Adding a Column Collapsing Capability in Current Table Features

While exploring the current table functionalities in Coda, I encountered uncertainty regarding the usability of a particular feature. However, it is crucial to keep an eye on this aspect. The current implementation lacks the capability to collapse two or more columns within a specific row, not allowing users to create fields that span across multiple columns. I believe introducing this feature would greatly enhance the versatility of tables, not sure about the underlying complexity of this feature. However, I anticipate a potential issue arising when attempting to collapse columns of different data types. For the time being, I suggest implementing this feature exclusively for columns with identical data types.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Attempt to collapse two or more columns within a row in the current table functionalities of Coda.
  2. Observe the absence of an option or button to facilitate column collapse.

Expected Result:

I expected to find an intuitive functionality within Coda that allows users to collapse multiple columns in a row, thereby creating a unified field spanning across them.

Actual Result:

The ability to collapse columns is not present in the current implementation of Coda. Consequently, users are unable to create fields that span across multiple columns, limiting the organization and visual clarity of tables.

Impact:

The absence of column collapse functionality significantly restricts users’ ability to condense and consolidate information within tables. This limitation undermines efficient data presentation and impairs the visual aesthetics of tables.

Reproducibility:

This issue can be consistently reproduced by attempting to collapse columns within rows in various scenarios using the existing table functionalities in Coda.

Suggested Solution:

To address this limitation, I propose the inclusion of a column collapse feature that empowers users to seamlessly merge two or more columns within a specific row. This addition would substantially enhance the usability and organization of tables in Coda. However, it is essential to consider the potential challenge associated with collapsing columns of different data types. To maintain data integrity and mitigate potential issues, I suggest implementing this feature exclusively for columns with identical data types.

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