Seating Chart Generator now has a separate presentation view

The feedback we received

A user of the Seating Chart Generator sent us feedback through the form on the site. When seats are fixed, they stay visible on the draw screen, so the result looks as if it was arranged in advance. The suggestion was to leave those seats empty and show only the result after everything has shuffled.

We checked, and it was exactly as described. During the countdown the other seats shuffled names quickly, but the fixed seats stood still with a name and a Fixed mark.

Setup and presentation are now separate views

On November 14 we first added a switch on the Rules tab called Hide fixed seats and the rule check while presenting. Later the same day we changed the approach: you prepare and check the chart in the setup view, and the class sees the presentation view. That switch is gone, and the presentation view does its job.

The setup view is the settings screen you already know, and a strip has been added at the top. The changes to how you edit seats are described under Other additions below. Settings tabs, fixed-seat marks and the rule check are all there. The presentation view leaves out the settings tabs, fixed-seat marks, rule check and editing tools.

How to use it, step by step

In the setup view, set the roster, desks and rules, press Seat the class and check the chart.
Press Open presentation view.
In the presentation view, press Seat the class.
The chart is revealed.
When you are done, press Back to setup.

Check the chart in the setup view first. The Fixed mark and the rule check bar are visible, so you can seat the class again or use Swap two seats while you check.

The whole setup view. Red boxes and labels mark the Open presentation view button and the switch below it on the top strip, the Fixed mark on the chart and the rule check bar under the chart. — The setup view. Settings tabs, the Fixed mark and the rule check bar are all visible.

When the chart is ready, press Open presentation view at the top of the settings panel. The tool switches to full screen, and the settings panel and the editing tools disappear. The names you seated are covered, and the fixed seat looks like an empty desk too.

Right after entering the presentation view. Every desk looks empty, and red boxes mark the Back to setup button and the fixed seat that looks like an empty desk. — Right after entering the presentation view (shown after leaving full screen). There is no settings panel, and no names yet.

Press Seat the class in the presentation view to start the reveal. During the countdown the fixed seat shuffles names with every other seat.

A countdown in the presentation view. The fixed seat in a red box shuffles names like every other seat. — Every seat shuffles during the countdown.

The revealed chart has no Fixed mark, no seat rule mark and no rule check bar. The status line shows only the draw code and the number of empty seats. The student you fixed still sits in that seat.

The chart after the reveal in the presentation view. The fixed seat and the seat with a seat rule carry no mark, and the status line shows only the draw code and empty seats. — The presentation view after the reveal.

This is the same chart in the setup view. The Fixed mark and the seat rule mark are visible, and the rule results appear in the status line and the check bar.

The same chart in the setup view. Red boxes mark the Fixed mark, the seat rule mark, the rule results in the status line and the rule check bar under the chart. — The same chart seen in the setup view.

After the reveal, press Back to setup to return. You cannot go back while a countdown or a reveal in turn is still running. Pressing Esc only leaves full screen, and the presentation view stays.

The switch Reveal the current chart as is, on the strip, is on at first. With it on, the first time you press Seat the class in the presentation view, the chart you checked in the setup view is revealed as it is, including seats you swapped by hand and the same draw code. With it off, a new chart is drawn in the presentation view. Either way, pressing Seat the class again after a reveal draws a new chart.

Presenting straight from a file

You can prepare before class and open the presentation view in class without passing through the setup screen.

The strip at the top of the setup view. Red boxes numbered 1, 2 and 3 mark the buttons Save settings file, Present from a settings file and Copy presentation link. — 1 Save settings file, 2 Present from a settings file, 3 Copy presentation link.

When the chart is ready, press Save settings file (1) to download a file. It holds the roster, desks, rules, fixed seats and the chart you made.
In class, choose that file with Present from a settings file (2), and the presentation view opens right away.
On the computer and browser you prepared with, you can also open the link you get from Copy presentation link (3). A page opened with this link starts in the presentation view, without the setup screen. It does not switch to full screen by itself, so press Full screen yourself.
If you open the link on another computer, load the file with Open settings file in the presentation view.

The start screen opened with the presentation link. Every desk is empty, and a red box and an arrow mark the Open settings file button. — The start screen opened with the presentation link in a browser with no saved settings. Load your file with Open settings file.

Setup view and presentation view compared

Item	Setup view	Presentation view
Settings tabs (Roster, Desks, Rules, Save)	Shown	Not shown
Fixed-seat mark and seat rule mark	Orange border and Fixed mark, with the seat rule shown on the desk	Not shown
Rule check bar	Shown under the chart	Not shown
Editing tools	Shown above the chart	Not shown
Status line after a reveal	Draw code, empty seats and rule results	Draw code and empty seats only
Print and saved image	Fixed seats drawn with a different border	Drawn like any other seat

Other additions

Reveal has a new option, Pairs and groups in turn. Desks that touch open together. If Gender seating is set to Boy-girl pairs, the two students of a pair are revealed at the same moment.

The presentation view during a Pairs and groups in turn reveal. Red boxes mark a pair whose two seats opened together and the next pair, which shows the seconds left. — A reveal with Pairs and groups in turn. Both seats of a pair open together. If Each seat is set to a number of seconds, both seats of the next pair show the seconds left.

Clicking a desk in the setup view now opens its seat settings. The separate Fixed seat tool and the Turn seats on/off tool have moved into this panel.

The seat settings opened by clicking a desk. Red boxes numbered 1 to 4 mark Fixed seat, Who can sit here, Turn seat off and Delete seat. — 1 Fixed seat, 2 Who can sit here (Anyone, Boys only, Girls only), 3 Turn seat off, 4 Delete seat.

Turn seat off keeps the desk and leaves it empty. Delete seat removes the desk from the chart.

The editing row above the chart has changed too.

The editing row above the chart. Red boxes numbered 1 to 4 mark the Join columns tool with the buttons between columns, Add seat, Undo edit and Reset edits. — 1 Join columns and the buttons between columns, 2 Add seat, 3 Undo edit, 4 Reset edits.

Choose Join columns and buttons appear between the columns, above the chart. Press one to join two columns or pull them apart. Joined seats become partners and are revealed together with Pairs and groups in turn.
Add seat adds one desk.
Undo edit takes back desk edits one step at a time.
Reset edits puts every desk edit back to the start. You press it twice within 4 seconds, so it does not happen by mistake, and Undo edit brings the edits back. The roster, the rules typed on the Rules tab and your saved charts stay.

The fixes from that first update stay as they were.

Pasting a new roster no longer leaves names from the previous chart on the desks. Names that are not in the roster are removed from the chart, and if you change just one name, only that seat is renamed.
The Save tab has a button called Erase all data and saved charts. After using a shared computer, it removes the roster, desks, rules and saved charts left in this browser. You press it twice, so nothing is erased by mistake.

Thank you for the feedback

This fix was possible because someone took the time to write to us. Thank you. If something gets in your way or you wish a feature existed, tell us on the contact page. We will start with what we can do.

Open the Seating Chart Generator