Seating Charts
The Seating Charts screen allows administrative users to create their own seating charts for buses, exams, and more. Once created, these charts can be shared with other admin users, or admin profiles, but the original user maintains editing rights. There are several sections present: first users establish the Room Layouts, then create Seating Charts. All charts shared with the user or their profile will display in the Shared Charts section for use. Note: The administrative Seating Charts screen does not contain attendance functionality.
In order to create, view, and edit Room Layouts and Seating Charts, users must have View and Edit permission to Seating Charts via Users > Profiles > Students tab. Users who have only been assigned permission to View, will only have access to the Shared Charts section.
Active seating charts are included in the Seating Chart Contact Tracing report. A user who runs the contact tracing report and receives one of these charts in the results will be able to click on the chart name and view it, even if the chart is not otherwise shared with them. Inactive charts will still show on the report for one week after their end date. All active admin seating charts are automatically added to the report.
The Room Layouts section allows users to create the room layout or set up, which can be utilized to establish the placement of seats in the room, classroom, bus, etc. The Room Layout must first be established before a seating chart can be created and assigned a Layout.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. In the Room Layouts section, click the + (white plus sign) to create a new layout.
3. Enter the Layout Name in the provided text box.
4. Select your Starting Point; options are described below.
Grid: The chart will start with a generated grid of desks or chairs, facing the selected front of class, with the selected rows and columns.
Bus: The chart will start with a generated grid of chairs, facing the selected front of bus, with the selected rows.
Freeform: The chart will start completely blank.
Copy of Previous Layout: The chart will start with the furniture layout from the selected chart. Select the Existing Room Layout from the pull-down; options listed include all previously created charts.
5. Depending on the Starting Point selected, select the Front of the room or bus direction by clicking one of the four arrow choices (Up, Right, Down, or Left).
6. Depending on the Starting Point selected, enter the number of Rows and/or Columns needed for students' chairs/desks. Desks or chairs can be added or deleted while editing the layout after the initial creation of the layout. Note: Rows and Columns display when Grid is selected. Rows display when Bus is selected. The Rows and Columns do not display when Freeform or Copy Previous Layout is selected.
7. Click Create.
8. The new layout displays in the Room Layouts section. Click Edit to view and edit the room layout.
9. The Grid lines display automatically. To hide the grid lines, click Visibility.
10. The Snapping tool is enabled by default ensuring new and moved furniture snap to the grid lines even when hidden by clicking Visibility. The snapping or lining of objects works in half grid units. Click Snapping to disable the tool and allow yourself to place items that are not lined up with the grid lines.
The Visibility and Snapping tools always default to enabled upon opening a new or existing chart.
11. Click the Grid pull-down to add desks or tables and chairs by selecting Grid, Horseshoe, Square Table, or Round Table; then, click Generate.
Grid: Select Grid to insert 16 desks in a rectangular shape.
Horseshoe: Select Horseshoe to insert 10 desks in a horseshoe shape around the classroom.
Square Table / Round Table: Select Square Table or Round Table to insert a table and four chairs.
12. To add furniture, scroll to the applicable section and click the piece of furniture; options include:
Students: Add a Chair or a Desk in which students can be assigned a seat.
Teacher: Add the teacher's Desk to the classroom.
Notes: Add a Text Box to the seating chart where you can enter notes.
Tables: Add different shapes of tables to the classroom, such as Rectangle, Round, Trapezoid, and Kidney.
Decor: Add classroom decorum, such as Blackboard, Door, WIndow, AV Cart, Flag, Computer, and Lab Table.
13. Once the piece of furniture is clicked, move the mouse around the classroom and click where you'd like to place the furniture. In the example displayed, the desk has been selected and has yet to be placed.
Once the item is placed, the furniture will no longer be selected from the Furniture tab.
Depending on the item selected, you may have the option to change the color of the furniture, such as tables. Click the desired color.
You can add multiple of one item by right clicking to place the object in the classroom grid. Right clicking while placing the item will allow you to keep the item selected in order to be placed in multiple locations around the classroom.
14. To move a placed item, click the furniture and drag it to the desired location.
15. To move a group of furniture, click and highlight the area where all applicable furniture is located.
Once all items are selected, click and drag to move the items with the mouse.
If you try to move an item within the space of another item, the furniture will turn red indicating that the item cannot be placed. If you try to place the item on top of another item, the furniture will automatically move back to the original location.
16. Most furniture can be rotated by clicking the item then clicking the rotator. If you click the rotator, the piece of furniture will move a little each time you click the icon. You also have the option of clicking and holding the mouse while rotating the item to the desired position.
To rotate a generated seating arrangement described in step 4, click the rotator icon in the center to rotate the grouping 90 degrees.
17. To resize items, click the item and use the points around the item to click and drag the item to a large or smaller size.
To resize a generated seating arrangement described in step 11, click and drag using the four points around the items to make the grouping smaller or larger. Note: Resizing generated seating modifies the number of desks displayed.
18. To remove an item from the classroom/chart, click the item, then click Delete. You can also click the delete key or backspace key to remove the item.
19. To delete a group of furniture, click and highlight the area where all applicable furniture is located, then click Delete.
20. To duplicate a piece of furniture or a group of furniture, select one or multiple items, then click Clone.
21. Click Save once your layout is complete.
22. Click Charts to return to the main Seating Charts screen where you can now create a seating chart and assign the layout.
The Seating Charts section allows users to select the students that will be seated in the selected room layout as well as how they will be seated, in addition to establishing a time frame in which the chart will be active, as well as profiles to which the chart can be shared.
At least one Room Layout must first be created before a Seating Chart can be created.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. In the Seating Charts section, click the + (white plus sign) to create a new seating chart.
3. Conduct a student search to determine the students who should be included in the seating chart. See Searching for Students for more information on conducting a student search.
In the example displayed, all students who have not taken the SAT will be pulled in the report.
4. From the listed students, select the check boxes next to the student who should be included in the seating chart.
Select the check box in the header to select all students listed.
5. Click Save.
6. In the Seating Charts section, add a Title to your seating chart using the provided text box.
7. Select the Layout from the provided pull-down. The Layout pull-down populates from the layouts created in the Room Layouts section. See Creating a Room Layout for more information.
8. Enter the Start Date and End Date in the provided text boxes to establish the time frame in which the seating chart should be active for use. If either text box is left blank, the chart will be active indefinitely.
Students will appear on the Seating Chart Contact Tracing report for one week after a chart's specified End Date.
9. To share the seating chart with other users, select the profiles from the Shared to Profiles pull-down.
10. Click Save.
11. Click Edit to view and edit the seating chart, as well as seat selected students.
12. Before seating students, you can flag applicable students by clicking Front of Class and/or Talkative to identify the students who need to sit at the front of the class or students who are talkative.
For example, if you have a student that has impaired eye sight or hearing who needs to be close the black board or teacher, etc., click Front of Class for that student. If you have two students that are always talking, click Talkative for both students in order to ensure these students are seated away from one another.
13. Click the Smart Shuffle pull-down to determine how students should be quickly seated by selecting Smart Shuffle, Last Name, First Name, or Random; then, click Quick Seat.
Smart Shuffle. Smart Shuffle takes into account the students who have been flagged as Front of Class and/or Talkative. The flags can be placed prior to the initial seating or at any time during the school year.
Last Name / First Name: Seats students by last name or first name in ascending order. This option does not take into account the student flags. If First Name is selected, Archie Lawson will be seated in the front row and Vivian Jackson will be seated in the last row.
Random: Seats students randomly. This option does not take into account the student flags.
14. To assign seats manually, click the student listed in the Students tab, then click the desired desk or chair.
Placing a student in a seat already occupied by another student, will bump the seated student back into the student list if there isn't a desk available for the bumped student. If there is another desk available, the student will move to the empty desk.
15. All unseated students remain in the Students tab until seated. If all desks and chairs are taken and students still remain in the Students tab, you do not have enough furniture to seat all students. To add desks/chairs, see Creating a Room Layout. You also have the option to click the student and place him/her in an area without a desk/chair; when clicked/placed, the desk will be created automatically.
Once all students are seated, the Students tab displays: All students seated in the chart.
16. To unseat students from a desk or chair, click the student and click Unseat.
17. To edit student information, click the seated student. Once clicked, the student displays in the Students tab.
Click Lock to lock the student into the desk/chair, so they cannot be moved upon using Quick Seat. If editing seating manually, the student can still be moved.
To unlock the student from the chair, click the student again, and click Locked.
From here, you can mark the student as Front of Class or Talkative, as well as remove the flags.
Unseated students display in the Students tab under the Quick Seat generator, while selected seated students display above the generator at the top of the list.
18. To customize how students are displayed in the seating chart, select the information displayed from the Student buttons.
Student Name and Photo are displayed by default. Click Name to hide the students' names. Click Photo to hide students' photos.
19. Click Save to apply assigned seating.
20. Click Charts to return to the main Seating Charts screen.
If other users have shared their seating charts with your profile, the seating charts are displayed in the Shared Charts section where you can view them and print them for use.
If you have View only permission, this is the only section that will be visible to you.
The Shared Charts that display are dependent on whether the seating chart was shared with your profile and the school selected from the Schools pull-down in the header. The chart will display if the selected school contains all students on the chart, if the selected school contains one or more exclusively enrolled students, or two or more students with partial enrollment. Said students must be actively enrolled meaning contain an enrollment record that has not ended before the current date. Active enrollments include future enrollments for the current school year.
If the user who created the seating chart has had their profile end dated or deleted, any shared seating charts remain shared with the other profiles. However, no users could edit the shared charts.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. In the Shared Charts section, click View.
3. Click Print to print the seating chart or download the seating chart to your computer as a PDF.
4. Click Charts to return to the main Seating Charts screen.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. Once generated, the Chart Name displays at the top of the screen.
To edit the Chart Name, click the Charts button; see Viewing and Editing Seating Charts for more information.
3. Depending on the Starting Point selected, the Front of Class directional selection is displayed, along with the number of desks entered via the Rows and Columns.
To edit the Front of the Class or the shape or number of desks, click Charts and see Viewing and Editing Room Layouts for more information.
4. Click Save after any changes have been made.
5. Click Charts to return to the main Seating Charts screen where you can create, edit, or delete Room Layouts and Seating Charts.
6. Click Print to print the seating chart/room layout or download the chart to your computer as a PDF.
7. Click the minus magnifying glass to zoom out or click the plus sign magnifying glass to zoom in.
You can also click and move the scroll to zoom in and out depending on if you move the scroll to the left (zoom out) or the right (zoom in).
8. Click the Restore Default View (home) icon to return to the default view of the seating chart. For example, if you are zoomed in on the seating chart, clicking the icon zooms out and restores the default view.
9. Click the Move View (four arrows) icon in order to click and drag the screen’s view to display items that may not be easily visible.
You can also use following commands/controls:
- Delete or Backspace: Delete current furniture selection or unseat current student
- Escape: Exit placing furniture, or any other mode selected
- Cntrl + click & drag or Command + click & drag: Enters Move View and allows users to move the current view in any direction
- Cntrl + H or Command + H: Enables Restore Default View, which instantly returns to the default view/zoom
- Cntrl + C or Command + C: Copy current furniture selection
- Cntrl + l or Command + I: Lock current student selection to chair
- Cntrl + or Command +: Zoom in
- Cntrl -- or Command --: Zoom out
10. Click the double arrows to close the right panel and extend the view of the room layout or the seating chart depending on the screen selected.
Click the double arrows again to display the panel.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. In the Room Layouts section, click the Title text box to edit the title.
3. To edit the direction of the classroom, click the Front pull-down and select the applicable arrow to indicate where you'd like the front of the class to be.
a. In the pop-up window, click Maintain Orientation if you want to change the Front of the layout but do not want to move any other items in the room layout.
In the pop-up window, click Rotate if you want to rotate the entire layout along with the front of the room including all furniture existing the layout.
4. Changes display in yellow. Click Save to apply changes.
5. Click Edit for the applicable layout to view and/or edit the Room Layout.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. In the Seating Charts section, click the Title text box to edit the title.
3. To edit the Layout assigned to the seating chart, click the pull-down and change the selection.
To edit the students assigned to the seating chart, you have two options.
4a. To pick and choose from the selected students currently assigned, click the Applicable Students pull-down to clear selected students or make new selections. Note: The pull-down populates based on the student search and selection conducted upon creating the seating chart. See Creating a Seating Chart for more information.
4b. To conduct a new student search and selection, click Search.
a. Conduct a student search to determine the students who should be included in the seating chart. See Searching for Students for more information on conducting a student search.
In the example displayed, all students who have not taken the SAT will be pulled in the report.
b. From the listed students, select the check boxes next to the student who should be included in the seating chart.
Select the check box in the header to select all students listed.
c. Click Save.
5. Edit the Start Date and End Date by clicking the provided text boxes to establish the time frame in which the seating chart should be active for use. If either text box is left blank, the chart will be active indefinitely.
Students will appear on the Seating Chart Contact Tracing report for one week after a chart's specified End Date.
6. To share the seating chart with other users, select or edit the profiles selected from the Shared to Profiles pull-down.
7. Changes display in yellow. Click Save to apply changes.
8. To view and/or edit the Seating Chart and determine how students are seated, click Edit.
1. In the Students menu, click Seating Charts.
2. Locate the Room Layout or the Seating Chart in the corresponding section, then click the delete button (red minus sign).
3. In the confirmation pop-up window, click OK.
4. The deleted record displays grayed out. To complete the deletion, click Save.
