6. Assess plan

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For an alternative view of the table plan look at the schematic_16Schematic pane. It shows the same information in a different format. It doesn't show the positioning of tables, but it does show the scoring. Click the mac_reveal button and check the show scores check box. The higher the score, generally the better the plan. In the example below (which may be different to yours) you can see that Jason Jones has a total score of +6 made up of:

+5 for being next to Mrs Nicola Jones with smile_16 proximity

+2 for being on same table as Mr William Jones with smile_16 proximity

-5 for being on same table to Miss Natasha Jones with sad_16 proximity

+4 for being a male next to 2 females

= +6 total

schematic_pane_m

wand_16Auto Assign Seats tries to find the highest scoring layout. You can run it as often as you like. Each time it will start with the current plan and attempt to improve it. If you don't like the changes made by the wand_16Auto Assign Seats you can undo them by selecting Edit>undo_16Undo.

You can also drag guests between seats in the schematic_16Schematic pane.

Click on the floor_plan_16Floor Plan pane tab to bring it to the front. Click on the mac_reveal button, some additional buttons will be shown.

floor_plan_filter_m

Holding down any of the heart_16 smile_16 sad_16 skull_16 buttons will draw lines between guests who have this proximity. Holding down the all_affinity_16 button shows all proximities. The lines are coloured according to the proximity, e.g. red for heart_16.

Holding down the thunderbolt_16 button draws lines between guests who are not optimally placed, for example guests with heart_16 proximity who not sat next to each other. Holding down the critical_issues_16 button show critical issues, for example guests with at least one heart_16 proximity but not sat next to any of them.

Depress the gender_16 button to colour code guest genders (blue for male, pink for female, grey for undefined).

Depress the age_16 button to show guest age (children are shown smaller).

Depress the group_16 button to colour code which groups guests belong to.

Depress the meal_16 button to show colour-coded meal choices. Each meal is displayed in a different colour. If you have more than one course (e.g. “soup,fish,ice cream”) the courses will be displayed as concentric rings: outer ring=first course, second ring=second course etc. .

Depress the star_16 button to show guest and table VIP status (shown with stars).

Depress theexclamation_16 button to show any guests with special requirements (i.e. with an entry in their Special req field).

Depress the tick_16 button to show guest RSVP status.

Depress the lock_16 button to show which guests are locked (a padlock is displayed for locked guests).

Some of the above will be easier to see if you use simple (e.g. default ) colours in the floor_plan_16Floor Plan pane. Note that your layout is likely to be different to the one shown below.

assess_priorities_m

Proximity (lines) are displayed.

Using these buttons allows you to easily see whether moving guests to different seats could improve your table plan. Try dragging some of the guests to different seats. But keep an eye on the score in the Status bar to make sure that making some things better doesn't make other things worse.

You can also see useful Summary and Troubleshooting reports of your plan in the stats_16Report pane.

If you want to experiment with a table plan without creating one from scratch, try loading one of the example plans installed with PerfectTablePlan (select File>open_16Open).

See also:

Creating a good table plan

Next: 7. Print plan >>