Lucky Draw On-Site Emergency Handbook

T-30 minutes checklist

Plug the laptop in and turn off sleep mode and automatic system updates
Connect the laptop to the projector and confirm the resolutions match — do not settle for extended-desktop mode
Open the draw program, press F11 for full screen, and walk to the back row to check the type size
Import the real list and check that the participant count matches the number of rows in your spreadsheet
Confirm every prize quota is correct (this is the single easiest thing to get wrong)
Press "reset all" once to clear the test data
Run a trial draw to confirm winners leave the pool correctly, then reset again
Have a USB stick ready so you can export a backup at any moment

Problem 1: the network drops

No impact. Lucky Draw is a single HTML file: list parsing and export both happen locally, so importing a list, drawing and exporting all keep working with the network unplugged. This is one of the main reasons to choose it.

The only thing to watch: if you have not downloaded the file locally and are only using it in the browser, make sure a local copy exists first.

Problem 2: the projector shows nothing, or only part of the screen

Check in this order:

Press Win + P (or the equivalent display setting) and confirm the mode is "Duplicate", not "Extend"
Press F11 in the browser for full screen; if black bars remain, the two resolutions differ — set the projector to match the laptop
If the image is small but sharp, zoom the browser in with Ctrl + + to a sensible level
If it stutters, close other background programs — especially video players and cloud-drive sync

Problem 3: someone accidentally pressed "reset all"

This is the one that makes your heart stop. What you do depends on whether you exported earlier:

You exported: re-import the winner list, mark the winners manually, and continue with the remaining prizes
You did not export: by default a reset clears the local records, so you will have to rebuild the list from on-site evidence — photos of the big screen, the prize distribution sheet, and so on

Which is why the single most valuable habit is: export immediately after every important prize. It takes two seconds and saves you the worst-case hour.

Problem 4: you drew the wrong prize — can you undo it?

The draw deliberately offers no "undo". The credibility of an on-stage draw comes from results being unchangeable once announced; a one-click undo would destroy that trust.

If you genuinely drew the wrong thing (for example you ran the first prize under the third prize), the correct remedy is to explain it to the room, void that round and draw again — not to quietly edit the data.

Problem 5: someone takes leave, or someone is added last-minute

When the list needs adjusting:

Open the People panel and add or remove people directly; the change takes effect immediately
Before removing someone, confirm they have not already won, otherwise the winners record will have a gap
For a single last-minute change you can also leave the list alone and announce the rule "if an absent person is drawn, we redraw" — but state it up front

Problem 6: the winner is not present

Announce the rule at the start to avoid an argument later. Two common approaches:

Void and redraw: the quota goes back into the pool and someone else is drawn on the spot
Keep the entitlement: record the name, hand the prize out after the event, and do not redraw

Choose one, announce it in advance, and you are far better off than deciding on the fly.

Problem 7: the browser crashes or the page is closed by mistake

Do not panic, and do not clear the cache or restart the computer. Reopen the same file — most of the imported list and the winners record will be restored from local storage. Once it is back, export immediately to lock in the current state.

Core principle: every step of a live draw should have a second path. Working offline, exporting at any time and rehearsing beforehand — get those three right and the vast majority of accidents are resolved within thirty seconds.

On-site emergency handbook