Making the chart
- Choose Event tables or Classroom. For an event, pick round or long tables, how many and how many seats each, and add a head table if you have one. For a classroom, set the rows and the desks per row.
- Type the names, one per line, or leave the box empty to fill the chart in by hand. Event names fill the seats table by table. To seat people together, write "Table 3: Anna, Ben, Carla" on one line.
- Check the line under the box. It says how many names were read and lists anything that did not fit, such as a table that does not exist or more guests than seats.
- Pick paper, orientation and color, download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size.
The floor plan numbers every seat clockwise from the top. The table list has one box per table with the same numbers, so line 1 in the box for table 4 is seat 1 at table 4 on the plan. If your venue or caterer needs the seating, ask which of the two they want before you send it.
Planning seats for a wedding or party
Start from the guest list, not from the tables. Wait until most replies are in, then sort the guests into groups: each side of the family, old friends, colleagues, neighbors, the people who will bring children. Groups that know each other make natural tables. Keep households together and seat couples side by side, and put children with their parents or at a table close to them.
Then look at the people who will know almost nobody. Seat each of them next to someone friendly who is easy to talk to, rather than at the leftover table. Keep people who do not get along at separate tables without making it obvious.
Think about getting around the room. Guests who use a wheelchair, a walker or a cane need a clear path and a seat they can reach easily, often near an entrance and the restrooms. Older guests may prefer a table away from the speakers. When you are not sure, ask them what works best. Leave a seat or two free at a few tables for late replies and surprise plus ones.
Seating a classroom
Alphabetical order is a simple way to start the year, because it helps you learn names. Type the class list in that order and the desks fill row by row from the front. A random order is another neutral start, since nobody can read anything into where they sit; the Shuffle seats button does that in your browser.
After the first weeks, adjust by hand. Seat students who need to see the board or hear clearly near the front, and follow any seating notes in a student's support plan. Split up pairs who distract each other, and mix students who can help each other with group work. Pick a fixed time to change the plan, such as each new unit or term, so the change feels routine. Keep a copy on your desk and one in the folder for a substitute teacher.
Printing a large chart
The PDF is made of text and lines, not a photo, so it stays sharp when it is printed larger. A print shop can print the floor plan on poster paper or foam board; ask them which sizes they offer and to scale the page to fit. Some PDF readers can also split one page over several sheets, often called poster or tile printing, which you then trim and tape together.
For a display at the entrance, you can also print the table list pages and mount them side by side on a board, so guests find their name and table number quickly. Put a card with the matching number on every table.
When replies change
Seating changes until the last week. Keep the names you typed in a note on your phone or computer. When someone cancels or adds a guest, change that line, paste the list back in and print a fresh copy. Until the plan is final, write on the printout in pencil.
The line under the title shows how many seats are filled, which is a quick check against your reply count. Ask the venue and the caterer when they need the final numbers and the seating plan, and give them the current table list on that date.
More tools and templates
The random name picker draws one or more names from a list with a fair random pick and can remove each winner for the next round, which is handy for deciding who chooses a seat first. The team generator splits a list of names into random teams by number of teams or people per team, and can keep the sizes within one person of each other, so it can sort a class into table groups. The wedding budget calculator splits your budget into categories, tracks estimated, actual and paid costs and shows the cost per guest.
For the rest of the planning, the printable wedding planner has a checklist, a budget sheet and a guest list with a column for the table number, and the printable event planner has a timeline, a guest list with reply boxes and a shopping list for a party.
Frequently asked questions
Is the seating chart free?
Yes. Print it for a wedding, a birthday dinner or every new school term, as often as you need. There is no signup and no watermark; one small line at the bottom of each page names our website.
How do I put guests at a certain table?
Start a line with the table number, like "Table 3: Anna, Ben, Carla", and those guests sit at table 3 in that order. You can also write "Table 3" on its own line and the names on the lines below it, one per line, until the next table line or an empty line. "Head table: Maya, Leo" works the same way. Every other name fills the free seats in list order, table 1 first. Lines the page cannot use are listed under the box with the reason.
Why does the floor plan show seat numbers instead of names?
Names on the floor plan need room beside each seat. With many tables or many seats per table there is not enough of it at a readable size, so the plan keeps the seat numbers and the names print on the table list, where line 1 is seat 1. Fewer tables per page, fewer seats per table or landscape paper give the names more room.
How big can the chart be?
Event charts go up to 30 tables with 4 to 12 seats each, plus a head table with 2 to 16 seats. The classroom chart has up to 8 rows of 8 desks. The floor plan always fits on one page, and the table list continues on as many pages as it needs.
How does the shuffle for the classroom work?
Shuffle seats mixes the order of the names in your browser and fills the desks again, front row first. Press it again for a new order, or press List order to go back to the order you typed. The shuffled order stays the same while you fix a typo, so you can correct a name without losing the seating.
Why are some characters missing from the names?
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters lose the accent, and a note under the names tells you when that happens. The preview shows the text exactly as it will print.