I am interested in a page type that is dedicated to just tabular data. This would be created via the same menu as “Section” and “Folder”:
Why? Because strange things happen in a page with a very large table, and I think with such a data-centric application, there should be a focus on databases.
Strange things that happen on a page with just a table:
Clicking to the right of a table causes the page to jump down
Clicking to the right of the table title (blank space) selects the entire table
There is very little space to click where nothing is selected (causing the above to happen)
A blank line seems to create itself above all of my tables on a page by themselves
I consider my base tables as databases, and as such have named these pages–and subsequent tables–as “DB - table_name”. It would be nice to go the step further and have the application recognize that these pages are dedicated for the base data.
I understand that perhaps this is too specific to my use case, but I compare Coda to applications such as AirTable, and I appreciate how they recognize data as data, and not data nested in a free-form page. Coda, however, has the advantage of free-form pages which unlocks all of the power available in Coda. I think just a re-purposing of “Sections” as the page type for viewing data, with a page type such as “Database” for storing base data, would make the distinction more clear.
@Lloyd_Montgomery You’re running into some of the same UI issues that I’ve submitted as feedback in various ways. I haven’t dealt with your fourth bullet point too much, but I’ve encountered the first three routinely enough that I understand your desire for a page type that’s just tabular data, and isn’t subject to all these rendering/interactivity quirks.
Thinking out loud through your suggestion for Dedicated Table Pages:
As a long-term focus, it would be a step backwards, imho. AirTable’s implementation of tabular data-only pages is one of the main reasons I could NOT adopt their platform.
Coda’s vision for the Canvas concept is revolutionary in many ways, with the potential for entirely new paradigms in data manipulation and management. They should focus on total domination of that promise.
Until the large constellation of UI issues is completely ironed out, your idea for Dedicated Table Pages seems like a viable short to mid-term solution for stabalizing the UI for users such as yourself.
It could probably even exist as a long-term feature, in a complementary way. I would hope, however, that the focus remains on fulfilling the potential of the vision for the Canvas (especially since that vision has barely even been tapped at this point).
Great reply! I completely understand what you are saying, and very much subscribe to your suggestions.
I think mentioning AirTable was a mistake in shaping my vision and expectations for Coda looking forward. I don’t want AirTable, that’s why I am here using Coda. I was simply using AirTable as a suggestion for data-centric thinking. I would, however, like to see Coda transform into a program that recognizes data more clearly, and perhaps that vision is what differs from yours. I love the canvas features (it’s why I’m here!), but also like to know that my data is safe and maintained conceptually. Having my raw data nested in free-form canvas-style pages makes me worry about accidentally deleting a table because I hit backspace too many times…
My main suggestion is that I would like the choice of storing my data in one place (perhaps database-style pages), and viewing, manipulating, etc. in their canvas-style “sections”.
That being said, this are ultimately minor complaints. Still love Coda and looking forward to the growth of stability and features.
Along those these lines, When I am building a Coda doc I find that I like having the root tables in separate sections and then use views in my main sections it simplifies things to always have a table view of your data. My suggestion would be to have an add table section in that drop down and it just create a table named that same thing as the section. Today I have to create section -> name section -> create table -> name table the same thing as section.
