Sync data with Pack tables

Learn how to set up your Pack sync tables, configure the settings, and get data from your other tools flowing directly into your Coda table.

Updated over a week ago

With Pack tables, you can pull data from external tools (think Google Calendar, Spotify, Jira, and more) into your Coda doc. You can then display the data however you’d like, hide irrelevant fields, add your own columns, and so much more. The data in these tables is automatically kept up to date through regular syncs. There are Pack tables available for many of your favorite Packs - from the Google Calendar Events table, to the Jira Issues table, to the Salesforce Records table. Read on to learn how to set up and customize these tables to fit your needs.

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Add a Packs table

Before you add a Packs table, you have to install the Pack in your doc and connect to any necessary accounts. You can learn how to do this here.

Once you’ve installed the Pack, you can then browse which sync tables are available via the Building Blocks section of the Packs page (found under the Insert tab). From there, you can simply drag the desired table onto the canvas of your doc.

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Alternatively, you can type a slash ( / ) followed by the Pack name directly into the canvas of your doc. Select the Pack from the drop-down menu, and the Pack page should open on the right. Find the table you’d like to add, and drag it into the canvas of your doc.

Set up your sync

So you've decided which sync table you need and you've added it to your doc. Now it's time to set up your sync and start pulling in data.

For certain Pack tables, you may immediately see a popup with a list of all the possible columns you can sync into your table. In this case, check or uncheck any fields you want to include. Then hit the Create table button.

Once your table is added, you'll see a large Sync now button, and a panel of sync settings on the right side of the page. Here is where you can specify - and filter - which data you want to sync into your table. You can always come back and modify these settings after you've synced in data. But we give you the opportunity to make some initial adjustments before your first sync. The settings include:

  • Refresh rate: This settings dictates how often the table data is re-synced: Manually, Daily, or Hourly (note that some options are limited to certain Coda pricing plans).

  • Account: Choose which account you’d like to use to pull data. When you click into the drop-down, you’ll see any accounts that have already been added, plus the option to + Set up another account. Follow the prompts there to connect a new account, if needed. For more info on the different between private and shared Pack accounts, check out this article.

You may also see some Pack-specific fields. You can typically hover over the question mark (?) next to any of these fields to see an explanation. 💡Tip: Use these fields to filter the results that are pulled into your sync table.

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Under the Advanced tab, there are some additional important settings:

  • Table limit: Set the maximum row limit for this table (100, 1,000, or 10,000). 💡Tip: If you notice some rows are unexpectedly missing from your sync table, you may just need to increase the row limit then resync the table.

  • Keep un-synced rows: This comes in handy if you have applied filters to your sync. If this settings is toggled off, then rows will automatically disappear from this table once they no longer match your filter criteria.

  • Sync more properties: Check out the section below for more info on this.

Choose columns for your sync

Once you've synced in your table, you'll see some a selection of visible columns for that Pack. But there may also be some additional hidden columns. By default, we bring in all available fields from the Pack. We hide some of these columns automatically, but you can unhide (or hide) any columns as you see fit.

If you’d like to adjust which columns are included each time the table is synced, you can do so via the Sync more properties tool. To find this, click on the down arrow to the right of the Refresh button (upper right corner of the table), then select Settings. Under the Advanced tab, click on the Sync more properties button. You can then select which columns you do - and don’t - wanted included in your sync table. Once you’ve made your adjustments, re-sync the table to see the changes.

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💡Tip: To improve performance of your doc, we recommend you only include the columns that you absolutely need and remove all others.

Add additional Pack syncs

You can only have one of each Pack table in your doc (but remember you can add as many views as you like). For instance, you can only have one main Google Calendar Events table per doc.

But maybe you want to bring in multiple different calendars data sets, from different Google Calendars or even different Google accounts. Instead of creating a new Events table, you can just add more “syncs” to that main Events table. Just click the + Add another sync button from the table settings (as described in the previous section).

Each sync can use a different account and have different filter criteria. This lets you essentially build multiple Pack syncs into one table. You can then use filtered views to display these distinct syncs however you’d like.

FAQs

Why can't I add another Packs table for a Pack?

We only let you add one of each type of Pack table (e.g. You can only have one GMail Messages table). We do this since we always want related tables to magically link together. Check out the Add additional Pack syncs section above to learn more.

Need more help troubleshooting your Packs table?

When and how does Pack data refresh?

This is up to you! For each Pack table, you can set the refresh rate under the table settings. You can choose from Manual, Daily, or Hourly (depending on your Coda plan). The default for new tables is Daily.

If you ever need to manually refresh a table, you can do so via the Refresh button in the upper right corner of the table.

How can I delete a column from my sync table?

In order to delete a column that's being synced in from the Pack, you need to first remove this column from the sync. To do so, go to the upper right corner of your table, and click on the small down arrow (next to Refresh), then select Settings. Click into the Advanced tab, and click Sync more properties. Uncheck the column(s) you wish to delete, then click Update and sync. Finally, return to the table, right click on the column header, and select Delete from the menu.


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