Organizer guide: Seating maps and assigned seating (new Dashboard)

Using the previous Dashboard? See Organizer guide: How to build and edit your venue layout.

Assigned seating lets buyers choose the exact seat, table or standing area they want, and lets you price each part of the venue through ticket types. You build a seating map (a space) once under Organization > Spaces and use it for any number of events. On each event you attach the map, assign ticket types to seats and general admission areas, and choose how the map behaves for buyers. Best available seating adds ranked seat suggestions so buyers and box office staff can pick good seats in a couple of clicks.

Before you start

• Building spaces needs the Manage Venue Layouts permission, and the event Seating tab needs Manage Events (Organization > Permissions). The default All Access and Owners roles have both.
• Seating maps are not available on the Essential plan.
• Create the event and its ticket types first. Ticket types are what you assign to seats, and each ticket type's colour is what buyers see on the map.
• To copy a space into a different organization, ask Showpass support. Duplicating within your own organization is self-serve.
• If you plan to sell season passes on this map, set up the membership and its ticket batches before single events go on sale (see Season passes with assigned seating).

Spaces

In the Dashboard sidebar, open Organization and choose Spaces. Each space has Edit, Duplicate and a Use Capacity Counters toggle, which includes the space in your organization's capacity counters (the Capacity Counters module tracks live occupancy). New Space opens an empty builder.

Direct path: /manage/organization/spaces/ on your Dashboard domain.

Building a map

The builder has a tool rail on the left (Build, Seats, Background, Settings), the canvas in the middle, and the Inspector on the right. Name the space in the Inspector; the Map summary below it counts sections, rows, tables, general admission areas and seats as you work, along with accessible, limited visibility and ranked seats.

Build

Click an item in the Build panel to add it to the map, then drag it into place. Add a Section first; rows, tables and general admission areas sit inside sections, so select the section before you click a Row, Square table, Round table, Semi-round table, Standing / GA or Circle GA. A semi-round table seats up to 10. Each new item lands in the middle of the section; Duplicate in the Inspector makes a copy just below the original, which is the quick way to build a block of rows or a line of tables.

Select an item to edit it in the Inspector.

What the less obvious fields do:

• Hide location names: hides row and table names inside the section on the customer map, for a less cluttered view.
• Flip horizontal and Flip vertical: mirror the rows inside the section.
• Capacity: the number of seats in a row or table, or the number of tickets a general admission area can hold.
• Offset and Step: seat numbers run Offset + Step, Offset + 2 × Step, and so on. The defaults (Offset 0, Step 1) number seats 1, 2, 3. Offset 10 gives 11, 12, 13. Step 2 gives 2, 4, 6, and Step 2 with Offset 1 gives 3, 5, 7, for venues that number odd and even seats on opposite sides. Offset must be a whole number of 0 or more.
• Seat spacing: the gap between seats in this row or table. Leave it blank to use the map default from Settings.
• Reverse seat order: numbers the seats from the other end of the row.
• Enable curved row: bends the row into an arc, for theatre-style seating.
• Full purchase required: the whole table must be bought together (see Full table purchases).

When nothing is selected the section shows its name rather than its seats; turn on Always show seats in Settings to see every seat while you work.

Full table purchases

Turn on Full purchase required on a table when one buyer should take the whole table. Without it, buyers pick seats one at a time and a table can end up partly sold. With it, selecting the table selects every seat, and the buyer still receives a separate ticket for each seat, so guests can be checked in individually. Full table purchases are enforced in public checkout.

Canvas

Drag empty space to pan. Zoom with the controls at the bottom right or press Home to see the whole map. Right-click an item to duplicate, align, distribute, zoom to it or delete it. Align two or more selected items by their edges or centres; distribute three or more evenly.

Toolbar: Reset view, Editable elements, Undo, Redo, Show grid, Snap to grid, Help. Turn off Snap to grid when a section will not land where you want it.

Seats

Seat selection switches the canvas to selecting seats without moving sections: click a seat, drag across seats, or hold Shift to add to the selection. In the Inspector, mark the selected seats as Accessible Seating or Limited Visibility. Buyers see these seats marked on the map, so use them for wheelchair and companion spaces or for seats with a restricted view.

Best available seating

Best available ranks every seat from 1 (lowest) to 10 (premium). Buyers and box office staff then see the best open seats for their quantity as a list beside the map, which shortens checkout, especially on a phone, and speeds up box office sales.

To rank a map:

1. Finish the map first, so every seat exists.
2. Open Seats in the tool rail and click Generate under Seat rankings.
3. In the Generate Seat Scores dialog, choose a method (described below) and run it.
4. Turn on Ranking colors to check the result on the map. Green marks the best seats, yellow the middle and red the lowest.
5. To adjust a seat by hand, select it (Shift to select several) and enter a Seat score from 1 to 10 in the Inspector.

Choosing a method:

• AI generated: reads the seat positions and the map layout together with your description in the AI context box. Describe the venue, where the stage or focal point is, and what makes a seat desirable (for example, "centre ice and lower rows are best"). The job runs in the background and can take a few minutes. Use it for a new venue with no sales history.
• Sales order: ranks seats by the order they sold in past events.
• Sales count: ranks seats by how often they sold in past events.

Scores are fixed once generated. They do not learn from new purchases; they change only when you edit a seat score or click Generate again. The Map summary shows how many seats are ranked. Best available covers events; it does not apply to memberships.

Background

A background image is a reference picture of the venue, such as its floor plan, that you build the map on top of. Buyers see it behind the seats. Open Background in the tool rail, click Background image, and upload a jpg, png or svg up to 5 MB. Then move or resize it with the Edit background canvas mode.

For a map that loads quickly and stays sharp:

• Use an SVG where you can. It stays crisp when buyers zoom in and loads faster than a large photo. PDF files are not accepted.
• Keep the image within about 1,600 by 1,600 pixels. A wide, short image (for example 1,700 by 800) is fine because its total area is smaller. Between 1,600 and 2,000 pixels, seats can disappear at full zoom until the page is refreshed; above 2,000 by 2,000 the map is likely to render badly and can stop buyers from completing a purchase.
• Keep seat size between 3 and 6 (Settings). For a very large venue, reduce the seat size towards 3 before making the image larger than 1,600 pixels; going larger is better than dropping the seat size below 3.
• When exporting an SVG from Adobe Illustrator, use Save As rather than Export As.

Settings

Grid settings: Show grid, Snap to grid, Always show seats, Seat size (default 6), Seat spacing (default 4) and Duplicate offset (default 40). Appearance: Section defaults and GA defaults.

Seat size applies to the whole map; there is no per-row seat size. Seat spacing here is the default for every row and table, and each row or table can override it in the Inspector. Duplicate offset sets how far below the original a duplicated item lands. Section defaults and GA defaults set the colours and styling new sections and general admission areas start with; a general admission area's colour on the customer map comes from here or from its section's appearance, not from ticket type colours.

Saving

The builder autosaves when it can and shows Saved in the header. Click Save (or press Ctrl/Cmd + S) to sync right away, and always save before you leave the builder. If a save fails, the map returns to the last valid state; fix the validation message and save again.

Keyboard shortcuts

The Help icon in the toolbar repeats these in the builder.

Duplicating a map

Click Duplicate on the space under Organization > Spaces to make a copy you can change without affecting events that use the original. To copy a space into a different organization, contact Showpass support.

Attaching a map to an event

1. Open the event (Build > Events > All events, then Edit) and choose Seating in the event menu.
2. Search seating maps, pick the space, and click Use this map. Create map builds a new map for this event instead.

Assigning ticket types to seats

1. On the event's Seating tab, hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) and scroll to zoom in until individual seats are visible, then click a seat. Hold Shift to add more seats, or click a general admission area to select it.
2. The Ticket types panel lists each ticket type with its colour, its assigned count, and a checkbox. Tick the ticket types that can be sold for the selected seats. Clear selected seats removes every assignment from the selection.
3. Assignments save the moment you tick or untick a box; there is no Save button, and the counts update straight away.

A seat can carry more than one ticket type, for example Adult and Child at different prices. The ticket type list shows how many seats each type is assigned to out of the type's total quantity. Turn on Show ticket type list to see the full list and its colours with nothing selected.

Changing ticket type colours

Each ticket type's colour marks its seats on the map, so a clear colour scheme helps buyers tell price levels apart at a glance.

1. Open the event and choose Tickets, then click the edit icon on the ticket type.
2. On Basic info, under Ticket display, set Ticket color with the colour picker or enter a hex code to match your brand. Clear ticket color returns it to the default.
3. Click Save changes.

Ticket color is used on seat maps and on the outline of ticket cards, and the box office seat picker uses the same colours. Buyers see your custom colours only when Advanced seat colors is on for the event (see Purchase settings and map display). With Advanced seat colors on, a seat that carries several ticket types shows each of their colours on the customer map. General admission areas do not take ticket type colours, because one area can hold several ticket types; set their colour in the builder with GA defaults or the section appearance.

Purchase settings and map display

The right-hand panel on the Seating tab holds the event's map settings in two groups.

Purchase settings change what customers see:

• Advanced seat colors: use ticket type colours on the customer seating map.
• Prevent isolated seats: helps prevent selections that leave a single seat on its own, such as one empty seat at the end of a row. Availability is checked when seats are selected; seats held in other carts count as unavailable, so isolated seats can still appear if those holds expire.
• Always show seats and areas to customers: show every section's seats when the customer map opens, instead of asking buyers to pick a section first.

Map display changes your own view of the map on this tab only:

• Show all seats: draw every seat instead of section outlines.
• Show sold seats: show seats already used by orders as unavailable. Turn it off to review ticket type assignments.
• Show ticket type list: show ticket types and their colours when nothing is selected.

Large maps

Large maps put the most strain on phones and tablets, so match the settings to the seat count:

• From about 1,000 seats, leave Always show seats and areas to customers off. With it on, some phones and tablets will struggle to load or move around the map. Turning off Advanced seat colors also helps on large maps.
• At 4,500 seats or more, Always show seats and areas to customers is not available: buyers always select a section before they see its seats, and Show all seats is not available on the event's Seating tab either.

Editing the map from the event

The pencil beside Seating map opens the builder for the attached space. Changes apply to every event using that space.

Removing a map from an event

A map is removed one event at a time; the space itself stays under Organization > Spaces for other events.

1. On the event's Seating tab, clear every ticket type assignment: select the assigned seats and areas, then click Clear selected seats. Remove map from event stays greyed out while assignments remain.
2. Open the menu beside Seating map and choose Remove map from event.

Selling seats in the box office

In the box office (Operations > Box Office > Sell), events with a map show Select seats instead of a quantity stepper.

1. Click Select seats on the event. The seat picker opens full screen.
2. Choose the number of tickets at the top right. The Select seats list suggests the best available seats by section, row and seat, with the price for each; hover or click a suggestion to see it on the map. You can also click seats on the map directly.
3. If a seat can be sold as more than one ticket type, choose the ticket type for that seat. A seat with a single ticket type goes into the cart straight away.
4. Review the selected seats in the right-hand column, then click Continue to return to the box office and check out as usual. You can mark the guests as checked in before you complete the sale.

To change seats, reopen the picker. To remove a seat from the cart, click the trash icon on its seat card.

Map controls in the picker: Home returns the map to its starting position, the list icon opens the legend, and the plus and minus buttons zoom. The legend marks seats as Available, Selected, Resale (R), Accessible (A), Limited Visibility (L) and Unavailable.

Downloading the map

To print a seating chart for door staff or a venue walkthrough, open Operations > Box Office > Sell, click the menu (three dots) on the event's card and choose Download Map. An image of the map downloads; a large map can take a few minutes. Download Map does not work for maps with 4,500 seats or more.

Waitlists with assigned seating

Waitlists work on assigned seating events in every organization, with no extra setup from Showpass. They let buyers queue for a section when it is sold out.

1. Create a ticket type for the waitlist, with an inventory of 0.
2. In the ticket type editor, open the Waitlist tab and turn on Enable waitlist. This switch saves immediately.
3. On the event's Seating tab, assign that ticket type to the seats or sections buyers can wait for.

How it behaves:

• A waitlist entry on a numbered section records the section and quantity, not an exact seat. General admission areas keep the selected area and process like any general admission waitlist.
• Waitlists do not work with tables.
• Releasing inventory from the waitlist (Allocate Inventory, or Process Order on an entry) fulfils general admission only. On numbered seats it processes nobody and sends no email, even if a success message appears.
• Refunds and resales of numbered seats do not process the waitlist automatically, even when resale and waitlist automation is on.
• To give a freed seat to someone on the waitlist, sell it as a box office order: select the specific seat, create a customer hold for them and send the hold link.
• Do not add seat inventory through the event editor to work around this; it puts the seats on public sale without notifying anyone on the waitlist.
• Waitlists on a custom package's parent ticket type are not supported.
• While waitlists or resales are active, leave Total Event Inventory blank. Resales do not update the totals it relies on, so the event can show as sold out while seats are available.

Season passes with assigned seating

Season passes are sold through Memberships. Each member chooses seats once and keeps them for every game or show in the season, and you can sell passes before the full schedule is known.

1. Create the membership and its levels under Memberships.
2. Under Membership Benefits, add an issue tickets benefit, choose the seating map, and select the seats each level can choose from (hold Shift and drag to select quickly). The pass is now ready to sell.
3. When the individual events exist, create a ticket batch on the membership and choose the events it covers. Every event must use the same space as the membership. Choose whether the tickets are included in the pass price or sent as hold links the member pays for (useful for playoff games that are not guaranteed), and set any member pricing, a delivery message and a send date.
4. Make the single events public once the batch is in place. Members' seats are blocked and never offered to the public.

Create batches before single events go on sale: a batch cannot include an event that already has sales, because members' seats could no longer be guaranteed. A season pass uses one seating map. Ticket batches work only with assigned seating events (seats and general admission areas on the map) and do not include products.

What customers see

Buyers open the event page and click Buy Tickets, which takes them to the seating page.

• They choose a ticket quantity at the top right. The Select seats list suggests the best available seats by section, row and seat, with the price for each; choosing one highlights it on the map. They can also pick seats on the map directly, using the zoom controls and the Home button.
• On maps with Always show seats and areas turned off, on maps of 4,500 seats or more, and on every Android device, buyers tap a section first and then choose seats inside it.
• Seat colours follow ticket type colours when Advanced seat colors is on. The list icon opens the legend, which marks accessible (A), limited visibility (L) and resale (R) seats alongside available, selected and unavailable ones.
• When a seat can be sold as more than one ticket type, the buyer chooses which one applies to that seat.
• On a table that requires full purchase, selecting the table selects every seat. The buyer receives one ticket per seat.
• With Prevent isolated seats on, a selection that would leave a single seat stranded asks the buyer to adjust it.
• If a ticket type has a description, buyers can open the ticket details from the cart or the checkout review after choosing seats.
• In a waitlisted section, buyers choose a quantity and click Continue. A confirmation explains that items will not be issued on joining, and that the waitlist does not guarantee the seat they clicked. Tables cannot be waitlisted, and the buyer is told so.
• Season pass buyers start from the Memberships tab on your organizer profile, choose seats for the season, enter each pass holder's details and receive their passes by email. When you send a batch, members get an email and the tickets appear in their Showpass account, where they can transfer them or add them to a digital wallet. Hold link batches arrive as an email with a link to pay for the tickets.

Limitations

• Seating maps are not available on the Essential plan.
• Cloning an event does not copy its seat map ticket assignments. Reassign seats on the cloned event's Seating tab.
• Maps with 4,500 seats or more cannot use Always show seats and areas; buyers always select a section first. On Android devices this is the case for every map size.
• Maps of about 1,000 seats or more load slowly on some phones and tablets when Always show seats and areas is on.
• Full table purchases are enforced in public checkout.
• Download Map does not work for maps with 4,500 seats or more.
• Ticket types cannot depend on each other; for example, you cannot require an Adult ticket in the cart before a Child ticket can be bought.
• Best available scores are static until you edit them or generate them again, and best available does not apply to memberships.
• Background images must be jpg, png or svg, up to 5 MB.
• Waitlists do not work with tables, and numbered seats are never released to the waitlist automatically.
• A season pass uses one seating map, and ticket batches cannot include events that already have sales.

Troubleshooting

Related pages

• Memberships: full season pass setup, levels, renewals and ticket batches.
• Box office: general admission sales, holds and checkout.
• Ticket types: colours, purchase limits and descriptions for the ticket types you assign to seats.