What’s the difference between pre-registration and a direct session link?

Both are ways to manage audience registration. You cannot use both the direct session link and the registration form for the same scheduled event.

With pre-registration, you can track who plans to attend before the session, share event details in advance, and see who attended afterward.
A direct session link doesn’t require pre-registration but collects audience details when they join. Sharing a direct session link also allows you to manage pre-registration outside of Riverside.

	Pre-registration with audience registration form	Collect audience details upon joining (Direct session link)
Custom registration fields
Approval process	Registrants are automatically approved but can be manually revoked by the host.	No approval process; everyone with the link can join upon entering their details.
Communication	Registrants receive a confirmation email with event details, time zone, and a unique joining link.	No automatic confirmation email. You need to manually share the session details and link with your audience.
Resend registration confirmation email
Access	Audience members must pre-register and receive a unique joining link before the event.	Audience members enter their name and email upon clicking the link and join immediately.
When do audience members submit their details?	Audience members submit their details at any time before the session when they register through the form.	Audience members provide their details when they join the session, just before entering the studio.
Remove audience member
Post-event data	Hosts can download a CSV file with registrant details, including custom field responses, both before and after the session.	After the session, hosts can download a CSV file containing audience names and emails collected upon entry.