How to Use Table Management for Seating Arrangements

Table Management helps you organize seating arrangements for your event. All your guests are loaded automatically when you open the Tables tab — color-coded by RSVP status — so you can start planning immediately. Create tables, drag guests to assign seats, edit names on the spot, and let guests see their assignment directly in their invitation.

Enabling Table Management

Before you can create tables, you need to enable the feature:

1. Go to your event dashboard at dashboard.fotify.app
2. Select your event and click "RSVP" in the sidebar
3. Go to the "Details" tab
4. Find "Table Management" in the Event Settings section
5. Toggle it ON

Once enabled, a new "Tables" tab will appear in your RSVP navigation.

Note: Enabling Table Management automatically turns on Collect Guest Names (and locks it on) so every attendee can be identified for seating. If you only need the attendee list and not a seating chart, use Collect Guest Names on its own — you can still enable Tables later without losing any data.

Creating Tables

Adding a New Table

1. Click the "Tables" tab
2. Click "Create Table"
3. Fill in the table details:
   • Table Number - A unique number for the table (required)
   • Alias - An optional friendly name like "VIP", "Family", or "Friends"
   • Capacity - Maximum number of seats at this table
4. Click "Create"

Table Properties

Property	Required	Description
Number	Yes	Unique identifier (1, 2, 3, etc.)
Alias	No	Friendly name displayed to guests
Capacity	Yes	Maximum seats available

Editing Tables

To modify a table:

1. Find the table card in the Tables tab
2. Click the Edit (pencil) icon
3. Update the details
4. Click "Save"

Deleting Tables

1. Click the Delete (trash) icon on the table card
2. Confirm the deletion

If guests are assigned to the table, they will be moved to the unassigned pool.

Assigning Guests to Tables

Automatic Guest Loading

When you open the Tables tab, all your guests are loaded automatically — no manual setup required. Guests are created from your RSVP list:

• Accepted/Attended guests — loaded with their confirmed party size
• Pending guests (not yet answered) — loaded with their invited quantity so you can plan ahead
• Declined guests — shown as a single entry so you have the full picture

This means you can enable tables at any point — even after all your guests have already RSVPed — and everyone appears instantly.

Color-Coded RSVP Status

Every guest chip is color-coded so you can see their RSVP status at a glance:

• 🟢 Green — Accepted / Attended
• 🔵 Blue — Pending (not yet answered)
• 🔴 Red (dimmed) — Declined

Use the filter pills above the guest list to show only a specific status. For example, click the green pill to see only confirmed guests while assigning tables.

Plus-One Display

Guests with unnamed plus-ones are shown using the main guest's name with a number:

• Maria G. — the main guest
• Maria G. x2 — second person in Maria's party
• Maria G. x3 — third person

Once you fill in real names, they display normally (e.g., "Carlos R.").

Using Drag and Drop

The easiest way to assign guests is drag and drop:

1. Find guests in the "Unassigned" section on the left
2. Drag a guest chip to the desired table
3. Drop the guest onto the table card

The table will show its current occupancy (e.g., "6/8").

Using the Assign Modal

Click any guest name to open the assign modal where you can:

1. Edit their name — change the first and last name directly (great for renaming "Guest 2" to a real name)
2. See who they belong to — for plus-ones, the modal shows "Guest of [Main Guest Name]"
3. Pick a table — select from the table list below
4. Click Save to confirm changes, or Cancel to discard

Removing Assignments

To unassign a guest from a table:

1. Find the guest in their assigned table
2. Drag them back to the "Unassigned" area
3. Or click the guest name and select "Remove from table" in the modal

Designing Your Venue with the Map

Beyond the list view, the Map view lets you arrange tables on a 2D floor plan that matches your real venue. Switch between Grid and Map using the toggle at the top of the Tables tab.

What You Can Do on the Map

• Place tables anywhere on the floor with drag-and-drop.
• Choose table shapes — Round, Square, Rectangle, or Oval.
• Resize and rotate each table to mirror your venue's layout.
• Seat guests at specific chairs — every table renders the right number of chairs around it; drop a guest onto a chair to lock them in.
• Add furniture and structure — walls, doors, windows, stage, DJ booth, dance floor, bar, buffet, gift table, cake table, photo booth, restroom, and free-text labels.
• Multi-select and align — shift-click or marquee-select, then move, rotate, align, distribute, lock, duplicate, or delete as a group.
• Undo / redo any layout change with ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z.
• Smart guides — pink alignment lines snap a moving object to its neighbours' edges or centres.
• Lock items so they don't move during fine-tuning.
• Auto-save keeps every change in sync; a Saving / Saved indicator lives in the toolbar.
• Export the layout as PNG, SVG, print-ready PDF, per-table cards, or CSV.
• Go fullscreen for distraction-free planning during setup.

Placing a Table

New tables start in the Unplaced panel on the right side of the map.

1. Click "Add table" in the toolbar to create one (or use the existing Create Table flow).
2. Find it in the Unplaced panel on the right.
3. Press and drag the table anywhere onto the floor.
4. Use the brand-coloured handles on a selected table to resize (bottom-right) or rotate (top).

To remove a table from the map without deleting it, select the table and click "Unplace" — it goes back to the Unplaced panel.

Changing Shape, Size and Rotation

Click any table to open the right-hand sidebar and adjust:

• Shape — pick Round, Square, Rectangle, or Oval. Switching shape resets to a sensible default size.
• Size — drag the W/H sliders, or grab the resize handle on the table itself.
• Rotation — drag the slider, or use the rotation handle above the table.

Adding Venue Elements

Click "Add element" in the toolbar to open the venue-element menu. Elements are split into two groups so you can find what you need quickly:

Structural — for the bones of the room:

• Wall — a configurable bar. Drag either endpoint handle to change the length and angle in one move; the opposite end stays anchored.
• Door and Window — narrow, dashed openings to mark entrances and visibility.
• Dance floor — a soft, translucent surface that sits beneath the tables so it doesn't compete visually.
• Label — editable free-text annotation. Double-click any label to edit its text.

Furniture — for the things sitting on the floor:

• Stage, DJ booth, Bar, Buffet, Gift table, Cake table, Photo booth, Restroom.

Each element type has its own colour, default size, and z-order so freshly-added items land at the right layer without manual tweaking. After placing an element, click it to open the right sidebar — adjust its size sliders, rotation, text label (where applicable), or lock state.

Tip: Walls are special — instead of one resize handle, they expose a circular grip at each end. Drag an end to reshape and rotate the wall together. Hold Shift while dragging to bypass the soft rotation snap for fine control.

Seating Guests on the Map

Every table renders the right number of chairs around it based on its capacity and shape — round and oval tables space chairs evenly on the perimeter, rectangle and square tables split chairs across the four sides. Each chair shows the seated guest's initials, plus their first name as a small caption outside the chair (full name on hover).

To seat a guest from the sidebar:

1. Find them in the Unassigned panel on the left. The list is debounced-search-able, status-filterable (Accepted / Pending / Declined), and tag-filterable by any guest tags you've defined.
2. Press and drag the guest's name.
3. As you approach a table, the nearest chair highlights green — release to seat them there. Drop on the table body (not a specific chair) to let the system pick the next free seat automatically.

To move a guest between chairs (same or different table):

Drag the guest directly from their current chair to the target chair — no need to unseat them first. If the target chair already has someone, that person is bumped to "no specific seat" at the same table so you don't lose the assignment.

To unseat a guest:

• Drag them from their chair into the empty canvas area, or
• Click the table to open the sidebar, find the row for that seat, and click the × button. The guest returns to the Unassigned panel.

Backwards compatibility: Guests assigned before the per-seat feature shipped (no specific seat yet) are auto-filled into the remaining empty chairs in main-guest-then-RSVP order. They render exactly like seated guests; dragging them to a chair commits the assignment.

Filtering the Unassigned Panel

The Unassigned panel includes server-side search and filtering — useful when an event has hundreds of guests:

• Search box is always visible. Typing is debounced (~250 ms) before it queries the server.
• Status chips — All / Accepted / Pending / Declined, each with live counts.
• Tag chips — one per guest tag you've defined, in the tag's own colour. Toggle any combination to filter to guests carrying at least one of the selected tags. Tag indicators (small coloured dots) also appear inline on guest rows so you can spot tagged guests at a glance.
• A small × appears on the right of the search box when any filter is active — clear everything in one click.

The list paginates automatically as you scroll, so even thousand-guest events load instantly.

Map Controls

Control	What it does
Drag empty canvas	Pans the floor plan
Shift + drag empty canvas	Marquee-selects everything inside the box
Ctrl/⌘ + scroll	Zooms in and out around the cursor
Grid toggle	Shows or hides the alignment grid
Snap toggle	Snaps tables and elements to the grid while dragging
Fit view (F)	Auto-frames everything you've placed
Zoom 100% (0)	Resets zoom to 100%
Fullscreen	Expands the map to the full screen for setup day
Shift-click an item	Adds or removes the item from the current selection
Drag a selected item	Moves the whole selection together
Delete / Backspace	Sends selected tables back to the parking lot, deletes selected venue elements
Escape	Clears selection / closes open menus

Tip: Adding a table from inside fullscreen automatically returns you to the dashboard so you can fill in the table's name and capacity.

Working with Multiple Items

Need to align a row of tables or shift a cluster as a single unit? The map supports full multi-select.

Selecting Multiple Items

• Shift-click any table or venue element to add or remove it from the current selection.
• Shift + drag the empty canvas to draw a marquee box — anything inside the box is selected.
• Ctrl/⌘ + A selects every unlocked item on the map.

When more than one item is selected, a selection toolbar appears showing the count and bulk-operation buttons. Selected items get a coloured outline so it's easy to see what's grouped.

Bulk Operations

With two or more items selected, the selection toolbar offers:

• Align — left, horizontal centre, right, top, vertical centre, bottom.
• Distribute — even horizontal or vertical spacing (needs at least three items).
• Bring forward / Send backward — adjust z-order, useful for layering furniture under labels or behind a dance floor.
• Lock / Unlock — pinned items can't be moved or resized until unlocked.
• Duplicate — clones the selected venue elements with a small offset (tables aren't cloned to avoid number collisions).
• Delete — removes selected elements; selected tables are sent to the Unplaced panel instead of being deleted.

Drag any selected item to move the entire group together, with smart-guide snapping driven by the primary item under your cursor.

Keyboard Shortcuts & Undo

The map is built for keyboard-first power users. Everything below is also reachable from the toolbar.

Shortcut	What it does
Ctrl/⌘ + Z	Undo the last layout change
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Z or Ctrl/⌘ + Y	Redo
Ctrl/⌘ + A	Select all unlocked items
Ctrl/⌘ + D	Duplicate the selected venue elements
Arrow keys	Nudge the selection by 1 px
Shift + Arrow keys	Nudge by 10 px
R / Shift + R	Rotate the selection by +15° or −15°
[ / ]	Send backward / Bring forward (z-order)
L	Lock / unlock the selection
F	Fit view — frame everything you've placed
0	Reset zoom to 100%
Delete / Backspace	Remove selection
Escape	Clear selection and close any open menu

Soft Rotation Snap

Free-form rotation (via the table or element rotation handle) snaps to 0° / 45° / 90° / 135° / 180° / 225° / 270° / 315° when within 5° of those targets. Hold Shift while rotating to bypass the snap if you need a precise off-axis angle.

Smart Guides

When you drag a single object, pink dashed alignment lines appear whenever its centre or edges line up with a neighbour. The object also magnetically snaps to the match within a small threshold, so building neat rows and columns takes seconds. (Smart guides only activate when Snap to grid is off — the two systems serve different layout styles.)

Autosave Indicator

A small pill in the toolbar shows the save state at all times — Saved (green), Saving… (yellow with a spinner), or Offline — retrying (red) if the network drops. Changes are debounced and sent in batches, and a failure is automatically retried after 5 seconds.

Managing Individual Guest Names

When guests RSVP with multiple people in their party (plus-ones), you need to know who each person is for table assignments. There are three ways to manage names:

Option 1: Edit Names Directly in the Tables Tab

The fastest way — click any guest chip in the Tables tab to open the assign modal, where you can rename them on the spot:

1. Click a guest chip (e.g., "Maria G. x2")
2. The modal shows the name inputs pre-filled — for plus-ones, it also shows "Guest of [Main Guest Name]"
3. Type the real name and click Save

This is ideal when you're assigning tables and want to fill in names at the same time.

Option 2: Organizer Pre-fills Names in the Guests Tab

If you already know who's in each guest's party:

1. Go to the "Guests" tab
2. Find the guest with multiple people in their party
3. Click the Users icon (people icon) next to their name
4. Add the first and last name for each person in the party
5. Click "Save"

Option 3: Guests Provide Names During RSVP

If you don't pre-fill names, guests will be asked to provide them when they respond to their invitation:

1. Guest opens their personalized invitation link
2. When they RSVP with multiple attendees, they're prompted to enter each person's name
3. Names are automatically saved and appear in your dashboard

This happens automatically — Collect Guest Names is turned on for you as soon as Table Management is enabled.

How Names Work

Scenario	What Happens
Names not yet provided	Shows as "Maria G. x2", "Maria G. x3" in the Tables tab
Organizer edits in Tables tab	Name updates instantly on the chip
Organizer pre-fills in Guests tab	Names appear in Tables tab for assignment
Guest provides names during RSVP	Names sync automatically after guest responds

Tips for Name Collection

• For weddings, let guests provide their own names to avoid spelling errors
• For corporate events, pre-fill from your employee database or edit directly in the Tables tab
• The primary RSVP holder is always automatically included
• Each named person can be assigned to different tables

Guest Table Notifications

Once you assign guests to tables, they'll automatically see their table assignment in their invitation.

What Guests See

When a guest opens their invitation after being assigned to a table:

• Their assigned table number is displayed
• If not yet assigned, they see "To be announced"

When It Appears

The table assignment section appears in the guest's invitation only when:

• Table management is enabled for the event
• The guest has accepted the invitation (RSVP status is Accepted or Attended)

You can reorder where this section appears using the Section Order settings in the Invitation tab.

Viewing Seating Statistics

The Tables tab header shows key statistics:

Stat	Description
Tables	Total number of tables created
Capacity	Total seats across all tables
Seated	Number of guests assigned to tables
Unseated	Guests still in the unassigned pool

Use these stats to quickly see your seating progress.

Exporting Table Assignments

Click Export in the map toolbar to open the export menu. Five formats are available, each optimised for a different use case:

Option	What you get
Print map	Opens the full venue map in a new tab styled for A3 landscape, with a Print button and an auto-fired print dialog. Best for hanging behind the welcome desk or handing to venue staff.
Print table cards	Generates one card per table on A4 portrait, listing the guests at that table by seat number. Drop on each table for guests to find their seat.
PNG image	2× retina PNG of the whole map, white background, transparent-free. Good for embedding in emails, slide decks, or sharing on WhatsApp.
SVG file	Vector copy of the map — infinitely scalable, perfect for printing huge floor diagrams or editing in Illustrator.
CSV (seating)	Spreadsheet with one row per guest: table number, alias, capacity, seat number (1-based), guest first and last name, and whether they're the main RSVP holder. Opens in Excel / Google Sheets.

All exports respect the current layout — placed tables, venue elements, and the per-seat assignments. The grid pattern is stripped from image and print exports so the printed page is clean. If the canvas is empty, the export menu shows a friendly message instead of producing a blank file.

Tips for Table Management

Planning Your Layout

• Create all tables before starting assignments
• Set realistic capacities based on your venue
• Use aliases for easy identification ("Bride's Family", "Groom's Family")

Efficient Assignment

• Use the search feature to find specific guests
• Assign family groups together
• Check the unassigned count regularly to ensure no one is missed

Before the Event

• Verify all accepted guests are assigned
• Export and share with venue coordinators
• Double-check capacity limits aren't exceeded

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I assign guests before they RSVP? A: Yes! All guests — accepted, pending, and declined — are loaded automatically. Pending guests appear in blue so you can plan ahead.

Q: What happens if I exceed a table's capacity? A: The system prevents you from assigning more guests than the table's capacity allows.

Q: Can guests from the same RSVP sit at different tables? A: Yes! When you add individual names for guests in a party, each person can be assigned to different tables.

Q: Will guests be notified when I assign them to a table? A: Guests see their table assignment when they view their invitation. No separate notification is sent.

Q: Can I change assignments after the event starts? A: Yes, you can modify table assignments at any time from the dashboard.

Q: What if a guest declines after being assigned? A: Their chip turns red (declined status). The assignment remains but won't be shown to the guest. You can unassign them to free the seat.

Q: Is there a limit to how many tables I can create? A: There's no limit to the number of tables. Create as many as your venue requires.

Q: Can I print seating charts? A: Yes — the map's Export menu has dedicated print options. Print map sends the floor plan to print on A3 landscape (ideal for hanging at the venue), and Print table cards generates a per-table page with each guest listed by seat number for the venue staff to place on each table. You can also export to PNG, SVG, or CSV.

Q: How do I collect names for plus-ones? A: Three options: (1) Click the plus-one chip directly in the Tables tab to rename them, (2) pre-fill names using the Users icon in the Guests tab, or (3) let guests enter names themselves when they RSVP. Unnamed plus-ones show as "Maria G. x2" so you always know whose guest they are.

Q: I enabled tables after guests already RSVPed. Where are my guests? A: All guests are loaded automatically when you open the Tables tab — even if they RSVPed before you enabled tables. No manual sync needed. If you were already using Collect Guest Names before enabling tables, the individual plus-one names you captured are preserved and appear as unassigned chips ready to seat.

Q: What do the colors mean? A: Guest chips are color-coded by RSVP status: green = accepted, blue = pending (not answered), red = declined. You can filter by status using the pills above the guest list.

Q: Can I edit guest names from the Tables tab? A: Yes! Click any guest chip to open the modal where you can change their first and last name. For plus-ones, the modal also shows who they belong to (e.g., "Guest of Maria Garcia").

Q: How do I switch between the list view and the venue map? A: Use the Grid / Map toggle at the top of the Tables tab. Both views share the same data — assignments and edits made in one view appear instantly in the other.

Q: Do I need to place tables on the map? A: No. The map is optional. You can keep using the Grid view if you only need a list and don't care about a visual floor plan. Tables you create stay in the Unplaced panel of the map until you drag them onto the floor.

Q: What table shapes are available? A: Round, Square, Rectangle, and Oval. Choose whichever matches your venue — the shape is purely visual and doesn't affect capacity rules.

Q: Are walls and labels visible to my guests? A: No. Walls and labels are organizer-only planning aids. Guests still see their assigned table number in their invitation, just like with the Grid view.

Q: Can I drag a guest from one chair to another? A: Yes — press on the guest's chair (you'll see their initials inside) and drag them to any other chair, on the same table or a different one. If the target chair is already occupied, the existing occupant is bumped to "no specific seat" at that same table, so nothing is silently overwritten. Dragging a guest into the empty canvas removes them from their table entirely.

Q: How do I delete a venue element? A: Click the element (wall, label, stage, bar, anything), then either click the trash button in the right sidebar or press Delete / Backspace on your keyboard. To delete several at once, marquee-select them and hit Delete.

Q: Can I undo a mistake? A: Yes — press Ctrl/⌘ + Z to undo and Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Z (or Ctrl/⌘ + Y) to redo. The toolbar also has dedicated Undo / Redo buttons. The history covers the last 50 layout actions.

Q: How do per-seat assignments work? A: Every table renders the right number of chairs around it. Drop a guest near a chair and that chair lights up green — release to seat them there. Guests show as initials inside the chair and their first name as a small caption outside it (full name on hover). Drop on the table body instead of a chair to let the system pick the next free seat.

Q: My event has hundreds of guests — will the sidebar still be usable? A: Yes. The unassigned-guest list is server-paginated (50 per page, page-on-scroll) with debounced search and server-side filtering by status and tag. Even 1000+ guest events stay snappy because only the visible window is rendered at any time.

Q: How do I add a stage, bar, or dance floor? A: Click Add element in the toolbar. The menu lists every venue element — walls, doors, windows, dance floor, label, plus furniture (stage, DJ booth, bar, buffet, gift table, cake table, photo booth, restroom). Each type ships with its own colour and default size so it lands at the right layer.

Q: How do I prevent items from moving while I work on the rest of the layout? A: Select the item(s) and click the lock button in the sidebar (or press L). Locked items can't be dragged, resized, or rotated. Click the lock icon again (or press L) to unlock.

Q: Things keep snapping to weird angles — can I rotate freely? A: The rotation handle snaps to 0° / 45° / 90° / 135° / 180° / 225° / 270° / 315° when within 5° of those values. Hold Shift while dragging the rotation handle to bypass the snap and rotate freely.

Q: I don't see the changes I just made — are they saved? A: Every change saves automatically. Watch the Saved / Saving… / Offline pill in the toolbar to confirm. If the network drops, the pill turns red and the save retries after 5 seconds — no work is lost.

Q: Does the map work in fullscreen? A: Yes. Click the Fullscreen button in the map toolbar to expand the canvas to the whole screen — useful for planning on a big monitor or projector during venue setup. Adding a new table from fullscreen briefly returns you to the dashboard so the create-table dialog is visible, and you can re-enter fullscreen afterwards.