A sneak preview of PerfectTablePlan v4.1

We have been working hard on PerfectTablePlan v4.1. Here is a sneak preview of two of the most requested new features that we are working on.

Customisable guest properties

You will be able to define your own guest properties in addition to the current 'display name', 'gender', 'meals' etc to add a whole new level of flexibility to PerfectTablePlan.

Click the image to enlarge

Graphics in the floor plan pane

You will be able to add images to your floor plans to really bring them to life.

Click the image to enlarge

We are planning to only make customisable guest properties and floor plan graphics available in the new Premium and Professional editions of PerfectTablePlan. But we are also working on enhancements to the current product, which will become PerfectTablePlan Home edition.

Keep reading this newsletter to find out when the new release is available.

Get PerfectTablePlan for FREE with TrialPay

We are experimenting with Trialpay. Trialpay is a unique alternative payment method that enables customers to pay for one item by trying or buying something else.  It allows you to get PerfectTablePlan for free by signing up for a trial with well known companies such as Netflix or Blockbuster.

If you know someone who might like PerfectTablePlan, but doesn't want to pay the £20/$30, please send them to the page linked below:

12 things you (probably) didn't know about PerfectTablePlan

1. A mock-up of PerfectTablePlan, including our icons, was used without our permission by Sony in their 'Big day' TV comedy series.

2. A modified version of PerfectTablePlan was used in a controversial demonstration of 'the worlds first commercial quantum computer'.

3. PerfectTablePlan has been used to seat royalty and heads of state.

4. Combinatorial problems, such as seating, are tough. The number of permutations for arranging 200 guests in 200 seats is a number 376 digits long. By way of comparison, the estimated number of atoms in the universe is a number 'only' 80 digits long.

5. We originally considered calling PerfectTablePlan 'bums on seats'. However it didn't translate well into US English.

6. To automatically assign guests to seats PerfectTablePlan uses a genetic algorithm. This mimics natural selection to 'evolve' the best solution.

7. A well known wedding magazine ran a promotion with a valid licence key clearly visible in a photograph of a PerfectTablePlan CD. We worked through the night to release a new version of PerfectTablePlan that didn't work with this key.

8. We once threw away several hundred CDs due to a bug in the version of PerfectTablePlan on the CDs.

9. The mathematics of oval tables are not simple.

10. We once had an email from a reporter investigating a politician's expenses. They wanted to know if the politician had purchased PerfectTablePlan for official or personal use. We didn't know (and we wouldn't give out information about our customers without their permission, even we did).

11. PerfectTablePlan has been used for events as large as 3,000 guests.

12. Dogs can eat PerfectTablePlan CDs. But the nutritional value is questionable.

And you thought your table plan was political?

Read about the subtleties of the G20 dinner table plan (with PDF diagram).