> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.brieftech.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.brieftech.ai/get-started/your-first-matter.md). # Your First Matter Welcome. In this tutorial we'll take a brand-new matter all the way through BriefTech together — from an empty matter to a finished court bundle you can open on your computer. By the end, you'll have loaded a set of documents, seen the AI describe them automatically, corrected a detail, built a Document Index, and generated and downloaded a bundle. We'll work in a throwaway **practice matter**, and we'll use BriefTech's built-in **sample files** so you don't need to find any documents of your own. Nothing here touches a real case, and you can delete everything afterwards. The whole run takes about ten minutes. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** This is a learning walkthrough with one fixed path. Once you've done it: * **How-To Guides** — how to do each task on real matters * **Reference** — every option listed * **Concepts** — why things work as they do {% endhint %} *** ## Before you start By the end of this tutorial you'll have: * a practice matter loaded with a set of sample documents, * AI-generated dates and descriptions for each one, * a structured Document Index built from a preset, and * a finished, paginated court bundle downloaded to your computer. **You don't need any documents of your own.** BriefTech provides built-in **sample files**, and we work in a throwaway **practice matter** you can delete afterwards — nothing here touches a real case. All you need is a BriefTech account (we'll create one in Step 1 if you don't have it). The whole run takes about ten minutes. *** ## Step 1 — Sign in and create a practice matter A **matter** is the container for a single case. 1. Open BriefTech in your browser and sign in. If you don't have an account yet, choose Continue with Google, Continue with Email, or Continue with Microsoft to create one, then verify your email if prompted. 2. You'll land on the **Matters** screen. Click Create New Matter. 3. In **Input Matter Reference**, type `Practice — Tutorial`. 4. Click Create Matter. BriefTech opens the new matter on its Files tab tab. You should now see an empty document area with a **Drop files or folders here for upload** zone in the centre — your blank practice matter is ready. *** ## Step 2 — Load the sample files Instead of hunting for documents to upload, we'll let BriefTech load a ready-made set for us. On the empty upload screen, click the text link below the Select files button: **Just exploring? Load sample files to try BriefTech now.** BriefTech begins loading a sample set of around twenty documents of different types — PDFs, emails, and text notes. You should see the file list fill with documents as they load. *** ## Step 3 — Open the Review tab tab As each document finishes processing, BriefTech automatically extracts a date and a description — no action required from you. Open the Review tab tab. You should see a **Date** and **Description** filling in for each row as extraction runs in the background. *** ## Step 4 — Correct one detail The AI is a strong start, but you're in charge. Let's refine a description so you can see how corrections work. 1. In the Review tab tab, pick any document row. 2. Double-click its **Description** cell. An inline editor opens. 3. Edit the text to improve or clarify it, then click outside the cell to save. The cell updates immediately — there's no Save button. You should now see your revised description in that row, and it will stay that way: the AI won't overwrite a value you've set by hand. Open the Index tab tab to continue. *** ## Step 5 — Build the Document Index The **Document Index** is the ordered index that becomes the spine of your bundle. The fastest way to start one is to apply a preset. 1. In the Index tab tab, you'll see your documents listed in a table. 2. Click Apply preset in the toolbar. 3. Under **Apply bundle/index preset**, select **Bundle of Documents**. 4. Under **Generate index headings**, select Group by folder. 5. Under **Sort all sections**, select **Date**. The table updates instantly. You should now see tidy columns — a serial-number column labelled **Tab**, then Date, Description, Vol, and Page — with headings generated from your folder structure and documents sorted by date within each section. That's your Document Index taking shape. {% hint style="success" %} **Tip:** **Bundle of Documents** is a general-purpose preset — one of several. When you prepare a real matter you can pick the one that matches your court and document type. See [Document Index presets](/reference/index-presets.md) for the full list and what each configures. {% endhint %} *** ## Step 6 — Generate the court bundle Now we'll turn that index and the documents into a paginated PDF. 1. In the toolbar, click Create Bundle. The **Create Bundle** panel opens on the right. 2. Leave every bundle setting at its default. 3. Click Create Bundle. The bundle generation will take just a few minutes. You can navigate away — a notification appears in the **Background jobs** panel (background jobs in the top bar) when the bundle is ready. *** ## Step 7 — Download your bundle 1. In the **Create Bundle** panel — the same panel you opened in Step 6 — find the completed bundle. (The **Background jobs** panel, opened from the background jobs icon in the top bar, shows the job's progress, but you download from the Create Bundle panel.) 2. On the bundle card, click the download download icon. The bundle downloads to your computer. You'll see a card for each volume PDF and a **Complete Bundle (ZIP)** card containing them all — download whichever you prefer, then open it. You should now see a finished court bundle: a table of contents listing the documents, and the documents themselves with continuous page numbers stamped across them and bookmark links to each document. That's a real, court-style bundle — built by BriefTech from scratch, for your review and approval, in seven steps. *** ## What you've accomplished You took an empty matter and: * loaded a set of documents and let them process, * watched the AI automatically extract dates and descriptions, then corrected one yourself, * built a structured Document Index from a preset — with folder-based headings and documents sorted by date, and * generated and downloaded a paginated court bundle. You now know the shape of the whole BriefTech pipeline. Everything else is a variation on these steps. *** ## Where to go next
Review an AI-Analysed MatterA guided run through the Review stage — confirm, correct, and refine what the AI produced until the matter is ready to index./pages/5dnrzbm1SofsLQNZ8RoH
How a matter moves through BriefTechThe staged pipeline and the two workstreams that run alongside it./pages/p87rZDZKq7GzvEb7cREo
How AI analysis works: agents and playbooksWhat agents and playbooks are, and what they extract./pages/pLl4zmTHql9gsVVTXlhP
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