Random seating chart
A fair new seating plan for the class, ready to paste into Excel or Google Sheets.
Examples temporarily replace the input and settings. You can restore your previous work.
Paste or type above to see the result here.
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you paste is processed on your device and is never sent to a server, so it is safe to use with tokens, keys and unpublished text.
Example
Example: 28 students in 5 rows of 6 desks, pasted into a spreadsheet
A sixth-grade teacher reseats the class each quarter. She sets Rows 5 and Seats per row 6, 30 desks, leaves Seen from on The class, and pastes the 28 names from the class list, one per line.
- The chart appears at once. Shuffle seats draws again; every order is as likely as any other.
- Seats fill from the front, row by row, so the two spare desks are at the back on the right, marked “-”.
- Copy the chart into Google Sheets or Excel: [Front] lands in the first cell, then one row of desks per row, one name per cell.
| Row | Desk 1 | Desk 2 | Desk 3 | Desk 4 | Desk 5 | Desk 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (front) | Jada | Isaac | Tyler | Priya | Lucas | Ava |
| 2 | Mia | Liam | Aiden | Ella | Noah | Zoe |
| 3 | Caleb | Kayla | Chloe | Owen | Ethan | Mason |
| 4 | Grace | Diego | Ryan | Sofia | Maya | Jayden |
| 5 | Amir | Olivia | Leah | Hannah | - | - |
One possible draw, as in the table. With 32 names the same desks get a sixth row with four spare seats. Choosing The teacher’s desk turns the same chart round — back row at the top, [Front] at the bottom, spare desks top left — so the class copy and the teacher’s copy are one plan.
How it works
- Set the number of rows and the seats in each row.
- Paste the names, one per line.
- Press Shuffle seats, then copy the chart into a spreadsheet: each seat lands in its own cell.
Frequently asked questions
- What if there are more names than seats?
- Rows are added at the back until everyone has a seat. Empty seats are marked with a dash.
- What is the teacher’s view?
- The chart turned round, with the front at the bottom, as the class looks from the teacher’s desk.
- Can I paste names separated by commas?
- Yes: one per line, or all on one line separated by commas. Spaces round the names and blank lines are ignored.
- Does switching the view draw a new plan?
- No. Switching between the class and the teacher’s desk turns the current plan round, so you can copy both views of the same draw. Shuffle seats draws a new plan, and so does a change of names, rows or seats per row.
- Are the names saved or sent anywhere?
- No. The seats are drawn in your browser.