Random seating in three clicks
Replace the sample roster with your own — type names one at a time, use Paste list to drop in a column copied from a spreadsheet, or import a CSV. Then press Shuffle seats. Every name is cleared from its chair, the list is shuffled, and the deal starts again from Table 1. Don't like the draw? Press it again. Nothing is locked in until you export.
The two assignment buttons do deliberately different jobs, and the difference matters when you are part-way through a chart. Auto-seat all is order-preserving: it walks your list top to bottom and drops each unseated person into the next free chair, leaving anyone already placed exactly where they are. Shuffle seats is destructive by design: it empties every chair first so the new draw is unbiased by the old one. Seat your fixed people, then choose the button that matches your intent.
Where a random draw beats a considered plan
- Classrooms at the start of a term: a randomised chart is defensible. No student can argue you put them at the back on purpose, which makes the inevitable complaint a much shorter conversation. See the desk arrangement generator for layouts built around this.
- Mixing tables at an event: guests self-sort into people they already know. A random deal across tables forces the mixing that most hosts say they want and few charts actually produce.
- Workshops and training days: shuffle between sessions so every round pairs people who haven't worked together yet — two clicks between modules.
- Group work and partner rotation: load pods rather than rows, shuffle, and each pod becomes a fresh group. The pods template is a one-click starting point.
- Exam and test layouts: randomising who sits beside whom removes the familiar-neighbour problem without you having to think about it seat by seat.
Randomise, then adjust
A random draw is a starting point, not a verdict. After shuffling, drag any two names to swap them — you might randomise the room and still separate one pair on purpose. That combination, a fair draw plus a handful of deliberate fixes, is how most usable charts actually get made.
When it looks right, export a PNG for a screen or a PDF for the door. Free exports carry a small watermark; everything else — unlimited shuffles, unlimited tables, CSV import — is free with no signup. Need a chart for a specific occasion instead? The wedding maker, banquet maker, and classroom generator all start from a purpose-built layout.