Table view

Table View Databases
In this Article

A table is the classic database view, but tables in Notion are more than just rows and columns. Each row opens up into its own page, and can contain whatever properties you want 📊

Jump to FAQs

There are several ways to add a database in table view to Notion:

  • Create a new page in your workspace.

  • Under the Database heading, click on Table in the grayscale menu provided.

In-line table

  • If you want to create a table inside another page:

    • On a new line, type /Table view and press enter.

Note: Expand in-line databases to full-page by clicking  at the top right. Hover over the top of your database to see its option menus. Click ••• to see the PropertiesFilter, and Sort options.

Add table view to a database

You can add a table to an existing database to view its data in that format. 

  • Click + Add a view or the name of the current view at the top left of your database.

  • Select Table from the dropdown menu, and give it a name in the text box.

  • Click Create and your brand new table will pop up.

  • You can still toggle back to other views using that same left dropdown.

Note: You can also create simple tables if you want to display plain text visually without database functionalities (such as filters, sorts, and specific property values).

Open a row as a page

Every row in a Notion table is its own page where you can add more content.

  • Hover over the row, and click the OPEN button.

  • It'll open in preview mode. Click Open as page at the top left to make it full-page.

  • You'll see all your properties organized at the top.

    • Click on the property name to edit it or its type.

    • Click in the property field to edit its content.

    • Reorder properties by hovering and using the ⋮⋮ to drag and drop them up or down.

  • You can also add a new property to your timeline by clicking ••• then clicking Properties and + New property.

  • Under properties, there's space for comments that will be attributed to you. You can @-mention people or pages here, too.

  • The body of the page can be edited just like any other Notion page. Add whatever content blocks you want, including in-line databases.

Customize page

When you open any page, you have the ability to change how it looks in a few ways that go beyond typography and text size.

  • Click ••• at the top right of any open project page, then Customize page.

  • You'll see a menu to edit the appearance of Backlinks and Comments, as well as Properties.

    • For backlinks, choose to show them expanded in the body of your page, in a popover, or off.

    • For comments, choose to show them expanded or off in the page body.

    • For properties, rearrange them using the ⋮⋮ icon, and choose whether to always show them, always hide them, or only show them when in use.

Add rows

There are several ways to add a new item to your table.

  • Click the + that appears on hover next to any row. This creates a new row below it.

  • Click the blue New button at the top right. This creates a new row at the top, and immediately opens it as a page.

  • Click + New at the bottom of your table to add a new row right there.

  • If you're in the last row of your table, press shift + enter and a new one will appear.

Row options

Click the ⋮⋮ icon that appears on hover to the left of each row (or right click on the row) to bring up this menu of options:

  • Delete: Deletes the row from your list.

  • Duplicate: Creates an exact copy of the row below it.

  • Copy link: Copies an anchor link to that specific row to your clipboard.

  • Rename: Lets you rename the page in your row without opening it.

  • Move to: Lets you move the row to another workspace or page (where it will show up as a subpage).

  • Edit property: Brings up a menu with all your table's properties. Click the one you want and then click the new value for it.

Bulk editing multiple rows

You can select multiple rows in order to edit their properties.

  1. Click the checkbox to the left of any row. (Hover in that area to make the checkbox visible.)

    1. To select all, click the checkbox at the very top left of the database, next to the Title property.

  2. Select a property in the menu that just appeared to edit for all selected rows.

Tip: You can apply these actions to multiple database pages at once. Just select all the pages you want to modify. Then, right click or use the shortcut cmd/ctrl + / to edit properties in bulk!

Edit table properties

In tables, each column is a property of the item in the first column. So, for example, this is a table of articles to read. The article title goes in the first column, while the property columns capture dates, status, tags, and URLs. To edit the properties in your table:

  • Click the + all the way to the right of your last column.

  • Or click Properties at the top right of the table, the + Add a property.

  • Give your column a name and select the type of property from the Property Type menu.

  • Click a column heading to change its name and the type of property it contains.

  • Hide columns in your table by clicking Properties, then switching off the properties you don't want shown. Switch them back on the same way.

Rearrange columns & rows

Switch up how your table is ordered with drag-and-drop on desktop or browser.

  • For rows, hover, then click and hold the ⋮⋮ icon on the left to drag it up or down.

  • For columns, click and hold their headings to drag them left or right (like below).

    • Resize columns by hovering over their edges, and dragging right or left.

Tip: You can also rearrange your columns by clicking Properties at the top right, then using the ⋮⋮ icon next to the properties shown to drag them up or down.

Wrap cell content

If your cells contain a lot of content, you can have it appear on multiple lines.

  • Click on the ••• icon at the top right of your table, click Layout toggle on Wrap all columns.

    • Or to wrap a single property, click at the top of a specific column and toggle on Wrap column.

Calculations

At the bottom of every column in your table, you can run calculations that will show you information about the data contained in that column.

Hover below the last row in your table, then click the word Calculate that appears under any column you want to learn more about:

  • You'll see a dropdown menu containing these calculation options:

    • Count all: Gives you the total number of rows in the column.

    • Count values: Counts the number of property values contained in the column. 

    • Count unique values: Counts the number of unique property values contained in the column, omitting duplicates. 

    • Count empty: Counts the number of rows that do not have a value in the column. 

    • Count not empty: Counts the number of rows where the column is filled. 

    • Percent empty: Gives you the percentage of rows that do not have the chosen property filled in. 

    • Percent not empty: Gives you the percentage of cards that do have the property filled in. 

    • Earliest date: If you have time-related properties in your table like Last edited or Created time, you can choose to show when the oldest row was edited or created.

    • Latest date: Shows when the newest row was last edited or created.

    • Date range: Shows you the time gap between the oldest and newest edit or creation time.

  • If you have a Number property in your table, you unlock several other calculation options:

    • Sum: Shows the sum of the numbers in the column.

    • Average: Shows the average of the numbers in the column.

    • Median: Shows the median of the numbers in the column.

    • Min: Shows the lowest number in the column.

    • Max: Shows the highest number in the column.

    • Range: Subtracts the lowest number from the highest.

Grouping

You can group your rows by different properties on your table to visualize them in different ways.

  • Click the ••• menu and find the Group section. You can group by nearly any property type: Select, Multi-select, Person, Text, Number, Date, etc.

  • The table will now group by values of that property. Each group includes a toggle to the left, so you can quickly hide and show groups to focus on what you need.

  • Empty groups can also be hidden from view with the "Hide empty groups" toggle.

Tables in timeline view

When showing table in your timeline, click the ⋮⋮ icon that appears on hover to the left of each row (or, if you're not showing table, right click on any project plotted on your timeline) to bring up this menu of options:

  • Delete: Deletes the row from your timeline.

  • Duplicate: Creates an exact copy of the row below it.

  • Copy link: Copies an anchor link to that specific row to your clipboard.

  • Rename: Lets you rename the page in your row without opening it.

  • Move to: Lets you move the row to another workspace or page, where it will be nested as a subpage.

  • Edit property: Brings up a menu with all your timeline's properties. Click the one you want and then click the new value for it.

Filter your table

View only the rows that fit certain criteria, depending on what you need.

  • Click Filter at the top right of your table.

  • Choose which property you want to filter by from the dropdown.

  • Choose the condition you want to use, i.e. ContainsDoes not Contain, etc.

  • Define the value of the property you want to see, i.e. a specific tag or date.

  • You can add multiple filters at once this way too!

  • Remove filters by clicking the X icon next to them in the Filter menu.

Tip: If you find yourself recreating and deleting the same filters over and over again, consider creating a new database view for that filter. That way, you can switch back and forth without having to recreate the filter each time.

Sort your table

When you sort your data by any property in Ascending or Descending order, all the data from that row will travel together automatically.

  • Click Sort at the top right of your table.

  • Choose the property you want to sort by and then choose Ascending or Descending. You'll see your table rearrange in real-time.

  • You can add multiple sorts to a table, with sorting criteria taking precedence based on their order in the list. (You can use the ⋮⋮ to drag and drop them up or down.)

  • Remove sorts by click the X icon next to them in the Sort menu.

Search your table

You can search for specific content in your table.

  • Click Search at the top right and type the word(s) you're looking for in page titles or properties.

  • You'll see your table change in real-time to only show the rows that fit that criteria.

You can copy an anchor link to this specific view of your table so you can share it elsewhere.

  • Click the ••• icon at the top right of your table.

  • Click Copy link to view and the URL will copy to your clipboard so you can paste it.

Templates: Table view use cases


FAQs

Is there a way to add background colors to specific cells? Or conditional formatting?

Not at the moment, unfortunately. It's a popular feature request though, so definitely on our radar! For the time being, you can use Select and Multi-select properties to add a pop of color to your table 🎨

Why can't I delete the Name property?

Our tables are a lot different than traditional spreadsheets, since each row represents a database entry that can be opened as its own page, or visualized in other database views. The Title property gives you access to database pages. That said, you can drag the column left or right to re-order it however you want!

Is there a way to skip the modal view, and always Open as Page by default?

Not right now, apologies!

Does Notion have simple (non-database) tables?

How can I tell which pages in my database contain comments?

If you add a comment in the discussion section of a timeline project page, or anywhere in the body of the page, you'll see a word bubble appear in that row of the table portion of your timeline with the number of comments it contains. If you hide the table, you cannot see whether projects contain comments at a glance.

How can I turn a full-page database into an in-line database?

To turn a full-page database into an in-line database, you can just drag the database into another page in the sidebar, which will turn it into a sub-page.

Then click the ••• button at the right of the title of the subpage, and go to Turn Into Inline in the dropdown menu to turn it into an in-line database.

To turn it back into a full-page database, you can click and drag the in-line database back into your sidebar.

How can I turn an existing table view database into a simple table?

Click the ••• at the top right and click "Turn into simple table"

Note that you won’t see this option appear if your database has multiple views, content within database pages, hundreds of rows, advanced properties like file attachments, or if you’re in the full page view.

Still have more questions? Message support

Give Feedback

Was this resource helpful?


Powered by Fruition