Smart Seating Generator Build my chart

How to use Smart Seating Generator

Everything the tool can do, free through Teacher Pro — in the order you'll actually use it.

Quick start

  1. Paste your names into the roster box, one per line.
  2. Choose Desks or Tables, and set how many.
  3. Click Randomize for an instant layout, or add rules first and click Generate smart seating.

That's the whole loop. Everything below explains each step in more depth, plus what the paid tiers add.

1. Build your roster

Paste names into the Names box, one per line. The chart updates as you type — add or remove a name and the layout refills immediately.

Teacher Pro can import a CSV instead of typing. Click Import CSV for the exact format, but in short: a Name column is required, and two more are optional and get turned into rules automatically — a Group column adds a "keep together" rule for everyone sharing a label, and a Preference column set to "Front" adds a front-row (or head-table) rule for that person. A sample CSV is downloadable from the same dialog.

2. Choose an arrangement

Switch Arranging between Desks (a grid, for classrooms and similar layouts) and Tables (round or grouped seating, for weddings, banquets, and conferences).

On the classroom-specific pages, an extra Layout picker switches the grid between Rows, Pairs (desks in twos), and Pods (small clusters) — useful shorthand for how a real classroom is usually arranged.

3. Add rules

Rules describe who needs to sit where, relative to each other. Pick a rule type, the person (or two people), and click Add rule:

Rules stack — add as many as you need. Each one appears in the Your rules list with an × to remove it.

4. Generate a plan

Click Generate smart seating and the solver checks whether an arrangement exists that satisfies every rule at once. This check itself is free, on every tier — you'll always know whether your rules are actually satisfiable before paying for anything.

If a rule can't be satisfied alongside the others (e.g. two "keep apart" pairs that overlap in an impossible way), the solver tells you which rule to relax rather than just failing silently.

Smart Chart and Teacher Pro unlock what happens next: the solved plan is actually applied to your chart, and you get 5 alternative layouts to flip through with the same rules satisfied — useful when the first valid arrangement isn't the one you'd pick by eye.

5. Fine-tune by hand

Click one seat, then click another, and the two people swap — on any tier, at any time. If you've applied a smart plan and a manual swap breaks one of its rules, a warning banner tells you exactly which rule broke, so you can decide whether that's fine or worth undoing.

Undo steps back through your last 15 changes; Reset returns to the starting roster and layout.

6. Export your chart

With an export unlocked, you also get Export style controls: an accent color picker, a choice between the Classic and Premium PDF templates, and a toggle to hide the "Made with Smart Seating Generator" watermark for a fully clean copy.

7. Save a chart for later

Saving stores the current roster, layout, and rules under a name (e.g. "Period 3 — English") so you can reload it on a later visit — handy for a class or event you come back to repeatedly. Saved charts live only in your browser's local storage; nothing is uploaded, so they're tied to that one browser and device.

Smart Chart includes exactly one saved-project slot — buy it once and that one chart stays reopenable forever, with no expiration. Teacher Pro removes the cap entirely, so you can save as many classes or events as you need.

8. Restore a purchase on a new device

There's no account or password — a purchase is tied to the payment ID from your confirmation email. If you switch devices or clear your browser data, go to the pricing page, click Restore purchase, and paste that ID in. The receipt email also includes a one-click link that does this automatically.

What's free vs. paid, at a glance

Full breakdown on the pricing page. Stuck on something? Get in touch.