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Add color and formatting to your tables

Learn how to apply conditional formatting in Coda. Add color and text formatting to your tables and views, such as timelines and calendars.


When we have a lot of information in a table, it can be time-consuming to scan through all of it to get the information we need. Sometimes we just need a quick overview or summary. In these cases, using color and text formatting can be an effective tool to quickly convey information 🎨
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By assigning different colors to different categories or values in the table, we can easily identify patterns or outliers that might be of interest. Make decisions and take action more quickly and efficiently with the help of conditional formatting. 


Within this article, you'll find...


Add conditional formatting to your tables

Customize your table with color, text formatting, and more - to quickly get the info you need by applying conditional formatting. Follow the steps outlined below to set up your first conditional format rule.

  1. Click on the Options menu to the top right of your table

  2. Select See all options from the menu

  3. Select Conditional format in the side panel

  4. Click + Add Rule

  5. Select the column you’d like to base your conditional formatting rule on

  6. Set your color and font options as desired. Note that you can customize both the text color and the background color.

  7. In the Apply To section, choose the columns you’d like the conditional formatting to apply to in the rows where this criteria is met.

    1. If you want the formatting to apply to all columns in your table, select the All columns option at the top of the list

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Using formulas in conditional formatting

Sometimes your conditional formatting rule might be a bit more complex than the above example, especially if you want to account for multiple criteria in one rule. You can utilize formulas in your rule to accomplish this.

You can open the formula builder in the conditional format rule builder in two ways:

  1. When selecting the column you’d like to create the rule around, select Formula instead. This will open the formula builder within the newly created rule.

  2. If you’ve already begun building a rule, you can open the formula builder by clicking the “kabob” or “three-dots” menu next to the trash can icon and selecting Show Formula

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Custom colors

You can set custom colors for text and background with the custom color selector to get as creative as you’d like with your conditional formatting!

  1. In the conditional format rule builder, click More under the standard color configurations.

  2. Click Custom.

  3. Use the “A” buttons at the bottom of the custom color menu to make selections for text color and background color
     

 

Conditional formatting in table views

When you create a new view of a table that has conditional formatting rules applied, the view you just created will inherit the conditional formatting rules from its base table.

If you don’t want your connected table view to inherit these rules, you can toggle these off by:

  1. Hover over the table, click on Options in the upper right, then select See all options

  2. Click Conditional Formatting in the side panel

  3. Toggle Inherits Formats From... to OFF

 

 

Conditional formatting in relations, timelines, and calendars

Want to apply color to relation column chips in your table, or make your calendar and timeline views pop? You’ll need to make sure that your conditional formatting rules are applied to your display column.

đź’ˇ Not sure which column is the Display column?

You can check by clicking on Columns at the top of your table, and then finding the column in the list that has a small bookmark icon to the right of the title.


Relation columns

To add color to your relation column chips, head to the relation column’s linked table and apply a conditional formatting rule to the display column of that table. This formatting will now apply to the chips in your table’s relation column.

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Timeline and calendar views

Much like the example above, you can apply conditional formatting to your calendar and timeline views by applying conditional formatting rules to the Display column in these table views.

 

FAQs

Can I duplicate a rule instead of creating rules from scratch every time?

Yes! If you have a rule that only needs a small adjustment, you can easily duplicate it by clicking the “kabob” or “three-dots” menu next to the trash can icon in your existing rule, then select Duplicate. From there you can adjust the newly duplicated rule as necessary.

How do I set a different color for each item in a select list?

You will need to set a different conditional formatting rule for each value in the select list. However, you can easily duplicate the first rule and change the value and color for each select list item.

Can I use Hex color codes for custom color formatting?

No, but we do have a custom color picker in the conditional format rule builder.

Why does my table have conditional formatting set up if it’s a newly created view?

Table views inherit conditional formatting rules from the base table. You can toggle this on or off from the table view’s conditional format rule builder.

Why am I not seeing my conditional formatting rules show up in my timeline or calendar view?

Conditional formatting rules must apply to the display column to show up correctly in timeline or calendar views, as well as in relation column chips.

Why am I not seeing my conditional formatting rules show up in detail view?

Conditional formatting is not currently supported in detail views.

How do I apply a color scale conditional formatting rule?

If you have a Progress Bar, Scale, or Number column in your table, you can apply a dynamic color scale to this column that changes based on the number value. This will automatically be available as an option when you build your conditional format rule on one of these types of columns. You can select minimum and maximum values for your color scale, or let Coda auto-detect the range đź‘Ť

 

 

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