---
title: "Sections and seat plans"
description: "Draw venue regions, generate containment-safe rows to an exact capacity, and review what a refill preserves."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.seatlayer.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sections and seat plans

A section is both buyer navigation geometry and an authoring surface. After
drawing its outline, the Designer can deterministically plan rows inside it for
a target capacity.

> **Preview never creates inventory**
>
> The planner first returns derived rows, capacity, and diagnostics. Seats enter
> the chart only when you apply the preview, so cancelling cannot leave phantom
> inventory.

## Plan one section

1. **Draw and name the section**

   Trace the physical boundary, assign its stable technical label and buyer
   display label, then connect it to a zone when appropriate.
2. **Set its focal context**

   Use the chart/zone focal for curved rows that face the performance area, or
   choose horizontal orientation for straight plan-style rows.
3. **Enter the target capacity**

   Choose seat spacing, row gap, edge inset, and numbering direction. Physical
   measurements use the chart's calibrated scale when available.
4. **Review diagnostics**

   Confirm planned capacity equals target capacity, inspect row count and
   curvature, and resolve any containment or maximum-capacity failure.
5. **Apply once**

   The generated rows become ordinary editable chart objects in one history
   operation.

## Planner inputs

| Input | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Target capacity | Exact number of generated seats |
| Seat spacing | Distance between centers in one row |
| Row gap | Distance between row tracks |
| Edge inset | Clearance from the section outline |
| Orientation `focal-tangent` | Rows follow the focal geometry where possible |
| Orientation `horizontal` | Rows use a fixed horizontal axis |
| Numbering `ltr` | Each row numbers left to right |
| Numbering `rtl` | Each row numbers right to left |
| Numbering `serpentine` | Alternates direction by row |

Concave or multipart section geometry can produce several safe row segments
without drawing seats through an aisle, opening, or outside the section.

## Batch planning

Select several sections to plan them together. Each section keeps its own target
capacity, and the batch applies only when every preview is valid and the summed
planned capacity equals the summed target.

Use batch mode for repeated stadium blocks or balcony regions that share spacing
and numbering rules. Review each physical section—not only the aggregate.

## Refill an existing section

Refill rebuilds the generated rows while attempting to carry intentional seat
metadata to the new plan.

The preview reports:

- how many settings can be carried;
- which categories, accessibility values, display names, and seat-view photos
  will move;
- which prior seats cannot be mapped; and
- the reason each setting would be dropped.

> **Review every dropped setting**
>
> A geometrically valid refill can still lose business-critical meaning if an
> old seat no longer has a safe counterpart. Resolve the drop list before
> applying.

## Published safe mode

Published booking identities are protected. Safe mode blocks destructive
changes such as deleting published seats, changing technical labels, shrinking
GA identity, or changing a published booking mode unless the host grants an
explicit supported exception.

Additive draft geometry is safer than replacing published identities. If a live
event needs a new chart revision, use the supported event refresh flow and
verify that held/booked labels remain present.

## Review checklist

- [ ] Section boundary matches the real sellable region.
- [ ] Zone and focal point are explicit where used.
- [ ] Target capacity is physically plausible.
- [ ] Preview capacity exactly matches target.
- [ ] No row crosses an aisle, opening, or section edge.
- [ ] Row/seat numbering is readable and globally unique.
- [ ] Batch mode passes per-section as well as aggregate review.
- [ ] Refill carry-over and every dropped setting are approved.
- [ ] Published identity protections remain intact.
- [ ] Buyer 2D/3D preview and accessibility semantics pass.

Continue with [reference plan import](/designer/reference-plan-import),
[charts and objects](/designer/charts-and-objects), or
[publishing and versioning](/designer/publishing-and-versioning).

Source: https://docs.seatlayer.io/designer/sections-and-seat-plans/index.mdx