Frequently Asked Questions

The algorithm distributes your class to all available seats based on weighted criteria. It starts with a heuristic initial placement and refines it in several passes. It takes into account preferred and distant partners, special needs, body heights, window/door preferences & more.

No. Klassenplan runs completely locally (IndexedDB + localStorage) and works offline after the first load. There is no login and no cloud synchronization. For device or browser switching, use the backup export/import.

The algorithm evaluates table groups in the context of the entire room. A swap can help in one place but create bigger conflicts elsewhere. A perfect solution would have to check every combination and would not be practical. With its heuristic approach, Klassenplan achieves fast, comprehensible results that you can further refine via drag & drop.

Yes. The class manager in step 1 lets you create as many classes as you like, rename them and switch between them. Each class keeps its own students, classroom layouts, seating plans and shuffle history. Deleting a class also removes its seating plans – so a backup beforehand is worth it.

Use "Import class list" to upload a CSV file, the kind you can save from Excel, LibreOffice, Numbers or Google Sheets. A list from your school administration software – WebUntis, Schulmanager or SchILD, say – can usually be uploaded as it is: Klassenplan recognises the usual column names, reads accented characters correctly even when the file was saved on Windows, and skips a title line above the headers. The only requirement is a name column – "Name", "First name" or "Last name"; every other column such as gender, restless, window seat or preferred partner is optional, and unknown columns are simply ignored. Click "What the file looks like" to see an example, or download the CSV template and fill it in. If your file contains several name columns or several classes, Klassenplan asks what to import.

Yes, via the portrait icon next to each student. The images are downscaled and stored exclusively on this device – they are never transmitted. Using student photos requires the consent of your school management, the students and their parents. Photos can be shown or hidden in the seating plan, in presentation mode and in the export, and they unlock the name game, an easy way to learn the names.

Use the checkboxes in the list to select several students and set gender, height, language level, social role or individual markers for all of them together. Search, filters (e.g. "Without photo" or "Restless only") and sorting help you get to the students you want to edit quickly.

Yes, Klassenplan finally supports undo and redo everywhere. In the class list, the classroom editor and the seating plan/seating circle editor alike you can take changes back and restore them – so an accidentally deleted student comes back together with their photo, for example. Tip: use the shortcuts Ctrl / Cmd + Z and Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + Z to undo or redo changes.

Yes. Choose “Load sample class” in step 1 – right below “New Class” as long as you have no class yet, otherwise in the “Add” menu. Klassenplan then creates a separate class with 24 invented students, drawn portraits and a furnished classroom; your other classes stay as they are. If the sample class already exists, the same button takes you to it – to start afresh, delete it and load it again. You can try every step without risk and simply delete the sample class afterwards from the class switcher.

You can select up to 3 preferred and distant partners per student. The order determines the priority – the first selected partner is weighted more heavily than the third. The algorithm tries to fulfill as many wishes as possible, with Priority 1 taking precedence.

If you activate "Consider preferred partners", the algorithm places pairs together unless other rules speak against it. At group tables (4/6), a seat at the same table counts as partially fulfilled.

There are separate weights for restless behavior, concentration difficulties, and distance wishes. Students with restless behavior are separated from each other, students with concentration difficulties are distributed in the room, and distance wishes are respected as long as enough seats are available.

Body heights feed into the seat selection so that smaller students are placed as far forward as possible. Window and door preferences are saved per student and weighted together with the room elements you positioned in step 2.

Let your creativity run free: you can place tables, windows, doors, desk and blackboard anywhere via drag & drop. The seating circle remains synchronized with the table layout and can be adjusted separately.

Seat positions are stored as pixel coordinates. Direct neighbors lie within the table width and height plus buffer; side and frontal neighbors may be slightly further away until they are no longer considered relevant.

Yes. Klassenplan is designed for a maximum of 36 students. The system warns if fewer seats than students are available.

The weights define how strongly a rule influences the result. The higher the value, the more strongly suitable neighbors are rewarded or conflicts punished. A value of 8 prevails significantly more often than a value of 2.

The statistics panel in step 3 shows gender distribution, room preferences (window/door), distance wishes and other criteria, for example.

You can click a category to permanently highlight the students it affects in the seating plan. Hovering shows a temporary preview of that highlight. This lets you quickly recognize which placements could contribute to improving the mix result.

All data is stored in the browser (IndexedDB for core data, localStorage for settings). There is no cloud, no account, and no server synchronization. Your data stays on your device and is not accessible from outside.

The export creates a file encrypted with your password (at least 8 characters) containing all classes, students including their photos, seating plans, shuffle and usage history, seating circle, classroom features, templates and settings. Without that password the file cannot be restored – so keep it safe to avoid losing your data.

For example after creating a class or after setting up and saving a classroom. Klassenplan reminds you on its own once your last backup is more than 30 days old. You can postpone that reminder or switch it off for good via “Stop reminding me”.

You choose between "Replace everything" and "Merge". Replacing overwrites existing students, seating plans and templates with the backup – this cannot be undone. Merging adds students and seating plans from the backup to the existing ones; the classroom and settings then come from the backup.

Backups are backward compatible and are meant to stay that way – should that ever change, I will provide an extended migration tool. New versions automatically migrate older backups. After major changes, it is worth creating a fresh export so that you have secured the latest structure.

Yes. Switch to portrait view in the export area and enable "Show blackboard". If your desk is at the back of the room, for example, also set the viewing direction to "From the back": the display rotates by 180° and the names stay readable. That way the printout keeps the same orientation as the classroom.

Yes. You can switch between light and dark color schemes at any time via the switch in the footer. Your selection is stored locally in the browser and loaded automatically on your next visit.

In the classroom editor, Ctrl/Cmd + C, Ctrl/Cmd + V, and Ctrl/Cmd + X are available for copying, pasting, and cutting tables. You can find a complete overview of available shortcuts in the help area at the top right.

Yes. On your first visit, a short tour shows you the most important places in every step – from the class switcher and the backup behind the gear icon in the footer to the statistics and the seating circle. The tour never blocks anything: you can keep working, close it with Escape or switch it off for good with “Don’t show again”. The question mark at the top right starts the tour of the current step again at any time.

Switch to the "Seating Circle" area via the toggle in Step 3. Klassenplan automatically calculates a suitable circle and links it to your current seating plan. You can adjust the seats in the seating circle manually via drag & drop without changing the seating plan and then export them separately.

Presentation mode shows the seating plan or circle large on a projector or smartboard. You can switch between teacher and student view – the latter turns the plan around to the class's perspective and hides markers and photos. The bar at the bottom toggles markers, photos, colors, the name format and room elements, and lets you zoom and pan. "Who's next?" (or the space bar) draws a random student, and everyone gets a turn before anyone repeats. Press F for fullscreen.

The name game helps you learn the names of a new class. It only uses students with a photo and offers a photo quiz (match the name to the photo or the other way round, with shaky names coming up more often) and a memory game of photo and name cards. Your progress stays local on your device. Start it in step 1 via the "Name game" button.

Besides PDF and direct printing you can save the current view as a PNG image or an SVG vector graphic – handy for parent letters, substitute folders or the school portal. Seating plan and circle are exported separately, each in portrait or landscape format.

In step 3, in presentation mode and in the export you decide how names should appear: first name only, first name + last name initial, or first and last name. If a first name occurs more than once in the class, a hint points that out so you can switch to the unambiguous variant.

Yes. The interface is touch-optimized, including long-press for context menus. Everything works smoothly on tablets and whiteboards. Using it on a smartphone is not recommended and is currently not supported.

Yes! Klassenplan is a Progressive Web App (PWA) and can be installed directly on your device. In Chrome, Edge, or Safari, look for "Add to Home Screen" or "Install App" in the browser menu. After that, Klassenplan launches like a standalone app from the dock or start menu – faster, with its own icon, and without the browser bar.

No, Klassenplan is a free tool that I work on in my free time. I originally developed Klassenplan for my own needs (with the help of Claude Code) and I am happy if it helps you and you like using it. If you like Klassenplan and would like to support its hosting costs as well as further development, I would be happy about a donation via PayPal. You can find all info under "Support". Thank you!

New versions are loaded automatically as soon as you reload the page. You can find the most important changes in the Changelog.