After exploring different tools such as Notion, Airtable, ClickUp, Trello, and SmartSuite, I have concluded that Coda stands out as the top all-in-one solution. However, there are specific enhancements that I dream about, which would elevate it to the perfect tool for my needs:
VERY CRITICAL FOR US: Introducing granular permissions to limit both viewing and editing access not only to entire pages, but also to specific column data. SmartSuite excels in this aspect, allowing users to easily manage who can view or edit data by a simple right-click on the field.
Implementing a feature akin to āMy Workā or āTodayā across all documents (similar to ClickUp) where tasks assigned to me can be consolidated in one place, organized by day, week, or month, with the ability to drag and drop tasks into specific time slots.
Incorporating smaller improvements to enhance the visual appeal of Coda documents. This could include displaying website favicons or utilizing different display methods for various columns as seen in SmartSuite.
Providing the capability to link or relate different documents together, similar to the functionality in SmartSuite.
Group columns into sections when a row is opened, allowing for conditional visibility based on certain criteria. For instance, display a specific section with its attributes and fields only when the status is marked as complete. Alternatively, have the ability to hide/show this section to specific users. This approach is similar to SmartSuite.
I am aware that there are workarounds to accomplish some of these tasks using technical methods, but having these features natively integrated into Coda would truly transform it into the ultimate tool. This would not only benefit users like myself but also appeal to those less tech-savvy individuals. (some of my marketing clients refuse to move from SmartSuite just because of those features and are waiting for these updates for me to start the process). While I have been envisioning these improvements for the past two years, I am hopeful that they are already in development. I am also curious to know what features you wish to see in Coda.
I have a very small, very small request, but i think a lot of the current coda features need to be cleaned up and made more accessible.
A tool like CODA that has a lot of capabilities, where I know what I can do with the stuff Iām using, and itās accessible, increases my happiness and reduces churn.
Churn = Is it impossible or possible?
Everything is possible in CODA, so if I churn, itās because of usability, right?
++ Oh I hope the AI translates the user interface to support Asian languages, please, itās not that hard.
A drastically improved performance on mobile. Coda is currently incredibly slow on mobile.
A responsive behavior also for images in layout columns on mobile (all elements behave responsively, except images. [UPDATE: This has been resolved.]
A āDeleteā option in the context menu for all blocks, including paragraphs, headings, images, etc. (standard for comparable services that work with blocks, but ignored by Coda).
A highlight function for paragraphs when you click on them (literally every other comparable service has this simple feature)
A way to continuously zoom in on mobile images with two fingers instead of just tapping to get 100% magnification (an expected standard, but not with Coda)
So before diving in to what features I would like to see/have in Coda, I wanted to discuss a few things I wish I knew before getting started with Coda.
What does Coda really do? A quick search gives the following description: Coda is a collaborative document editor that combines documents, spreadsheets, and applications into a single platform; documents can be used for a wide range of purposes, including project management, task tracking, knowledge sharing, and more. However, Coda is much more - it is a software to build custom software in the form of a doc.
I see Coda being compared to Notion, Trello, ClickUp, [insert XYZ software] but Coda is in its own category, and in my opinion superior, because it can do the functions/features of a given software at a fraction of the cost. In turn, this allows you to reduce the number of software programs you use/pay. However, the caveat is you have to build these features and functions, which brings me to my next point.
What is a Doc Maker? In reality, the role is a combination of being a software AND database designer/engineer/developer. You have to build the front end (user interface/experience) as well as the back end to truly have a functioning doc. This is important because while there are multiple ways to do things in Coda, the rules and guidelines out there for software/database should be implemented in Coda for organization, scalability, and efficiency.
With that being said, to me workarounds are really just the Doc Maker building functions/features in a given doc, which some of the items you have listed could be considered. Things like visual appeal I agree! I love ClickUpās calendar which allows you to display various column information in it.
For me, I would really like to see 1) docs and pages have the same functionalities that tables do (i.e. applying formulas), 2) have a section to set up roles and permissions at the workspace/doc/page level, 3) have portal functionality for clients, employees, etc.
I am very new to Coda but for me, HIPAA compliance would be a game changer. There are numerous workflows I could develop for a health system team or department; however, without HIPAA compliance, its a non-starter.
More text formatting options like font size, font color and even font types like Google Docs offers.
Drastically improved mobile performance.
Recurring tasks! This would be huge and really help Coda compete even better with ClickUp and other softwares with robust task management capabilities.
Page level permissions.
Iām down with Coda for the long haul. One of the main reasons is because they are dedicated to continuous improvement and listening to the Coda Communityās suggestions. Excited to see how the team addresses some of the suggestions in this thread.
How could I forget recurring tasks that are native inside date picker.
Permissions are big for me and some clients I have worked with, would love to have not only page level , but column/record level and an ability to both limit who edit or even see it (would make workflow and handling of data much easier).
Exactly, this is essential for so many workflows / users so i wonder why they havenāt implemented that after 10 years (since 2014 they started?).
We migrated from Airtable and didnāt even check if it was possible to share extract from databases outside the org, because one just consider that a nonissue, an standard function of this ātypeā of software.
Almost went back to Airtable, since sharing our databases its slow / difficult using crossdoc. But they are in the last stages of the granular permissions implementation according to news in the forum, so we will wait a bit for that.
We basically share a lot of data with our clients, but we cannot let them view the complete document / databaseā¦ and we use that a lot!.
Also the forms are very basic compared with other tools, thats giving us some trouble too.
I might sound a little frustrated, but as you say CODA its almost the perfect tool and is that couple of details that make it annoyingā¦ because its almost there!
There is an ongoing project to achieve āgranular permissionsā. Coda has divided the project into 4 phases. The first two has been implemented; Coda has recently announced that the availability of the 3rd phase is imminent.
Phase 2 allows you to share pages from a doc, but people can still access the source doc. Phase 3 will prevent people from doing that. For more details please see the below link.
This is one of the most frequent requests, but it is also extremely difficult to implement. E.g. what to do with formulas using other areas in the source doc, how to handle relationship (look up) tables etc.
Yeah ive read the full simillar threadsā¦ including the @Ayuba_Audu updates, thatās why i mention that we will stay in CODA as they say its almost ready, so we can wait a bit.
But i just mentioned that i found curious that they will implement this late in the product development, (As difficult as it is), being something that some people can consider a fundamental function. But im glad its almost ready, phase 3 its going to be so good for us.
The set up described by @Piet_Strydom and @Ayuba_Audu will in phase 4 make it possible to manipulate the data in the table or on the page outside the table without access to the source doc, byt you cannot relate to it directly. It is subtle and important to understand this.
For example you can have a list of products for your client in his doc and the client can add feedback, place an order etc, but you cannot reference this product table in the rest of this doc, because it lives in the the source doc.
The main focus of Coda seems to relate collaboration via OKRās, two way write ups, meeting notes, etc. It does not exclude all sorts of possible use cases, but in my understanding a market outside ācollaborationā is not their main concern
Hello Christiaan, thanks for your explanation. Well maybe im being a bit obtuse but this part its not that clear for me.
For example, we have a full database of product with prices / images, etc. We created a āClientā view of said DB with only the images and prices, the columns of āCostā, āSupplierā, etc are not showed in that specific view.
Im hoping that in the future you can share exclusively the āClient Viewā, and not the full document as nowadays.
Right now we are using cross doc and it works, but its cumbersone. With airtable you just clic āShareā, and the view of your current document can be send to the clients without the fear of showing confidential information.
In coda, we need to create and outside page, cross doc, and then give format to the new table as that information its lost. Also the updates are not in real time. About 5 - 8 minutes instead of 3 seconds.
Lots of great items in this list. Iāll put all my āvoteā chips into one thing:
Detail view layout
The detail view is a ubiquitous tool for data entry, viewing, and even canvas design.
Layout - the ability to build layout templates (or work with the underlying tool kit) would be a big help. We donāt use any of the templates today because of the lack of control.
Section headings - multi-step workflows could benefit, no easy way to do it.
Spacing - currently done with a Text column and formula (" "), but when the user clicks they get the dreaded āYou canāt change a formula columnā pop up.
Button Alignment - itās common to have dropdowns with the option to add a new value via button, especially on Pack tables. Very tough to control the real estate currently.
Color, Images - Detail view would go to the next level if you could set colors and add images.
Bonus: ability to turn off the āYou canāt change a formula columnā pop up with Locking.
Iām in the process of switching from airtable to coda and this is a huge issue for me too. Sometimes I just want to quickly link someone to a particular record or view and airtable makes it a 2 second thing. in coda itās an entire ordeal. Iāve considered keeping an airtable account that is synced from coda just for this purpose, which feels ridiculous.
