Wheel with 1,000 names.

Paste a big list in one go

1. Copy the column. In Excel or Google Sheets, select the column of names and copy it. Each cell becomes one line.
2. Paste it into the box. The count under the box shows how many names are on the wheel.
3. Clean it up. Press Remove duplicates if people may appear twice. If your list is one long line with commas, tick Also split on commas, tabs and semicolons.
4. Spin. With hundreds of slices, names are too small to print on the wheel, so the name passing the pointer shows under the wheel as it turns.

Tips for large lists

• Drop the header row. Leave out the “Name” or “Email” heading when you copy, or it becomes an entry.
• Names with commas. If names look like “Smith, Anna”, leave comma splitting off so each person stays on one line.
• Check the count. Compare the count with the rows in your spreadsheet. A gap usually means blank lines or merged cells.
• Longer spins. With 1,000 names, a 20 or 30 second spin gives the room time to watch the names fly past.

Projecting a big wheel

Press full screen to fill a projector or TV with the wheel. On a laptop, focus mode hides the names panel and makes the wheel bigger.

The wheel draws the whole list once and then only turns it, so a wheel with 1,000 names spins as smoothly as one with 10.

Where a big wheel helps

A whole year group, everyone on a lecture course, all the guests at a conference, or every entry in a raffle. One wheel holds the full list, so you don’t need to split it into rounds.

Remove each winner to keep the draw fair across many rounds. For prize draws with a winners list in draw order, use the giveaway wheel.