Complex Templates for Canvas Columns

Copy/paste hack to create a super powerful result

The power of Templates and Canvas Columns

Templates for canvas columns are massively powerful, and when used with Parentrow() formula they can create customised views for each row.

These are super powerful for this doc, as I want to drill in 3 levels:

Major Categories

Sub Categories (filtered for Major Category selected)

Emoji list (filtered for Categories and sub categories selected)

Have a play here, to see it in action:

Search Emoji's⁠

⁠

The problem

There are a few challenges to overcome:

The parent row formula is complex to write, and its hard to audit in the Template Page, as there is no ParentRow at template level to see a result. (See my template page that appears empty but is not:

2 Table for Canvas View Of Minor Categories⁠

)

When the template is applied to all the rows in an existing table, these are copy-pasted. If you do not have your formatting organised before hand, and you try and do it after in one canvas column, this format change is not applied to all the other copies of the canvas in the same column. (You have to try this once, to feel the pain & learn)

My hack in summary

Set up a dummy canvas column

Open the first row, and insert the table that you want, and the style you want

Create your Parentrow() filter

Edit the detail views of this main table, and any drill in tables that can be opened up. It is critical this is done before the template is set up, and before the template is applied to all the rows.

Once that view is working, goback into the Try Canvas column and copy the table. Paste it into an empty template Page

Create a new Canvas column, and in options apply the Template page to all the columns.

Keep your “Try Canvas” column just in case. If you want to update or improve anything later, you can experiment with this column and then repeat the steps 5 & 6.

My hack in detail

Set up a temporary canvas column called “Try Canvas”. You can see this in the Simplified Table view below, or in the DB table here:

1 Major Categories (9)⁠

⁠

If you click into this Canvas (below), you will see a fully functioning table. I changed the style to Card Style, and I used the simple Parentrow filter / formula:

Stress test this table to bits. For this document, I had multiple views and drill-ins. Often, if the new view was not right, I just had to edit the View, select Exisiting View, and choose “Layout1”

Make sure you have tested your table and are happy, if you have missed anything, you will have to repeat the next steps. One thing I like to do is to hide the Table Tile to avoid the “Table1”, Table2”, Table 3” etc that is crated for the different copies of the template that will be made. I hide the title in the “Try Canvas”, and if needed add a generic Text Title in the canvas.

Copy/paste the details in the “Try canvas” i(including the table) to a standalone and empty Template page.

Eg my one here:

2 Table for Canvas View Of Minor Categories⁠

. (It looks empty, but only because the filter using parent row can not see anything.

Go back to main table, and create a new canvas column. Mine is called “Sub Category Button” as my Tile-view-table will act like buttons”

Apply this template to all the Canvas rows, and the same complex and detailed formating and sub-formatting will be applied to all the rows.

🎩 🌟 Magic!