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Perfect Table Plan Frequently Asked Questions
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Have you read the Help document that comes with PerfectTablePlan? This contains the answers to many questions. In particular you should consult the ‘How do I’ section.
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To find out which version of PerfectTablePlan you have select in the PerfectTablePlan menu bar:
- Windows: Help>About
- Mac OS X: PerfectTablePlan>About PerfectTablePlan
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Q. Why haven’t I received my licence key?
If you pay by credit card our server automatically sends out a temporary licence key on completion of your purchase. We then check all your details and send you a permanent licence key before the temporary key expires.
If you do not receive a temporary key within 10 minutes and a permanent key 24 hours before your temporary key expires please refer to the table below:
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Problem
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Action
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our email has been spam filtered
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check your spam folder for an email from us
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you supplied PayPal/Google/2Checkout with an incorrect email address
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email us with the correct details and request that we re-send the key
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your service provider refused our email (this is particularly likely with comcast, AOL and US military email addresses)
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email us
from a different email account (e.g. if your home address failed, try it from your work address, or vice versa)
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Q. I’ve lost my licence key, can you re-send it?
Yes. Use our automatic licence key retrieval system.
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Q. Why doesn’t my licence key work?
Licence key problems are usually a result of:
- Incorrectly copying the licence key; or
- Using the wrong licence key (e.g. a version 3 key for version 4 of the software); or
- Confusing the licence key and the transaction code
It is easy to make a mistake copying a key 'by hand'. To ensure that you have correctly copied the licence key, please copy and paste it from the licence key email you have already received.
To ensure you have the correct version of the software installed, please check the About window (see the top of this page). You can download the latest version of PerfectTablePlan from here.
If that doesn't fix your problem please email us
with the following information:
- The version of PerfectTablePlan (e.g. 4.0.0 ).
- Your operating system (e.g. Windows Vista or Mac OS X 10.5).
- The error message you get when you try to enter your key.
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Q. Can I install my licence key on another machine?
Yes. You can install PerfectTablePlan on as many machines as you like, as long as it is for your own use. For more details see licensing.
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Q. Can I use PerfectTablePlan from a memory stick?
Yes, see this newsletter for details.
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Q. Can I share my licence key with someone else?
Generally, no. Standard individual licence keys are valid for one named person on any number of different machines and are not transferrable. We make a special exception for couples or 2 immediate family members planning a wedding, who may share a licence key. For more details see licensing.
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Q. Can I transfer my licence to someone else?
No, unless you have an organizational licence.
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Q. Can I buy a single licence for my whole organization?
Yes, ask us to quote you for an organizational licence.
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Q. How do I get the installer to work?
If you are having problems installing the software please read:
Windows: The step-by-step guides to download and installation and Windows troubleshooting.
Mac OS X: The Mac OS X installation troubleshooting.
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Q. How do I download versions of PerfectTablePlan older than the current one?
You can download older versions of PerfectTablePlan from here. Alternatively, you can upgrade to the latest version for a small fee.
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Q. Can I install PerfectTablePlan ‘unattended’ on Windows?
Yes. Use the “/silent” switch, e.g.:
PerfectTablePlan.exe /silent
PerfectTablePlan installation does not require a reboot. More information on Inno Setup installer switches is here.
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Q. Does PerfectTablePlan support ‘C’ and ‘E’ shaped tables?
Yes. ‘C’ and ‘E’ shaped tables can be created by placing together head tables and rectangular tables with seats down 2 sides (see above question). See the ‘masonic’ example plan installed with the software.
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Note that tables can be moved by dragging and rotated using Edit>Rotate .
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Q. How many guests can PerfectTablePlan handle?
There is no hard upper limit on the number of guests. Customers have successfully used PerfectTablePlan with over 3,000 guests. However, if you use the automatic seat assignment, the time required does go up considerably with the number of guests - this is in the nature of combinatorial problems. If you have more than 1000 guests you might need to take a tea/coffee break if you run the automatic seat assignment. If that seems a little slow, imagine how long it would take you with scraps of paper!
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Q. What upgrades am I entitled to when I purchase a licence key?
A version x licence key is valid for all version x releases of the software. For example a version 4 licence key will work for versions 4.0.0 and 4.1.1 of the software. If we make a new major release within 3 months of your purchase we will upgrade your licence key to the next major versions for free. If we make a new major release more than 3 months after your purchase you will be able to upgrade for a small fee.
If you want to be informed of future versions you should subscribe to our newsletter.
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Q. How does the automatic seat assignment work?
The automatic layout uses a scoring approach to determine how good an assignment is and a genetic algorithm to try to find the best one. Because of the vast numbers of possible seating layouts it cannot be guaranteed to find absolutely the best (highest scoring) layout. However it will usually get quite close very quickly.
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Q. Is PerfectTablePlan available for Mac OS X?
Yes! for Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.
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Q. Is PerfectTablePlan available for Linux?
No. We have been informed that it runs fine under WINE, but we haven’t tested for this and recommend you try it yourself before purchasing.
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Q. How do I decide who to put next to who?
That depends on what sort of event you are organizing. Check our tips pages.
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Q. How do I transfer PerfectTablePlan from one machine to another?
To transfer PerfectTablePlan from one machine to another (e.g. work PC to home PC or an old PC to a new one):
- Install the software on the new machine from your PerfectTablePlan CD (if you have one) or our download page (if your key is not for v4 you can download older versions of PerfectTablePlan here).
- Transfer your licence key to the new machine, either by:
- forwarding the original licence key email or emailing/printing the licence key from the Licence window on the original machine (select Licensing>Licence from the main menu); or
- retrieving it from our key retrieval page
- Re-enter it in the Licence window of the new machine.
See also copying plan files.
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Q. Does PerfectTablePlan support oval and semi-circular tables?
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Yes, from version 4.0.0.
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Q. Does PerfectTablePlan support serpentine (curved) tables?
Not at present.
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Q. What languages is PerfectTablePlan available in?
PerfectTablePlan is currently only available in English. However the software is fully Unicode enabled, so it can handle a wide range of non-English characters. Also, from v4.1.0, you can change any of the words that appear inside the Guest chart, Table plan or Report panes, e.g. you can change the column headers in the Guest chart pane into German, French or Spanish equivalents.
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Q. How do I copy a plan from one machine to another?
Your plan is contained in a single text (XML) file, with the extension .tp. You can copy a plan file from one machine to another by:
- attaching it to an email; or
- via a shared/networked disk drive; or
- via a USB memory stick
You can even move a plan file from Windows to Mac (or vice versa) without problems. See also: How do I share a single plan file between multiple computers/users?
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Q. Why do I see “Action cancelled” when I try to access the online help in Windows?
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A Windows security fix prevents HTML based help being accessed from network drives. To avoid the problem you can:
- reinstall PerfectTablePlan on a local drive; or
- use our online help instead; or
- apply the fix described here
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Q. Is PerfectTablePlan available in my web browser?
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A. No. PerfectTablePlan is a ‘native’ desktop application for Windows or Mac OS X. This means that you have to install it on each computer that you want to use it on. But the installation is very quick and there are significant advantages to native applications, including:
- a richer and more responsive user interface
- no dependence on our servers (you can carry on using PerfectTablePlan even if we go out of business)
- no need to transmit and store potentially sensitive information via the Internet
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Q. How do I share a single plan file between multiple computers/users?
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A. There are various different ways you can share a plan file between multiple computers with one or more users. Which is best depends on your circumstances:
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Approach
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Copying plan files backwards and forwards by email attachment
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No effort to set up.
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Time taken to email plans.
Requires careful coordination if more than one person is editing a plan.
You have to be careful not to lose changes by copying an old file over a new one.
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Storing the plan file on a USB memory stick
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No synchronization problems.
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Requires a USB memory stick.
Only one person can be accessing the plan at any time.
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Shared network drive.
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On Windows a plan will be locked when one user has it open to read. Other users will only be able to open it as ‘read only’, preventing conflicting changes.
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Requires access to a shared network drive.
File locking can be restrictive when you have multiple users trying to access a file.
File locking is not supported on the Mac OS X version of PerfectTablePlan.
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Store your plan in a Dropbox, synchronised across all your machines.
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Changes on one machine are automatically synched to all other machines. Conflicts (.e.g. two users making changes to the same file at the same time) are handled automatically.
Easily manage sharing with other users on a plan by plan basis.
You can still access your plan even if you have no Internet access.
Dropbox keeps a 1 month history of changes and allows edits and deletions to be undone.
Works across Windows and Mac OS X.
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Requires a small amount of effort to set-up.
Changes only sync to other machines when you have Internet access.
If 2 users simultaneously edit the same plan on different machines at the same time you will end up with 2 versions of the plan.
An encrypted copy of your data is transmitted to and stored on the Dropbox server. This may not be appropriate for highly confidential plans.
Dropbox requires a payment if you want to store more than 2GB of file.
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Dropbox is our preferred approach. It works really well, even for multiple users across multiple computers, and it is easy to set up and (in most cases) free. Note that you need a licence key for each PerfectTablePlan user.
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Q. How do I get a receipt for my purchase?
If you purchased PerfectTablePlan through the payment page on our website, then you will have purchased from our authorized reseller Avangate. For legal and tax purposes we sell the software to them and then they resell it to you. Consequently you have to get your receipt from them, not from us. To get your receipt:
- Go to https://secure.avangate.com/myaccount/ .
- Click the Create an account link.
- Enter the email address you used to purchase PerfectTablePlan.
- Click Submit.
- You should then receive an email from Avangate. Follow the instructions to access your account.
- Once you have accessed your account you should be able to print a formal receipt.
- If you have any problems please email support@avangate.com .
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Q. I still can’t find the answer to my question. How do I get help?
Please contact support.
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