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HOWTO: Improve the Performance of Your Coda Docs

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Are your documents slo-w-w-w-w-i-i-i-i-i-ng down?

This document provides summaries of the best Coda-authored performance management documentation. Click on the headings to visit the original page.

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`Improving Doc Performance`⁠

Addressing Rendering Performance Issues

Identify pages or areas of your document that are slow to load or render

Minimize the amount of data and styling required on each page

Optimize the layout and structure of your document to reduce rendering complexity

Optimizing Calculation Performance

Review your formulas for any unintentional circular logic or unnecessary data processing

Simplify complex formulas by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable components

Identify and address any performance bottlenecks caused by formula-heavy areas of your document

Managing Document Size

Monitor your document's size and stay within the limits set by your Coda plan

Regularly review and remove any unused or unnecessary content

Consider splitting your document into multiple, more focused documents if it becomes too large

Improving Typing and Load Performance

Optimize the number of objects (text, visualizations, tables, etc.) on each page

Ensure your document is loading efficiently by minimizing the amount of data it needs to fetch

Experiment with different techniques to improve typing responsiveness, such as reducing the number of objects or simplifying the document structure

Optimizing Automations and Cross-doc Sync

Identify any performance issues related to your document's automations or Cross-doc sync functionality

Simplify or optimize your automations to improve their execution speed

Carefully manage the size and complexity of your Cross-doc sync tables to avoid performance bottlenecks

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`Improving Rendering Issues`⁠
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• Review your Coda document and identify the specific pages or tables that are rendering slowly

For tables with many columns:

▪ Hide columns that are not frequently needed by users

▪ Consider deleting any unused columns

For tables with a large number of rows:

▪ Reduce the total number of rows displayed

▪ Focus on tables with the most rows

• Experiment with different view types (e.g. kanban, calendar) to see if they render more efficiently

• Simplify grouping rules in tables to reduce the number of groups

• Review canvas pages and remove any unnecessary content

• Use the collapsing feature to break up lengthy content on canvas pages

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`Using In-Statistics to Analyze Performance`⁠
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Document Overview

Review object counts (rows, pages, tables/views, buttons/controls, formulas) to ensure you are not approaching any limits

Monitor total media size (images, file attachments) to avoid exceeding Coda's attachment limits

Formula Calculations

Track the formula calculation limit percentage to proactively address any issues before formulas stop calculating

Content Creation

Enable the "Show while typing" feature to get real-time word and character counts, helpful for content with length restrictions

AI Usage

Review AI usage statistics to understand how you are leveraging Coda's AI features and identify optimization opportunities

Document Engagement

Monitor the number of copies and views of your Coda document to gauge how others are interacting with and utilizing your content

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`Manage doc size`⁠
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Rendering Issues

Identify pages with a lot of data and styling that may be causing rendering slowness when switching or scrolling.

Optimize page designs by reducing unnecessary elements, data, and formatting.

Leverage Coda's built-in performance features like lazy loading and pagination.

Calculation Issues

Audit formulas to identify any unintentional circular logic or formulas processing more data than necessary.

Refactor complex formulas to break them down into smaller, more efficient calculations.

Use the Formula Profiler to identify and optimize slow-running formulas.

Doc Size Issues

Monitor doc size limits, especially on free plans, and proactively scale back content as the doc grows.

Archive or move older/less-used data to separate docs or tables.

Optimize table structures and leverage features like row limits to keep doc size in check.

Other Performance Challenges

For typing lag, try reducing the number of objects on the page or enabling the "Optimize for typing" setting.

Address slow page loading by compressing images, reducing the number of external resources, and leveraging Coda's caching mechanisms.

Optimize cross-doc sync and automations by minimizing dependencies, reducing data transfer, and monitoring for performance bottlenecks.

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`Re-enable calculations in your doc`⁠

Identifying Calculation issues

• Check the Statistics section of your Coda doc to see if the Formula Calculation Limit has been exceeded

• Identify the percentage of available doc space left until you hit the calculation limit

• Determine the root cause of the calculations being disabled (doc size becoming too large)

• Reduce the size of your Coda doc by:

▪ Removing unnecessary rows

▪ Deleting high-volume columns

▪ Archiving or removing unused tables/views

• Monitor the Statistics section as you downsize the doc to track your progress

• Continue deleting data until the doc is scaled back sufficiently below the formula calculation limit

• Verify that calculations have been successfully re-enabled in your Coda doc

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`Optimizing Calculation Performance`⁠
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Running the Performance Analyzer

1. Open the Calculation Performance Analyzer:

Click the "Calculating..." indicator in the top-right corner of your Coda document

Or, open the Doc Map, click the 3 dots in the top-right, and select "Debug calculations"

2. Analyze Calculation Performance:

If your document is currently calculating, click "Start Measuring" to analyze the ongoing calculations

If your document is not currently calculating, the tool will show the last set of calculations and their performance

3. Identify Slow-Performing Formulas:

Review the list of formulas sorted by their calculation time

Focus on the formulas taking the longest to complete, as these are likely the root causes of your performance issues

4. Optimize Slow Formulas:

Reduce data processing by limiting the number of rows or columns being calculated

Avoid unnecessary lookups and instead use Coda's built-in functions like filter(), sort(), and unique()

Leverage Coda's performance-optimized functions like countif() and sumif()

5. Test and Validate Improvements:

After making optimizations, re-run the Calculation Performance Analyzer to verify the improvements

Consider making a copy of your document to test optimization efforts without impacting live users

6. Repeat the Process:

Continuously monitor your document's calculation performance and repeat the optimization process as needed

Stay up-to-date with Coda's latest performance-enhancing features and best practices

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