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. With many Packs, you can even use two-way sync to make edits to the data in Coda and have those changes reflected in the external tool.

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.

Before you add a Packs table, you have to first install the Pack. Once that’s done, 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.

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.

If you haven’t yet connected to an account for the Pack, you’ll be prompted to do so in order to sync data into your Pack table. Check out this article for info on connecting to Pack accounts.

So you've decided which sync table you need, you've added it to your doc, and you’ve connected it to an account. 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:

If you expand the Sync section within the table settings, you'll see some additional sync settings. These include...

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

Once you've synced in your table, you'll see 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.

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

For certain Packs in Coda, you can now enable two-way sync. This means that not only can you sync data from your third-party tool into Coda, you can also make edits to that data directly via your Coda table and have those edits reflected in the original tool.

To enable two-way sync for a Packs table, just follow these steps:

Now your two-way sync is ready to go! To make edits in Coda, just click into a cell and start typing.

When you enable two-way sync for a sync table, an account with the 3rd party tool is required. If you were the one to create the original sync table in Coda, we will automatically take the account used for that initial sync (called the read account) and use it as the account for the two-way sync (known as the write account). It will default to being a Private account, meaning only you can use this account for the two-way sync. When edits are pushed back to the 3rd party tool from Coda, they will use this write account.

If you’re enabling two-way sync on a table that was set up with someone else’s account, you’ll need to first connect your own account for the 3rd party tool. When edits are pushed back to the tool from Coda, they will use this account (known as the write account) to do so. Follow the steps in product to connect your account - and read more here if needed. It will default to being a Private account, meaning only you can use this account for the two-way sync.

Once you have successfully set up an account for the two-way sync, they have the option to change the account from Private (meaning only you will be able to make edits using this account) to a Shared account (meaning anyone with edit permission to the Coda table will be able to make two-way edits using this account). Once a Shared account is set up for two-way sync, then anyone with edit access to that Coda page will be able to make edits and utilize two-way sync without connecting their account.

💡 If you need a refresher on connecting to Pack accounts, check out this article.

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.