I’m an Airtable user looking to switch, and I’m very interested in Grist (though I’m just getting started). Right now, I’m completely confused by this:
Even after checking the Grist documentation and other resources, I still don’t understand the difference between a table, a page, and a widget.
When I create a table, do I automatically create a page? A widget? Neither?
What do I need to do if I just want to create a table?
I started watching the introductory video, but unfortunately, it doesn’t cover this. Shoud be adressed because it’s really unclear and confusing… for now at least.
But first, a specific issue: I tried importing data by connecting directly with Airtable, and in most of my attempts, the imported table failed to bring over the most important field—the primary field (even though it’s just a single line of text—the simplest kind, in other words…).
Thanks in advance for suggestion and help!
As for the terminology, it does get a bit confusing with all the other apps. Here’s my Airtable comparison:
A Grist page is like an Airtable table, where the top tabs are transposed to the left-hand panel.
A Grist table refers to the underlying data table (visible in the raw data page).
A widget is like an Airtable view, pulling data from an underlying source table and displaying it on a page. Using the generic term, a widget presents a “view” of data (i.e. you can show/hide columns in a widget without deleting the source columns; likewise you can filter a widget without filtering the source data). The one wrinkle is that one of the types of widgets is a “table widget”, which is just a view of data in standard grid.
As for the import issue, do you have any more specifics on the “primary field”. Is it a text field?
Thank you for your reply!
Still confusing for me, because in the panel on the left the elements are called “Workspaces” and not “Pages”.
Should I perhaps create my data in the Raw Data part, so as not to have to deal with these “Pages” elements and directly create tables without asking me any questions?
Ok for the Widget element, the analogy with the View is now clearer, thank you!
The primary field in Airtable is the main element in Airtable table.
It can be of different types, but as I said, in my import tests it was the simplest form: a simple line of text.
I will resume Grist’s video introduction / webinar anyway!
Thanks again.
Workspaces are a higher-level term for essentially document folders. Once you enter a document the elements in the left panel are pages.
I would just enter data in a page using a default table widget, which should feel natural once you start working. If you don’t hide columns or add filters it should mirror the raw data, though continuing through the webinar/tutorial should make that more clear.
If you’re still having issues with the Airtable import tool, please let me know and I can try to run some tests.
Thank you for your help.
It’s clearer now, I think we have to get used to the principle and build like this.
I will dive back into essays and tutorials as soon as possible.
For Airtable import, this may not be a recommended method?
Because it seems unreliable. The fact that the main field, while being a simple line of text (and not a more complicated formula or type), is not taken into account is a fairly strong warning signal.
What is the officially recommended method to import from Airtable, is it more reliable to go through the CSV?
I will nevertheless try the direct import tool with other bases / tables.
Thanks again!
I assume you’re talking about this importer, right? It should definitely bring over all fields. Would you be able to send an example doc that isn’t working and we can take a look?
Was hoping Airtable had an easy way to export/re-import, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I’ll message you with my account email if you’re able to share a sample base with me directly.