Move around a table and copy cells

Once a Table widget has some data in it, you can work through it from the keyboard the way you would in a spreadsheet: move from cell to cell, type, save and carry on. You can also select a block of cells and copy it into a spreadsheet, or paste a block from a spreadsheet straight into the table.

This page covers moving around, selecting, copying and pasting, and the quick ways to reorder, duplicate and delete rows. To set up the table itself, see Table widget.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

• Tables are on every plan.
• The keyboard and copy-and-paste features work in the Table view, the first button in the row of views at the top of the table. See Six views of every table.
• Turn grouping off to select cells. You can still select, copy and paste while a filter is on. See Filter and group table rows.
• To drag rows into a new order, turn off both grouping and filters.

Select cells

• Click a cell to select it. In a cell you can type in, such as a text or number cell, the click also puts your cursor in the cell, ready to type.
• Drag across cells to select a block.
• Shift-click another cell to select everything between the first cell and that one.
• Hold Shift and press an arrow key to grow the block one cell at a time.

The selected cells are tinted, and the cell you are on has an outline around it.

Move with the keyboard

• Arrow keys (↑ ↓ ← →) move one cell at a time.
• Tab moves one cell to the right. At the end of a row it goes on to the first cell of the next row. Shift Tab moves to the left, and from the start of a row goes back to the end of the row above.
• Enter starts editing the cell you are on.
• Esc stops editing, keeps what you typed and leaves the cell selected. Press it a second time to clear the selection.

Type in a cell

1. Move to the cell and press Enter. The cell's contents are highlighted, so whatever you type replaces them. You can also click the cell to put the cursor in it without replacing anything.
2. Type the new value.
3. Press Enter to save it and move down to the next row. Press Shift Enter to save it and move up instead, or Tab to save it and move right.

Copy cells

1. Select the cells you want.
2. Press ⌘ C on a Mac or Ctrl C on Windows.
3. Paste them where you need them, for example into a Spreadsheet widget.

The cells are copied as plain text with tabs between the columns, which is the format spreadsheets use, so they paste in as the same rows and columns. Text and number cells copy their values, and a ticked checkbox copies as true.

Good to know:

• Column names are not included. Type them into the spreadsheet, or copy them separately.
• To copy a whole table, click the first cell, then Shift-click the last cell to select everything, and copy.
• If you are typing in a single cell, ⌘ C or Ctrl C copies only the text you have highlighted in that cell, as usual.

Paste cells

1. Copy a block of cells in a spreadsheet, or in another table.
2. In the table, click the cell where the top-left corner of the block should go.
3. Press ⌘ V on a Mac or Ctrl V on Windows.

The block fills to the right and down from that cell.

Fill several cells with one value

1. Copy a single value.
2. Select the block of cells you want to fill.
3. Paste. Every selected cell gets the value.

How pasted values fit the columns

Each value is converted to suit the column it lands in:

• Text columns take any text.
• Number columns take numbers.
• Checkbox columns are ticked by true, yes, y, 1, ✓, done or checked, and left unticked by anything else.
• Single select and Multi-select columns take the name of one of the column's options. For Multi-select, separate several names with commas. Paste does not create new options, so add them to the column first. See Table columns and field types.
• Date columns take a date written in a form PlexiDesk can read.

A value that does not suit its column, such as a word pasted into a Number column, leaves that cell empty.

When the block is bigger than the table

Paste fills the rows the table already has and never adds new ones. If the block needs more rows than there are below the cell you chose, PlexiDesk fills the rows it can, and a note at the bottom of the table says how many rows were filled and how many more did not fit. Click Add row at the bottom of the table as many times as you need, then paste again.

Columns in the block beyond the table's last column are left out.

Work with rows

Add a row

Click Add row at the bottom of the table. You can also right-click any cell and choose Add row.

Reorder rows

1. Make sure you are in the Table view, with no filter and no grouping.
2. Rest the pointer on the row you want to move. A grip (six dots, tooltip Drag to reorder row) appears at the left end of the row.
3. Drag the grip up or down. A line shows where the row will land.
4. Let go.

The new order is saved, and widgets that read the table, such as a Chart, use it too.

Delete a row

• Click the bin at the left end of the row (tooltip Delete row), or
• Right-click any cell in the row and choose Delete row.

The row goes straight away, and a message at the bottom of the window offers Undo if you change your mind. See Undo and redo.

Duplicate a row

Right-click any cell in the row and choose Duplicate row. A copy of the row, with all its values, is added at the bottom of the table.

The cell menu

Right-clicking a cell opens a menu with Add row, Duplicate row and Delete row at the top. The rest of the menu works with the text in that cell, for example AI Assist. See Right-click menus.

Common questions

The arrow keys move the cursor inside the cell instead of moving between cells. You are editing the cell. Press Esc once, then use the arrow keys.

I cannot select a block of cells. Check that the table is in the Table view and that grouping is off. Selecting works with a filter on.

There is no grip to drag a row. The grip appears only in the Table view when there is no filter and no grouping. Clear the filter and turn grouping off, then rest the pointer on the row.

Some cells were empty after I pasted. Those values did not suit their columns, for example text in a Number column, or a name that is not one of a select column's options. Change the column's type, add the missing options, or correct the values and paste again.

Only part of my block was pasted. The table did not have enough rows below the cell you chose. Add rows, then paste again.

How do I get a table's data into a spreadsheet? Select the cells and copy them, then paste them into the spreadsheet. Add the column names yourself.

Related tasks

• Table widget
• Table columns and field types
• Six views of every table
• Filter and group table rows
• Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table
• Build a table with AI
• Chart widget
• Numbers and data widgets