access**. (You can also click **Events** in the sidebar and then the **Create** button in the top-right.)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the basics">
    Enter an **Event Name** (you can use something like *First Event*), pick an **Event Date** and start time, and select your **Event Location** from the suggestions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick an Event Type">
    Choose **Endurance Sports**, **Social Events**, **Conference**, or **General**. Picking **Endurance Sports** unlocks bib number search.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Accept the default Photo Memories Configuration">
    For your first event, leave **Selfie Search**, **Show All Images**, **Bulk Download**, and **Show Photo Count** on (the defaults). You can change everything later from the event's Configuration tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Create Event">
    The button is at the bottom of the form. You land back on the Events list with your new event highlighted.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Details">
    Click the row for your new event (or the **Configure** button on the right) to open event details. You land on the **9pic Photo** product, **Overview** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a source">
    From **Overview**, open **Manage Sources**. Either keep the default 9Pic Storage and upload images, or add a cloud folder link. Save.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sync, then process">
    Run **Sync Images** to pull photos from your sources, then **Start Processing**. Processing usually takes a few minutes per few thousand photos.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go Live and share">
    Once processing finishes, click **Go Live**. Use **Open Link** or **Copy Link** in the header to test the participant experience and share it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="Create New Event basics">
  <img src="https://assets.9pic.ai/docs/dashboard-guide/getting-started/first-event-create-form.webp" alt="Create New Event form showing Event Name, Event Date, Event Location, Event Type cards, live review panel, and the start of Photo Memories options" />
</Frame>

<Frame caption="Photo Overview after opening an event">
  <img src="https://assets.9pic.ai/docs/dashboard-guide/getting-started/first-event-photo-overview.webp" alt="Event details Photo Overview tab showing photo counts, setup workflow cards, image source, processing status, and live publish actions" />
</Frame>

<Frame caption="Event header actions">
  <img src="https://assets.9pic.ai/docs/dashboard-guide/getting-started/event-header-open-link.webp" alt="Event header showing event name, Live status, Open Link, copy, QR, and document action buttons" />
</Frame>

## What You Just Did

| Step       | Why it matters                                                                               |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Event type | Drives which features are available (bib search only appears for Endurance Sports)           |
| Sources    | Tells 9Pic where to read photos from. You can add more sources at any time                   |
| Sync       | Copies photos from your sources into 9Pic so they can be processed                           |
| Processing | Runs AI (face recognition, bib detection, optional watermarking) and makes photos searchable |
| Go Live    | Publishes the event page so participants can search for their photos                         |

<Tip>
  You can safely re-run **Sync Images** any time you add more photos to your source — it pulls only what's new and queues new images for processing.
</Tip>

## Choose Smart Defaults for Later

Once your first event works end-to-end, revisit these options for the next one:

* **Bib Number Search** — for races. Upload a name-to-bib CSV later to also enable name search.
* **Selfie Search** — face-recognition photo search. Defaults to on.
* **Show All Images** — lets participants see the full gallery, not only their matches.
* **Bulk Download** — lets participants download multiple photos at once.
* **Store Original Memories** *(Enterprise only)* — keep original files for watermark-free downloads. May incur extra storage charges.

For the full field-by-field reference, see [Create an event](/dashboard-guide/events/create).

<Warning>
  **Store Original Memories** can increase your storage costs depending on your plan. Enable it only if you know your delivery model needs originals.
</Warning>

## If Something Goes Wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="My event shows zero photos after sync.">
    Open **Manage Sources** and confirm the source is **Live** and reachable. For cloud folders, double-check the share link is accessible.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Processing fails or stays stuck.">
    Check your credit balance from the sidebar — processing pauses when an organisation runs out of credits. Top up from **Credits**, then re-run **Start Processing**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I can't click Go Live.">
    Go Live becomes available only after processing has produced searchable photos. Wait for the processing status to reach *complete* (or *partial*) before clicking.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Events list" icon="calendar" href="/dashboard-guide/events/list">
    Search, filter, and manage every event from one screen.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create an event (full reference)" icon="calendar-plus" href="/dashboard-guide/events/create">
    Field-by-field reference for every option in the new event form.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Event details" icon="layer-group" href="/dashboard-guide/events/details">
    How the product navigation and tabs work inside an event.
  </Card>

  <Card title="9Pic Photo overview" icon="images" href="/dashboard-guide/photos/overview">
    Deeper coverage of sources, sync, processing, and watermarking once your first event is live.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  Stuck for more than fifteen minutes? Email [support@9pic.ai](mailto:support@9pic.ai) with your organisation name and event ID and we will jump in.
</Note>