Manage Seating Plans > Create an Exam Seating Plan

Use the Manage Seating Plans option in the External Exams Manager module to create a new seating plan for an exam. Choose exactly where each candidate should sit for each exam:

1. Open the External Exams Manager module and select the Timetables tab.
2. Select Manage Seating Plans from the right hand menu to display the Manage Seating Plans screen:
   
3. Click Create Seating Plan in the header bar. Step 1 of the Seating Wizard is displayed.

Step 1: Seating Wizard

1. Use the Filters to display the exams that you want to work with:
   
   
   • Only exams with candidate entries are available for selection.
   • Exams which are highlighted blue are those with candidates who have exam arrangements in place. These candidates may need to sit the exam separately.
2. Select the exam that you want to work with. All of the other exams in the same session are available for you to select as well. This is useful for grouping exams in the same room as you may want to include them in the same seating plan.
   Exams in different sessions are greyed out at this stage:
   
3. In the Seating Options section, select the number of seats that you want to use to separate the different exams in the same seating plan. A count of the total number of seats required to accommodate the plan is shown to help you.
4. Click Next to move to Step 2 of the Seating Wizard.

Step 2: Seating Wizard

1. Click on the icons in the Inc. column to select/deselect candidates for the seating plan:
   
   Extra time and any other exam arrangements are shown to assist you. You may want to exclude candidates who have extra time or have exam arrangements in place from the seating plan.
   You cannot select/deselect candidates who are already in a seating plan.
2. Use the Seating Options section to select the order that candidates are shown in the seating plan. Candidates will still be grouped together by exam.
3. Click Next to move to Step 3 of the Seating Wizard.

Step 3 & 4: Seating Wizard

1. If a location has already been allocated to the exam it is preselected here. You can change this to a more suitable room, if necessary. Only rooms with the required capacity are listed.
   The room layout is displayed in the right hand panel:
   
2. Click Next to move to Step 4 of the Seating Wizard:
   
3. Use the Plan Options section to change the default name of the seating plan if you prefer and select whether to include seat numbers in the plan. Seat numbers are shown in Candidate Timetables and Candidate Timetable Reports. The  icon next to a seating plan in the Manage Seating Plan screen indicates that seat numbers are included.
4. Use the Seating Order section to change the order that exams are shown in the seating plan, if necessary:
   1. Click on an exam.
   2. Use the up and down arrows on the right to change the order shown.
5. Click Next to move to Step 5 of the Seating Wizard.

Step 5: Seating Wizard

Use this step to finalise the seating plan details:

1. Use the Zoom to change the display of the seating plan, if necessary.
2. Use the View buttons to change the information shown on the screen. This is useful for planning for candidates with different exams and arrangements in the same seating plan. A key is displayed in the bottom left of the screen.
3. Change the seating plan Name if you prefer, if you haven't already done so in the previous step.
4. Use the drop down in the top left of the window to select any of the original candidates to add to the seating plan. Click Add to display the candidate in the plan. This feature is only available if enabled in Manage Exam Options.
5. Drag and drop candidates to move them around the seating plan as required.
6. Click 'x' next to a candidate to remove them from the seating plan. You may want to remove any candidates who require extra time and add them to a separate seating plan later.
7. Click Finish.
   The completed seating plan is confirmed:
   
8. The plan can now be downloaded and saved in your selected format. The downloaded plan includes a seating plan and invigilator report with candidate numbers and any exam arrangements that are in place for candidates. Seating plans can also be downloaded from the Manage Seating Plans screen.
9. Click Done to close the window. The seating plan is displayed in the Manage Seating Plans screen.