# Connect a number to a table

> Use the Data source editor to pick a table, choose what to measure, filter the rows, add a trend by date and format the number, with a live preview.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-number-from-table
Section: Widgets > Numbers and data
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

Every number in a [Metrics widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-metrics) and a [Stat card](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table).
- 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help). 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.

> **Tip:**
> To get a trend, say so. Include words such as "per month", "by week" or "over time" if you want the line and the change.

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.

| Measure | What it gives you |
| --- | --- |
| **Number of rows** | How many rows there are. |
| **Sum** | The values in the column added together. |
| **Average** | The mean of the values in the column. |
| **Smallest** | The lowest value in the column. |
| **Largest** | The highest value in the column. |
| **Distinct values** | How many different values the column holds. Empty cells are not counted, and capital letters are ignored. |
| **Number ticked** | How many boxes are ticked in a Checkbox column. |

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.

| Condition | A row counts when the cell… |
| --- | --- |
| **is** | is exactly the value you typed. Capital letters are ignored. |
| **is not** | is anything other than the value you typed. |
| **contains** | includes the text you typed anywhere. |
| **>** and **≥** | is greater than, or greater than or equal to, the value. |
| **<** and **≤** | is less than, or less than or equal to, the value. |
| **is ticked** | is a ticked checkbox. |
| **not ticked** | is an unticked checkbox. |
| **is set** | has something in it. |
| **is empty** | has nothing in it. |

> **Tip:**
> Match the condition to the kind of column:
> 
> - Text and number columns: **is**, **is not** and **contains**.
> - Numbers and dates: **>**, **≥**, **<** and **≤**. Type dates as year-month-day, such as 2026-09-30. A row whose cell is not a number or a date does not count for these.
> - Checkbox columns: **is ticked** and **not ticked**.
> - Any column, including Single select and Multi-select: **is set** and **is empty**.

## 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.

| You want | Measure | Column | Only rows where | Trend by | Show as |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Total sales, month by month | Sum | Amount | None | Order date, month | Currency |
| Orders that are paid | Number ticked | Paid | None | No trend line | Plain |
| Unpaid orders over $500 | Number of rows | None | Paid not ticked, Amount > 500 | No trend line | Plain |
| The average order, week by week | Average | Amount | None | Order date, week | Currency |
| The largest order this year | Largest | Amount | Order date ≥ 2026-01-01 | No trend line | Currency |

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help). 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-metrics).

## Related tasks

- [Metrics widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-metrics)
- [Stat card widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-stat-card)
- [Table widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table)
- [Table columns and field types](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table-columns)
- [Build a dashboard on a desk from a table](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-dashboard)