Create and edit tables
Insert a table, add or move rows and columns, and set widths, styles and cell colors. Cells copied from a spreadsheet paste straight in.
Applies to Web · Mac · iPhone app · notes you can edit
Tables in CommonNote are built to feel like a spreadsheet: arrow keys move between rows, cells copied from a spreadsheet paste straight in, and you can sort by a column. When your cursor is in a table, an extra row of table tools appears in the toolbar.
Insert a table
- In the Tools row, click the Insert table button.
- Drag across the grid to pick a size (up to 8×8), or under Enter table size type the Rows and Columns and click Create table. A new table can have up to 1,000 rows, 100 columns and 5,000 cells in total.
- If you have a screenshot of a table, click Create table from image in the same panel (see Attach images and files).
Typing /table or pressing ⌘T inserts a 3×3 table right away. In a browser, ⌘T opens a new tab, so use the button or /table there.
Add and move rows and columns
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add a row below or above | ⌘↩ · ⇧⌘↩ |
| Add a column right or left | ⌥⌘↩ · ⇧⌥⌘↩ |
| Add several rows at once | Right-click the + button on the table edge or press Shift+F10, or use Add multiple rows to table end in the table row of the toolbar |
| Select and move a row or column | Click the handle on the row or column header to select it; drag it to move. |
| Move the whole table | Hover to the left of the table to reveal its handle. Click to select the whole table, drag to move it. With the whole table selected, Tab/⇧Tab shifts it sideways and Esc clears the selection. |
The table menu (right-click)
Right-click (or Ctrl-click) inside a table to open the Table menu.
- Insert: rows above or below, columns left or right
- Select: Select row, Select column, Select whole table
- Move: Move row up, Move row down, Move column left, Move column right
- Cell alignment (left, center, right), and sorting by the current column, Ascending or Descending
- Clear cell contents, Duplicate row, Header (Toggle header row, Toggle header column), and deleting rows, columns or the table
- Autofit (Fit contents, Fit window) and Row height (Equalize row heights, Auto row height)
- Convert table to text, Reset table width, Table settings · Size and spacing
Column widths and row heights
- Drag a column boundary to resize just that column. Hold Shift while dragging to trade width with the next column, keeping the table width the same.
- Double-click a column boundary to fit its contents. With a boundary focused, ←/→ adjust it by 8px.
- Drag a row boundary to change the row height; double-click it to go back to automatic height.
- For exact values, open Table settings (Alt+Shift+W): Table width (px, for the whole table or selected columns), Fit window, Fit content, Equal, Reset, Table spacing, Cell padding, Table alignment and Cell vertical alignment.
Merge, split and color cells
- Drag across cells to select several. The Edit cells tools appear.
- Click Merge cells, Split cell (1–20 rows and columns each) or Unmerge cells.
- For a background color, pick one from the palette or use Custom cell background to enter a color value.
Table styles
From Table style in the table toolbar row, choose Grid, Banded, Header emphasis, Horizontal lines, No borders, Bold outline or Compact, and turn Header row, Header column, Banded rows and Banded columns on or off. Clear style puts it back.
Spreadsheet-style typing
- In a table, ↑/↓ move between rows and ⇧↑/⇧↓ extend the selection vertically. Delete empties the selected cells.
- ⌘A inside a table widens the selection step by step: cell, then the whole table.
- You can paste cells copied from Excel or another spreadsheet. Pasted into a paragraph, they become a new table.
To change the default padding of table cells, use Table cell padding in View options.