Seating & Drag-Drop

Assigning guests to seats is the heart of Seat the Party. You have two methods — click-to-assign and drag-and-drop — and both work on desktop and mobile. Guests can be moved freely between tables, swapped with other guests, and returned to the unseated pool at any time.

Method 1: Click to assign

Click-to-assign is the simplest way to place a guest. No dragging required — just two clicks:

Click a guest name in the Unseated Guests panel. The guest is highlighted to show they are selected.
Click any empty seat on any table. The guest is placed in that seat immediately.

If you click a seat that is already occupied after selecting an unseated guest, the two guests swap: the unseated guest takes the seat, and the previously seated guest moves to the unseated panel.

Tip: Click-to-assign is often faster than dragging on a large plan with many guests. Select a guest, scan the tables for an appropriate open seat, and click it. Repeat without needing to drag across the screen.

Method 2: Drag and drop

Drag and drop gives you maximum flexibility. You can move guests from the unseated panel to seats, between seats on the same table, across different tables, and back to the unseated panel:

From unseated panel to seat: Click and hold a guest name in the unseated panel, drag it to any empty seat, and release. The guest is now seated.
From seat to empty seat: Click and hold a seated guest, drag to an empty seat (on any table), and release. The guest moves.
From seat to occupied seat (swap): Drag a seated guest onto another occupied seat. Both guests swap positions automatically.
From seat to unseated panel: Drag a seated guest and drop them on the unseated panel. The guest's seat is cleared and they return to the unseated list.

Tip: Drag-and-drop is the fastest way to rearrange an almost-complete plan. Spot a guest in the wrong table? Drag them directly to where they belong without having to unseat them first.

Swapping seated guests

You can swap two already-seated guests without going through the unseated panel. Drag one seated guest directly onto another occupied seat, or use the click method: click a seated guest to select them, then click another occupied seat to swap the two. This makes it easy to adjust the order at a table without disrupting the rest of the plan.

Editing a seat

Click any seat (whether empty or occupied) to open the seat edit panel. From there you can:

Assign a guest — Choose an unseated guest to place in this seat.
Rename the occupant — Edit the guest's name directly from the seat panel. The name updates everywhere (unseated list, share page, export).
Clear the seat — Remove the seated guest and return them to the unseated panel.
Mark as infant seat — Toggle the infant/accessibility flag on the seat itself.

Unseating a guest

To remove a guest from their seat without deleting them:

Drag the seated guest to the unseated panel.
Or click the seat and choose Clear seat from the seat edit panel.

The guest returns to the unseated list and can be reassigned anywhere.

Mobile & touch support

The full seating interface works on smartphones and tablets. Touch interactions mirror desktop behavior:

Tap to assign: Tap a guest in the unseated panel to select, then tap an empty seat to assign. Works the same as click-to-assign on desktop.
Touch drag: Long-press a guest name (in the unseated panel or in a seat) until the drag starts, then drag to the target seat or the unseated panel and lift your finger to drop.

Tip: On mobile, tap-to-assign tends to be more reliable than touch-dragging, especially on smaller phone screens. Use drag only when you need to cross tables or swap quickly.

Common questions

Can I assign the same guest to two seats?

No. Each guest can only occupy one seat at a time. When you assign a guest to a new seat, they are automatically removed from their previous seat.

What happens if I drop a guest on an occupied seat?

The two guests swap. The dragged guest takes the target seat, and the guest who was there moves to the original seat (or the unseated panel if the dragged guest came from there).

Do my seat assignments save automatically?

Yes. Every assignment, swap, and unseating is saved automatically with no manual save step. If you are signed in, changes sync to the cloud within a few seconds.

Can I undo an accidental swap?

There is no undo button. If you make a mistake, simply drag or click to correct it — the plan is fully editable at any time.