Place tables and seat your guests

Place and change objects

1. In the Items tab, click a tile to drop it in the middle of the visible plan. Search the box for anything not shown, or press Browse the full library for tents, ceremony items, lighting, bars and stages.
2. Leave Smart Tables on to place tables with chairs set around them. Turn it off for tables without chairs.
3. Click an object to select it. The Properties panel sets the label, Width (ft), Depth (ft), Rotation (degrees), colour, texture and Capacity (guests). A Smart Table has a Chair Count from 2 to 16.
4. Select several with Shift or by dragging a box. Group them, line them up, space them evenly or copy them in a grid.
5. Watch Seats: N in the header. The Check tab reads occupant load, spacing, walkways and exits, and lists tables, chairs and seats with Download CSV.

Seat guests at tables

1. Open the Guests tab. Paste one name per line and press Add to list, or press Upload CSV. Parties, meals and dietary columns are read, and declined RSVPs are skipped.
2. Drag a name onto a table, in the panel or on the plan. Or click a name, then click a table. A guest’s whole party moves together.
3. Press Seat everyone to fill tables. It keeps parties together and keeps your “apart” pairs on different tables. A message tells you who did not fit.
4. Double-click a guest to set party, meal, dietary notes, VIP and a note. Name tables in their cards.
5. Press Print cards and sheets for escort cards, place cards, table numbers, an escort board and a caterer sheet. Download guest list (CSV) gives the list with meals.

Keyboard shortcuts

Press ? in the builder for the full list. The ones you will use most: W draws walls, M measures a distance, N shows table numbers, R turns a selection 45 degrees, Ctrl or Cmd with C, V and D copies, pastes and duplicates, Ctrl or Cmd with G groups, L locks, Ctrl or Cmd with Z undoes, Ctrl or Cmd with S saves, and the arrow keys nudge. Hold Space and drag to pan.

What it does not do

• Guests sit at tables. They cannot be assigned to a single seat, and loose chairs in a ceremony row cannot hold names.
• A guest list holds up to 2,000 guests. A table cannot take more guests than it seats, and the list flags it.
• Seats: N counts each chair once, a table’s own capacity only until chairs are placed, and nothing for cocktail tables and walls.
• The Check tab and Build me a layout are guides. Check clearances and fire code yourself.
• Items cannot be dragged from the tab onto the plan. Click to place them.
• The Guests tab drag and drop needs a mouse or finger. On a phone, pick a name and then a table.
• Smart Table chairs are 2 to 16 per table. A grid copy makes up to 400 copies.
• A saved layout holds up to 5,000 objects, and one layout holds up to six setups.

Common questions