Editing records directly in the Database table

You can type directly into the Database table — correcting a unit count, filling in a field across twenty properties, pasting a column out of a spreadsheet — without opening each record.

Unlocking the table

The table starts Locked. Look at the bottom left for the lock button and click it to switch to Editing.

Locking isn't only there to prevent mistakes. It decides what your keyboard does:

Locked — single keys are shortcuts. j and k move down and up, x selects a row, l logs an activity, Enter opens a record.
Editing — typing goes into the cell you're on, the way it would in a spreadsheet.

Both are useful and they can't coexist: if j moved you down a row, you could never type a name containing the letter j. The lock is the switch between them.

The table stays unlocked until you lock it again or close the tab. It always opens locked.

Moving around

While editing, one cell is outlined:

Arrow keys move between cells.
Tab moves right, wrapping to the next row at the end.
Shift+Tab moves back.
Home and End jump to the start and end of the row.

Changing a value

Just start typing. Whatever you type replaces what was there, exactly as in a spreadsheet.

To edit rather than replace, press Enter first — that opens the cell with the existing value selected.

Enter saves and moves down.
Shift+Enter saves and moves up.
Tab saves and moves right.
Escape cancels and leaves the value alone.

Changes save as you go. There's no separate save button.

Clearing a value

Empty the cell and press Enter. The field is cleared, not set to zero — a property with no recorded unit count is a real thing, and it isn't a building with zero units.

Which columns you can edit

Any column holding a record's own data. Calculated columns can't be typed into, because the next recalculation would overwrite whatever you entered — the cursor skips them as you Tab across.

To change a calculated value on one property, set a formula for that cell instead. See Formula columns.

Selecting a block of cells

Hold Shift and use the arrow keys to stretch a selection from the cell you're on.

The bottom of the table shows what's selected:

Count — how many cells.
Sum and Avg — for numbers only.

Blank cells are counted but never treated as zero. Ten properties where four have a recorded unit count average across those four, not all ten — otherwise the number would be badly misleading and nothing on screen would say so.

A column of text shows a count and no total, rather than a meaningless 0.

Filling down

Select a block and press ⌘D (Ctrl+D on Windows). The top value in each column copies down through the rest of the selection.

Useful for setting the same owner, tag or status across a run of properties you've just filtered to.

Copying and pasting

⌘C copies the selection in the format spreadsheets use, so it pastes straight into Excel or Google Sheets with its rows and columns intact.

⌘V pastes from your clipboard into the table, starting at the cell you're on. Before anything is written, you'll see exactly what's about to happen:

How many cells the paste covers.
How many will actually change — often far fewer.
How many were skipped because they landed on a calculated column.
Whether the paste runs past the edge of the table.

Nothing is written until you confirm. Pasting a column of two hundred values over live records is worth seeing described first.

Undo

⌘Z steps back through your recent changes, one cell at a time.

The history covers this session only. Once you leave the page it's gone, so undo isn't a substitute for care with a large paste — that's what the confirmation is for.

Tips

The lock is per browser tab. Two tabs open on the Database can be in different modes.
Start a cell with = to turn it into a calculation for that property alone.
Editing is available on the desktop table. On a phone, open the record and edit it there.