Notion databases are special for three reasons:
- They're highly customizable β you can add whatever types of data you want!
- Every item you add is its own Notion page to organize even more information.
- You can view the same database a number of different ways to get work done.
You'll see what we meanπ
- 1. Create a new table
- 2. Add data to your table
- 3. Open a row as a page
- 4. Create a view
- 5. Filter your data
- 6. Sort your data
1. Create a new table
- Add a new page and select
Table
. - The first column is where you enter your database items.
- Each column in a Notion table corresponds to a property that gives your item context.
- Define different properties (i.e. date, person, etc.) to add specific context to each item.
- Click a property heading, then the menu under
Property Type
to see all of your property choices.
- Here are just a few examples of properties:
- Multi-select: Lets you add multiple tags (that you create) to your data.
- Date: Associates dates with your items, like due dates or event dates.
- Person: Inserts people on your team, for example who has been assigned a task.
- Files & Media: Lets you upload files, images, and other media related to your data.
- Checkbox: Denotes whether something related to a database item has been done.
- Full guide on properties here β
- Here's how a database with several different types of properties looks:
2. Add data to your table
- For this example, we'll create a task database.
- Add some projects you're working on in the
Name
column. - Now add some values to the
Tags
column using the multi-select property. Suggestion: P1, P2 and P3 to indicate priority of the task. - Add a new property using the
+
button to the right of theTag
heading. - Change its name to
Due Date
. And underProperty Type
, selectDate
from the menu.
- Now when you click on a cell under
Due Date
, you'll see the date picker. Every property type will bring up a different set of options.
Other examples:
File
properties will prompt you to upload a file.Person
properties will bring up a menu to select people in your workspace.
3. Open a row as a page
- Every item in a Notion database is also a whole page of its own! You can add any content you want inside, including other databases.
- In our task database example, this would let you keep all notes and content related to a task neatly bundled inside that task.
- To open a row as a page, hover over a cell in the
Name
column and clickβ€’ OPEN
. It will look like this:
- You can add or edit any properties. And you can add any content into the body of the page:
4. Create a view
- You can create different views of the same data. Put it into a board, a calendar, a list, a gallery, or a timeline β depending on your needs. Let's try one.
- Click
+ Add a View
at the top left of your table. - Give your view a name and choose
Board
from the dropdown.
- This turns rows from your table into cards on a board, grouped by tag. Clicking on a card still opens it as a page.
- There are many ways to customize the way your board looks:
- Hide or edit any column by clicking the
β’β’β’
icon to the right of its heading. - Add new cards by clicking
+
at the top of columns, or+ New
at the bottom. - To rearrange columns, drag and drop their headings.
- Go to
Properties
at the top right to switch on the properties you want displayed on your cards (or to add new ones). - You can also group your cards by a different property by clicking
Group By
. - Learn more about boards here β
- Now let's turn our board into a calendar so you can see when tasks are due.
- Click on the name of your current view to switch between your views or add a new one.
- Calendars let you view when things are happening, when projects are due, etc. Cards appear on the dates you choose:
- Clicking on any card opens it as a page.
- Use the
Properties
menu to switch on the properties you want on your cards. - Learn more about calendars here β
- Different views are good for different things:
- Gallery view is great if you're storing images in your database. More on galleries β
- Lists are helpful for minimalist storage of documentation. More on lists β
- Timelines are useful for visualizing project dates and length. More on timelines β
5. Filter your data
- Filter by property to focus on specific parts of your database.
- Let's go back to our table view for this.
- Now, click
Filter
at the top of your table, then+ Add a filter
. - Choose the property you want to filter by and the criteria that needs to be met.
- The middle dropdown will give you different options depending on the property.
- In this case, let's choose
Tags
as the property, and say it must containP2
.
- You'll see your database change in real time based on your filter criteria.
- You can add as many filters as you want.
- To turn a filter off, go back to the
Filter
menu and click theX
. - You can create views based on various filters:
- Add a new view and title it.
- In that view, filter your database however you want.
- Toggle between views to see your data filtered different ways! β¨
- Examples: Only see tasks assigned to you, or only P1 tasks, or only tasks tagged in a certain project.
6. Sort your data
- Sorts let you reorder your database depending on the values in certain properties.
- Click
Sort
at the top of your table, then+ Add a sort
- Choose the property you want to sort your database by. For example, choose
Due Date
and thenAscending
. This reorders tasks from closest to furthest due date.
- Sorts are helpful for quickly ordering your data by priority, date, tags, etc.
- Similar to filters, you can apply multiple sorts and always turn them off in the same menu.
- You can also create new views showing different sorts.
Now that you've created a couple different types of pages, let's move on to how to find and arrange them in your workspace!
Read next:
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