Lock a guest's seat
Updated
In short
Open the guest's details and, under Seating, click the lock button next to their table. The toast says Seat locked. A locked guest can't be dragged to another chair, moved to another table or swapped with someone else until you unlock them. Auto-Seat never moves seated guests anyway, so the lock mostly protects against slips while you rearrange by hand.
Once grandma has the perfect seat, lock it. A locked guest stays put while you drag everyone else around.
Lock or unlock a seat
- 1
Seat them first
The lock only appears once a guest has a table. - 2
Open their details
Click their name on the Guests screen, or click them in a table’s Seated guests list. - 3
Click the lock
In the Seating section, next to the table button, click the padlock (Lock this seat). You’ll see Seat locked — auto-seat won’t move them. The button turns pink while it’s locked.
Click the same button (Unlock seat) to unlock. The Seating section saves on its own, so you don’t need to click Save.
What a lock protects
- The guest can’t be dragged to another chair or table on the floor plan.
- You can’t pick a different table for them from any Assign menu.
- Nobody can be swapped into their chair. Dropping another guest on a locked guest’s chair doesn’t offer a swap, because a swap would move them too.
If you try, you’ll see a message like “Maya Patel’s seat is locked.” Unlock them first. The lock belongs to the guest, not the chair, so it always stays with them.
What a lock doesn’t do
- It isn’t needed for Auto-Seat. Auto-Seat never moves anyone who already has a table, locked or not.
- It doesn’t stop removal. Remove in a table’s panel and Unassign still work. Unassign all clears locked guests too.
- It doesn’t lock the table’s position. That’s a separate lock. See lock a table’s position.
When locks are most useful
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to lock guests before running Auto-Seat?
No. Auto-Seat only seats guests who don't have a table yet, so anyone you've seated stays put either way.
Can I lock a guest without seating them?
No. The lock appears once a guest has a table. To keep a whole table free for someone, mark it Reserved — keep empty instead.
Can I lock many guests at once?
Not at the moment. Lock guests one at a time from their details.
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Related articles
- Choose exact seats, not just tablesPut a guest in a specific chair: drag them onto the chair or tap an empty chair to pick someone. Learn how seat numbers work and what prints.
- Seat guests at tablesEvery way to seat a guest: drag from the guest list, tap an empty chair, use a table's Add guest or the Assign menu, or let Auto-Seat do the first pass.
- Keep guests together or apartSet Must sit with, Would like to sit with and Keep apart from rules, keep households at one table, and see every rule in one place.
- Undo Auto-Seat and re-run itReverse an Auto-Seat run in one click, run it again after changing rules or RSVPs, or clear the chart with Unassign all and start fresh.
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