Numbers and data widgets

The Numbers & data widgets keep figures on a desk and show what they add up to. Use them to track orders, a budget, leads, hours or anything else you count, and to see the totals without leaving the desk you are working on.

There are six of them:

Before you start

• Every Numbers & data widget is on every plan.
• Open the desk you want to add to. The Add widget button and the quick-add keys work only on an open desk.
• Two parts of these widgets use AI: Build in a number's data source, and a table's assistant for columns and rows. They run on PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or on your own Anthropic key. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon.

Add a Numbers & data widget

1. Open the desk.
2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
3. Click Metrics, Stat card, Table, Chart, Spreadsheet or Calc.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what they are for. These six are in the Numbers & data column, in the order above. Type numbers in the search box at the top of the menu to show just this column, or type a widget's name and press Enter to add the first match.

The new widget appears beside the widget you touched last. A Spreadsheet first asks whether to Create new, Import a file or Place an existing one. See Spreadsheet widget.

Other ways to add one

• Single keys. Click an empty part of the desk so that nothing is selected and you are not typing, then press T for a Table or C for Calc. The Add widget menu shows these keys in grey beside the widgets. See Add widgets with a single key.
• The command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type the widget's name and choose its Add command, such as Add Metrics or Add Stat card. See Search and commands (Cmd+K).
• The tool rail. In the tool rail's Add widget picker, Metrics, Table and Chart are under Tools, and Spreadsheet is under Files. Stat card and Calc are under Advanced. See The tool rail on the right of a desk.

Table or Spreadsheet?

Both hold rows and columns, but they suit different work.

Use a Table when each row is one thing, such as an order, a lead or a booking, and each column is a fact about it. Every column has a type, such as Short text, Number, Checkbox, Date or Single select, so the values stay tidy. A table can be shown as a grid, a list, cards, a Kanban board, a calendar or a Gantt chart, and it can be filtered and grouped. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards read their numbers from tables. See Table widget.

Use a Spreadsheet when you need cells and formulas: a budget, a forecast, or a sum that refers to other cells. It is a PlexiiSheets file, so you can also open it from Office, and you can start one from an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file. See Spreadsheet widget and PlexiiSheets overview Coming soon.

Turn a desk into a dashboard

A table holds the rows. The other widgets read them and show what they add up to.

• A Chart draws a table's rows as bars, lines, areas, a pie or a single KPI figure. Several charts on one desk make a dashboard. See Chart widget.
• A Metrics widget shows a few headline numbers from your tables side by side. See Metrics widget.
• A Stat card shows one number, how much it has changed and a small line of how it got there. See Stat card widget.

Each number in a Metrics widget or a Stat card is connected to a table in the same Data source editor. You choose what to measure, which rows count and, if you want a trend, how to split the rows by date. You can also describe the number in a sentence and let AI fill in the settings. See Connect a number to a table.

These widgets can read any table in your workspace, including a table on another desk, and they update when the table changes.

For a walk-through from an empty desk, see Build a dashboard on a desk from a table.

Quick sums with Calc

Calc is a small calculator that sits on the desk, for working something out without leaving what you are doing. Click its keys to build a sum; the widget keeps what you typed. See Calc widget.

Every article in this group

• Metrics widget: several numbers read together.
• Stat card widget: one number with its trend line.
• Connect a number to a table: the data source editor used by Metrics and Stat card.
• Table widget: add a table and find your way around it.
• Six views of every table: Table, List, Cards, Kanban, Calendar and Gantt.
• Table columns and field types: add, change, move and resize columns.
• Filter and group table rows: show only the rows you want, grouped the way you want.
• Build a table with AI: describe what you need and approve columns, then rows.
• Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table: bring data in from a file.
• Move around a table and copy cells: keyboard moves, selecting blocks, copy and paste.
• Chart widget: bar, line, area, pie and KPI charts from a table.
• Spreadsheet widget: a PlexiiSheets spreadsheet on your desk.
• Calc widget: a keypad calculator.
• Build a dashboard on a desk from a table: put it all together.

Common questions

Can a chart or a Metrics widget read a spreadsheet? No. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards read tables. Import the data into a table, then connect to that. See Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table.

Do I need a separate table for each chart or number? No. One table can feed as many charts, Metrics numbers and Stat cards as you like, on any desk in the workspace.

Why does a number show a dash instead of a figure? A dash means there was nothing to measure, for example no matching row had a number in the column you chose. See Connect a number to a table.

What do people see on a live view of my desk? A Table shows as a table of up to 500 rows. Metrics and Stat cards show as a placeholder rather than their numbers. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Related tasks

• Add a widget to a desk
• Add widgets with a single key
• Use a widget's AI button
• The controls on every widget