Connect a number to a table

Every number in a Metrics widget and a Stat card is worked out from a table. The Data source editor is where you say how: which table, what to measure, which rows count, whether to split the rows by date for a trend, and how the number should look. A preview at the bottom shows the real result while you change the settings, so you know the number is right before you go back to the desk.

Before you start

• This works on every plan.
• You need a Table widget with your data in it. It can be on any desk in your workspace. See Table widget.
• A date column in the table lets you add a trend. A Number column lets you add up, average or find the smallest and largest values.
• Build uses AI: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon. Everything else in the editor works without AI.

Open the editor

• In a Metrics widget: click Add a number for a new number, or rest the pointer on an existing number and click its tune icon.
• In a Stat card: click Connect it to a table on a new card, or click the tune icon beside the card's label.

The editor opens inside the widget, under the heading Data source.

Way 1: describe the number and let AI build it

1. Click the Describe it box at the top and type the number you want in plain words, for example "total sales this quarter" or "orders per month".
2. Click Build, or press Enter.
3. AI looks at the tables in your workspace and their columns, then fills in the settings below: the table, the measure, the column, any filters and, if you asked for one, a trend. This replaces any settings that were there before.
4. If AI made an assumption, a short note under the box says what it was.
5. Check the Preview and adjust any setting by hand.
6. Click Done (the tick at the top right of the editor).

The number's label becomes the short title AI gives it.

If AI cannot find a table that answers what you asked, a note under the box says why, and your settings stay as they were. Try different words, or pick the table yourself.

Way 2: pick the table yourself

1. Click the …or search tables and columns box.
2. Before you type, the list shows up to eight of your tables. Type part of a table's name, or part of a column's name, to find the one you want. The list shows up to eight matches, each with how many columns it has.
3. Click the table.

The settings appear underneath. If the table has a Number column, the number starts as the Sum of the first one. If it has none, it starts as the Number of rows. The number's label becomes the table's name.

Measure

Measure is what to work out from the rows that count.

The list offers what makes sense for the column you have chosen:

• A Number column: Sum, Average, Smallest, Largest, Number of rows and Distinct values.
• A Checkbox column: Number ticked and Number of rows.
• A Date column: Number of rows, Smallest, Largest and Distinct values.
• Any other column: Number of rows and Distinct values.

Use Smallest and Largest on Number columns. On a Date column they give the date as a long number rather than as a date.

Column

Column is the column the measure reads. Pick it from the list, which shows every column in the table. It is hidden when Measure is Number of rows, because that counts whole rows.

When you sum, average or look for the smallest or largest value, empty cells and cells that are not numbers are skipped.

Only rows where

Filters narrow the rows that count. With no filters, the editor says Every row counts.

1. Click + Add beside Only rows where. A new filter appears.
2. Choose the column in the first list.
3. Choose a condition in the second list.
4. Type the value in the box, if the condition needs one.

Add as many filters as you need. A row counts only when it matches every filter. To remove one, click the × at the end of its line.

Trend by

Trend by splits the rows that count into periods, so the number gets a series of readings. Those readings draw the line on a Stat card and give both widgets their change arrow and percentage.

1. In Trend by, choose a date column, such as the date each order was placed. No trend line turns the trend off.
2. In the list that appears beside it, choose day, week, month, quarter or year. It starts on month. Weeks start on Monday.

Each reading uses the same measure as the number. For example, with Sum of Amount and month, each reading is that month's total. The change compares the first reading with the latest one.

The big number itself still covers every row that counts, not just the latest period. To show one period only, add a filter on the date column, for example the date ≥ the first day of the month.

Show as

Choose how the number looks.

• Plain shows the number as it is.
• Currency puts a $ sign in front.
• Percent puts a % sign after the number. It does not multiply by 100, so use it for columns that already hold percentages.
• Tick Compact to shorten large numbers, for example 12,400 as 12.4k, 3,200,000 as 3.2m, and 1,500,000,000 as 1.5b.

Averages and percentages show one decimal place, and other numbers show whole numbers, unless AI chose otherwise when you used Build.

The Preview

The Preview box at the bottom of the editor works out the number from the real rows every time you change a setting. It shows:

• the number, formatted the way it will appear;
• a sentence saying exactly what is being measured, for example "Sum of Amount in Orders where Paid is ticked by Order date (month)";
• how many rows count, out of the table's total, such as 28 of 40 rows, and how many readings the trend has, such as 6 points;
• nothing numeric to measure when rows match but the column has no numbers in them.

When you are happy with it, click Done (the tick at the top right). Every change is saved as you make it, so Done simply takes you back to the widget.

Worked examples

These use an example table called Orders, with an Amount (Number) column, a Paid (Checkbox) column and an Order date (Date) column.

Common questions

The number shows a dash. There was nothing to measure. If the Preview says 0 of some number of rows, no rows match: check your filters. If it says nothing numeric to measure, the column you chose has no numbers in the matching rows: choose a Number column.

Zero or a dash: what is the difference? Zero is a real result, such as no ticked boxes or no matching rows to count. A dash means there was nothing the measure could work on, such as a sum over rows with no numbers in them.

My table is not in the list. Before you type, the list shows only up to eight tables. Type part of the table's name, or part of one of its columns, to find it. The list covers the workspace you are in; a table in another workspace or in the trash is not shown. If you have no tables yet, it says No tables in this workspace yet. Add a Table first.

A filter on a status column matches nothing. If the status is a Single select or Multi-select column, is, is not and contains will not match its labels. Use is set or is empty on those columns, or keep the status in a Short text or Checkbox column for filtering.

Build did not work. If AI is not set up yet, a note under the box says so. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon. If AI says no table can answer the request, check that a table with the right columns exists, then try again or pick the table yourself.

Can I connect one number to two tables? No. Each number reads one table. To show figures from several tables together, add one number per table in a Metrics widget.

Related tasks

• Metrics widget
• Stat card widget
• Table widget
• Table columns and field types
• Build a dashboard on a desk from a table