Click the wheel to spin, or press Space.
Manage entries: hide, reorder, weights
- 1Ali
- 2Beatriz
- 3Charles
- 4Diya
- 5Eric
- 6Fatima
- 7Gabriel
- 8Hanna
Share this wheel
The link contains every entry on the wheel, so anyone who has it can read them. Nothing is stored on PurePDF’s servers. Pictures are not included.
Your entries stay in this tab. They only go into a link if you create one.
In short
How the Spin the Wheel works
Spin the Wheel picks one entry at random from your list. The winner is chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random source before the wheel starts turning, and the animation then lands on that segment. With equal weights every entry has the same chance; the wheel does not tease near-misses.
Guide
How the winner is picked
When you press Spin, the winner is drawn first, using crypto.getRandomValues(), your browser’s cryptographic random source. The wheel then calculates a landing point inside that winner’s slice and animates to it. The animation is a presentation of a result that already exists; nothing about speed, timing, or where you click changes who wins.
With equal weights, every entry has exactly the same chance: 1 in the number of entries. The landing point is kept away from the edges of a slice, so the pointer never sits on a boundary and no result is ambiguous.
Guide
Wheel modes and options
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Click the wheel | Spins it; so do the Spin button in the middle, Space, and Enter |
| Winner card and confetti | Celebrates each result; Remove takes the winner off the wheel, Spin again goes straight on |
| Light and dark stage | The sun and moon button switches the background behind the wheel |
| Add image | Puts your own picture on the wheel; it stays in your browser and is never uploaded |
| Auto-remove winner | The winner leaves the wheel, for raffles and turn-taking |
| Weighted odds | Weight 3 is three times as likely as weight 1; the wheel is labeled while it is on |
| Hide an entry | Keeps it in your list but off the wheel |
| Templates | Yes/No, Yes/No/Maybe, what to eat, Truth or Dare, numbers 1–100 |
| Full screen | A large wheel for projectors and video calls |
| Reduce motion | Shows the result without the spinning animation |
| Sound | Ticks as each slice passes the pointer, and a short fanfare for the winner; on by default, untick Sound to mute |
| Keyboard | Space or Enter spins; Esc skips to the result or closes the winner card |
Guide
How do I share a wheel?
Open Share this wheel and press Create share link. The entries are encoded into the link itself, after the #, so they are not sent to PurePDF when someone opens it. That also means anyone who has the link can read every entry, so avoid sharing wheels that contain private names or details.
Guide
Using the wheel in a classroom or a giveaway
Paste your list, turn on Remove winner after spin, and switch to full screen. Each spin picks someone new until the list is empty, and the session history keeps the order winners were drawn in. For a draw without the animation, the random number generator can shuffle the whole list at once.
With documents
Working with documents?
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I pick a random name?
Type or paste one name per line in the entries box, then press Spin or hit Space. The wheel stops on the winner and shows it below.
Can I remove winners after each spin?
Yes. Turn on “Remove winner after spin” and each winner leaves the wheel, which is useful for raffles and taking turns.
How do I save or share a wheel?
Press “Create share link”. The entries are encoded in the link itself, so anyone with the link can read them. Nothing is stored on PurePDF’s servers.
Is the wheel really random?
The winner comes from crypto.getRandomValues(), chosen before the animation starts. With equal weights each entry has exactly the same probability. Weighted mode is labeled on the wheel when it is turned on.
Can I use it for a classroom raffle?
Yes. Paste the class list, turn on remove-winner mode, and use full screen to show the wheel on a projector.
How many options can the wheel hold?
Up to 1,000 entries. Labels are hidden on very small segments to stay readable, but every entry can still win.
Sources
Method and review
The method is described on this page and every result shows how it was reached. Last reviewed by the PurePDF team. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
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