Seating charts will first need to be created in a venue. Then, an event can find that floor plan and it can be added to the event. You will add prices and "categories" in the event.
Seating charts allow you to sell reserved seat tickets to your event. After creating a floor plan for your venue, you can pull a copy of the seating chart template into your event where you will assign your ticket types and make any other adjustments specific to that event. The seating chart that you make in the venue will be the ideal seating template for the different events you plan to hold in the venue.
To get started, navigate to the Venues list in the main menu and search for and select your venue. In the venue you will see a list of Floor Plans. Click "+ Add Floor Plan".
In the window that appears, name your seating chart and select the size of your venue. Click Next to proceed.
Our new seating chart editor has a plethora of new options. To learn how to use some of the more advanced tools, check out the Complete Guide for Editing Seating Charts article. The tools required for a simple seating chart will be listed below.
Creating a Floor Plan
When you hover your mouse over an item it will show its name and a shortcut key. Here are some of the key tools for making a basic floor plan.
- Select tool (v) will select rows and objects so that you can move, alter, and label them.
- Focal point tool (f) is important to set so that there is an option for "best available" seat selection.
- Row tool (r) has two options. You can either place one row at a time or make rectangular grids of rows and seats.
- General admission tool (g) will let you set areas on the floor plan that will represent general admission areas.
- Undo (ctrl-z or ⌘-z) is the semi-circle arrow symbol at the top of the editor and it will undo your last actions, so don't fret!
Placing Rows
The object tool for placing seats will allow you to place rows or multiple rows at once. Clicking on the tool will show different options. The multiple rows tool will make a rectangular section. If your section is not uniformly rectangular then you can shorten or lengthen individual rows after they have been placed by this tool.Tables and booths are also able to be reserved. Placing these objects can be done with the respective tools.
Copy and Flip Sectons
To save time from recreating sections that are mirror images, you can duplicate and flip sections. See the animation below for an example of the following steps:
- Use the select tool to highlight the section
- Press the duplicate tool
- Click and drag the new section to a new location
- Use the arrow keys to fine tune the location of the new section
Label Rows and Seats
To add labels, simply select the rows that you would like to label. When selected, the information pane will show options for seating labels. For both rows and seats, there are options for different types of sequences. You can also adjust the starting value and change the direction for the sequence. For rows, there is an additional option to move where the row label with be displayed.
Setting General Admission in a Floor Plan
When a seating chart is used in an event that includes a General Admission ticket category, there must be a GA section to define those tickets. The GA section tool can be a circle, rectangle, or any other polygon. When a GA section is first created it will be grey. Using the select tool to highlight the section will show the info pane where you can select the appropriate ticket category from the event for General Admission.
Set Focal Point and Other Objects
You can now add shapes, text or icons to show attendees what else is in the venue. These objects are simply visuals that you can add to your seating chart to provide context. In the animation below you will see a stage created and a focal point set. The focal point is important to allow users to quickly select the best available seats when making their purchase.
"Uncategorized Objects"
Ignore this warning when you are in the venue. You will add categories and ticket prices when you create the relevant event.
Where is the Floor Plan?
When completed, your seating chart will be listed as a floor plan within the Venue Space card. The charts listed here can be thought of as seating "templates" for your events. When you create an event, you are pulling in a copy of the template. Then, you'll assign your reserved ticket types to the seating chart and make any other changes needed that are specific to that event.Any changes that you make to a seating chart from within an event will not affect the template you've created within your Venue. Similarly, changes you make to the template under your Venue will not be reflected in any of the events where you've already pulled in a copy of that seating chart.