Add Pack columns to your table, paste in URLs, and get rich data from your 3rd party tools.
One valuable feature of Packs is their custom column formats. These columns allow you to get rich information related to the specific integration, whether it be Spotify, Salesforce, or GMail. For instance, the Google Calendar Pack includes the Event column format. This format allow you to paste a simple URLs of a GCal event into your Coda table. It then returns detailed information about the event - including date, start time, attendees, and so much more. You can even take those details and turn them into columns of their own. Read on to learn more about using Pack column formats.
Within this article, you’ll find...
Add Pack columns
To add one of these columns to your table, you’ll first need to make sure you’ve installed the Pack in your doc. Then, create a new column in your table by clicking the plus icon in the upper-right corner of your table. From the column type options, search for the Pack name. You should then see a list of the possible columns for that Pack. Click on an option to add it to your table.
💡Tip: Once you’ve added a Pack column to your table, you can typically learn more information about how the column is meant to work by right clicking on the column header, then selecting the column options.
Get data from URLs
While there are a few different types of column formats for Packs, one of the most powerful is the URL column. These columns allow you to paste URLs from the external tool directly into your Coda table and then see detailed, rich information from that URL.
For example, with the Jira Issues column type, you can paste the URL of a Jira Issue right into the column of your Coda table. And you’ll then see the URL automatically convert to an object that contains all of the information associated with that issue.
Once you’ve added one of these column formats, you can start pasting URLs into the column. Then you can choose to add any of those fields as columns. To do so, just hover over the object in the initial URL column. You should see a scrollable pop-up that displays all the data contained in that object. Next to each field, there is an Add column button. Just click that button, and the column will be added to your table. The information in that column is auto-populated based on the URL.
FAQs
How often is data updated for these URL columns?
This depends on the default refresh rate of the Pack. You can choose which refresh rate is best for in the Pack settings. To open these settings, click on the Insert tab in the upper right corner of your doc, then search the Pack name, click on the Pack, and then click into Settings. Here you’ll find the Default refresh rate. You can choose from Manually, Daily, or Hourly (note that some options are limited to specific Coda plans).
How do I add a Pack button column?
Great question! You can check out this article for all the info you need on Pack buttons.
I pasted a link into a Pack column format, but nothing happened. What’s wrong?
There are a few things to check if this happens. First, check that your Pack is installed and your connection is working by clicking the Insert icon (upper right corner of the doc), then searching for the Pack you’re troubleshooting. More on checking the connection of your Pack here.
Next, make sure the link you’re pasting actually corresponds to the format of the column. For example, the Spotify Pack offers three column formats: Album, Track and Playlist. The Album column will only work with links to albums, the Track column will only work with links to tracks, and so on. Links often contain a hint as to the format of their referenced data in the URL (e.g. the link open.spotify.com/album/.... refers to an album and should be pasted into a column of format Album).
How are these Pack URL columns different from Pack sync tables?
Pack sync tables automatically bring in sets of data from the 3rd party tool based on the filter criteria you set for the sync. Coda will search the available data and pull in any and all rows that match the criteria of your sync settings.
Pack URL columns, on the other hand, allow you to manually curate whichever pieces of data you want to include in your table.