Setting up the Seat Plan for the Event Dashboard

Please note, use of this feature requires the Interactive Maps module.

If your event has limited space or otherwise needs assigned seating, seatplans can be a valuable tool to efficiently organize and optimize the available seating arrangements for all attendees.

Unlike the Floorplan feature which is mainly for exhibitors to choose their booths, seatplans allow attendees to choose their own spots in the venue. This article will discuss the functionality of the Seatplan, for instructions on floorplans, please review the Using PheedLoops’ Map Editor to Create Interactive Maps article. This article will be written with the assumption that you are familiar with the Map editor tool already.

Step 1 - Creating a Seat Plan

The process to create a Seatplan is almost identical to creating Floorplans.

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Maps > Create New 
  2. Fill out the Name field
    1. Please note that this map name is external facing and will appear on front end portals like the Event Website and Member Portal.
  3. Under Visibility, toggle on the SeatPlan checkbox
  4. The Tickets field will become available, use this field to include any tickets that are required for attendees to select seats. The attendee will need to have at least one copy of the selected ticket(s) before they can make a selection.
    1. Seatplans must have a ticket associated with it in order for attendees to reserve a seat.
  5. Select the Show in Event Website, Show in Event Application, and Show in Exhibitor Portal checkboxes to make the seatplan available in the respective portals.
  6. Once you fill out all applicable information, select the Create button

Step 2 - Creating Tables for the Seat Plan

In order for attendees to select their seats, shapes need to be created along with the object associated with it. If you are unfamiliar with this process please review the Using PheedLoops’ Map Editor to Create Interactive Maps article. This section will assume the shapes are already created and will cover associating those shapes as tables.

  1. From the Map Editor, select a table
  2. Navigate to Objects from the right hand side
  3. Under Table, select Create Table or Table ID if the tables are already created beforehand
    1. Identifier - The name of your table.
    2. Seat Count - The maximum number of reservations that can be made for the table.
    3. Tickets - The attendee will need to have any of the selected tickets assigned to them before the table can be reserved for them.
    4. Tags - The attendee will need to have any of the selected tags assigned to them before the table can be reserved for them.
    5. Locked - This will block any reservations or edits for the table.
  4. Once configured, select Save Changes

Step 2.1 - Bulk Uploading Tables for the Seatplan

Tables can also be uploaded in bulk for convenience.

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Maps
  2. Select Edit next to the map you wish to use
  3. From the Map editor page, navigate to Seatplan Details
  4. Select the Upload button on the right side of the Seatplan Details page
  5. Select Download Template
  6. Add the relevant information to your CSV file
    1. Instructions for each column of the CSV file can be found on the "Headings for the Seat Tables Upload Template" section below.
  7. Save the file
  8. Upload the file by selecting Drag and drop some files here, or click to select files

Headings for the Seat Tables Upload Template

identifier Enter the name of the able under this column.
seat_count Enter the maximum number of occupants that can be seated at this table.
is_locked Enter TRUE to lock this table. This will toggle on the Locked checkbox. Enter FALSE or leave blank to keep the table unlocked.
tickets Enter the codes for the tickets you wish to assign for the seat plan. Ticket codes can be found by navigating to Registration > Tickets and selecting the download icon to the far right of the Create button. Separate multiple ticket codes with commas.
tags Enter the codes for the tags you wish to assign for the seat plan. Tags codes can be found by navigating to Registration > Tags and selecting the download icon to the far right of the Create button. Separate multiple tags with commas.

Step 3 - Utilizing the Seat Plan Details Page

The Seatplan Details page will be made available when editing a Seatplan in the map editor. This page will show all the tables including how many seats are reserved.

You can also create tables in this page for the Seatplan editor.

  1. From the Seatplan Details page, select Create
  2. Fill out the information like you would from the map editor
  3. Select Save Changes

Deleting tables is also possible on this page.

  1. From the Seatplan Details page, select the checkbox of the table you wish to delete
  2. Select Actions > Delete
  3. Select Confirm

Step 4 - Importing Seat Assignments

The Seatplan Details page is also where you can bulk upload seating assignments. This is ideal if you already have the seating arrangements sorted out and wish to import them into seatplan.

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Maps
  2. Select View Tables for your Seatplan
  3. Above the Tables list, select Actions > All Seat Assignments
  4. Select the upload button
  5. Select Download Template
  6. Once the .csv file is downloaded, enter the information for each column
  7. Save the file
  8. Upload the file by selecting Drag and drop some files here, or click to select files

Step 5 - Assigning Seats in the Seat Plan Portal

The primary use of the Seat Plan Portal is to assign seats for attendees. The attendee will still need to have the prerequisite ticket before being assigned to the seat.

To access the Seat Plan Portal

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Maps
  2. Select View Tables for your Seatplan
  3. Above the Tables list, select Actions > Seat Plan Portal

To assign seats

  1. From the Seat Plan Portal, navigate to Seat Plans
  2. Select the Seat Plan you wish to edit
  3. Here, there are two ways to assign seats
    1. Select the attendee from the list and then select the table.
    2. Select the table and then select the attendee from the list.
  4. Select Confirm

Seats can also be reassigned from the Seat Plan Portal.

  1. Select the attendee from the list
  2. Select Remove Assignment
  3. Assign the new seat to the attendee by either method above
  4. Select Confirm

Step 6 - Enabling Seat Selection During Registration

Seats can be chosen during the registration process if enabled. If the attendee purchases the relevant ticket, then they will be able to reserve a seat. If the ticket(s) the attendee have no shared seat plan then they will be met with a message explaining they do not have the ticket associated.

Before seat selection can be available, it must be enabled from the Event Dashboard. This needs to be set for each applicable category.

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Registration > Categories
  2. Select the Category from the list
  3. Scroll down to Basic Details
  4. Toggle on the Enable Seat Selection checkbox
    1. Optionally, toggle on the Require Seat Selection checkbox if you would like to make selecting seats mandatory.
  5. Select Save Changes 

Step 7 - Enabling Seat Selection in the Member Portal

Seats can also be selected in the member portal, this is useful if attendees are already in your event or if you wish to provide the option to change seats once reserved.

Seat selection is enabled by default, if you wish to disable this feature you can do so from the Membership Dashboard.

  1. From the Membership Dashboard, navigate to Member Portal
  2. Scroll down to Pages
  3. Toggle off the Hide Seat Selection Page checkbox
    1. Alternatively, you can scroll down to Seat Selection Settings and toggle on Lock Seat Selection Page to make the seatplan viewable but not editable by members.
  4. Select Save Changes

Any attendees will now be able to reserve seats in their Member Portal.

  1. From the Member Portal, navigate to Seat Selection
  2. Select the Seatplan for the event
  3. Select the table you wish to sit in
  4. Select Confirm

Step 8 - Communicating Table Information via Announcements

An easy way to share table information with everyone that registered is through an announcement. Announcements can be configured to send personalized information via tokens. This means you won’t have to create an announcement for each individual table, the token does that for you.

  1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Communications > Announcements
  2. Under Announcement Title, enter the email header
  3. Under Description, enter the body of your text
  4. Under Description, select Insert Token > Table
    1. This will display the table the attendee is seated at.
  5. Select Save Changes

The announcement will now contain table information for the attendee. Each table assigned to the attendee will be listed. You can release your announcement at any time from the same page.

  1. Select the checkbox of your newly created announcement
  2. Above the Announcements table, select Actions > Send Bulk Announcements
  3. Select Confirm

For more information on announcements, please review our Customizing Sending and Automating Announcements article.

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