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teable: Postgres Airtable Fusion

Dec 29, 2024

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https://teable.io/https://github.com/teableio/teable

Teable is a powerful visual interface built on relational databases (PostgreSQL). It uses a simple, spreadsheet-like interface to create complex enterprise-level database applications. Unlock efficient app development with no code, free from data security and scalability hurdles.

You can think of it as migrating the powerful capabilities of Airtable onto PostgreSQL while inheriting exceptional performance and stability from the physical databases.

Teable Interface

Features

Spreadsheet-like interface

All you want is here

  • Cell Editing: Directly click and edit content within cells.
  • Formula Support: Input mathematical and logical formulas to auto-calculate values.
  • Data Sorting and Filtering: Sort data based on a column or multiple columns; use filters to view specific rows of data.
  • Aggregation Function: Automatically summarize statistics for each column, providing instant calculations like sum, average, count, max, and min for streamlined data analysis.
  • Data Formatting: formatting numbers, dates, etc.
  • Grouping: Organize rows into collapsible groups based on column values for easier data analysis and navigation.
  • Freeze Columns: Freeze the left column of the table so they remain visible while scrolling.
  • Import/Export Capabilities: Import and export data from other formats, e.g., .csv, .xlsx.
  • Row Styling & Conditional Formatting: Change row styles automatically based on specific conditions. (coming soon)
  • Charts & Visualization Tools: Create charts from table data such as bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, etc. (coming soon)
  • Data Validation: Limit or validate data that are entered into cells. (coming soon)
  • Undo/Redo: Undo or redo recent changes. (coming soon)
  • Comments & Annotations: Attach comments to rows, providing explanations or feedback for other users. (coming soon)
  • Find & Replace: Search content within the table and replace it with new content. (coming soon)

Multiple Views

Visualize and interact with data in various ways best suited for their specific tasks.

  • Grid View: The default view of the table, which displays data in a spreadsheet-like format.
  • Form View: Input data in a form format, which is useful for collecting data.
  • Kanban View: Displays data in a Kanban board, which is a visual representation of data in columns and cards. (coming soon)
  • Calendar View: Displays data in a calendar format, which is useful for tracking dates and events. (coming soon)
  • Gallery View: Displays data in a gallery format, which is useful for displaying images and other media. (coming soon)
  • Gantt View: Displays data in a Gantt chart, which is useful for tracking project schedules. (coming soon)
  • Timeline View: Displays data in a timeline format, which is useful for tracking events over time. (coming soon)

Super Fast

Amazing response speed and data capacity

  • Millions of data are easily processed, and there is no pressure to filter and sort
  • Automatic database indexing for maximum speed
  • Supports batch data operations at one time

Full-featured SQL Support

Seamless integration with the software you are familiar with

  • BI tools like Metabase PowerBi...
  • No-code tools like Appsmith...
  • Direct retrieve data with native SQL

Copilot (coming soon)

Native Integrated AI ability

  • Chat 2 App. "Create a project management app for me"
  • Chat 2 Chart. "Analyze the data in the order table using a bar chart"
  • Chat 2 View. "I want to see the schedule for the past week and only display participants"
  • Chat 2 Action. "After the order is paid and completed, an email notification will be sent to the customer"
  • More actions...

Privacy-First

You own your data, in spite of the cloud

  • Bring your own database (coming soon)

Real-time collaboration

Designed for teams

  • No need to refresh the page, data is updated in real-time
  • Seamlessly integrate collaboration member invitation and management
  • Perfect permission management mechanism, from table to column level

Extensions (coming soon)

Expand infinite possibilities

  • Backend-less programming capability based on React
  • Customize your own application with extremely low cost
  • Extremely easy-to-use script extensions mode

Automation (coming soon)

Empower data-driven workflows effortlessly and seamlessly

  • Design your workflow with AI or Visual programming
  • Super easy to retrieve data from the table

Support for multiple databases (coming soon)

Choose the SQL database you like

  • Sqlite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, TiDB...

Why Teable?

No-code tools have significantly speed up how we get things done, allowing non-tech users to build amazing apps and changing the way many work and live. People like using spreadsheet-like UI to handle their data because it's easy, flexible, and great for team collaboration. They also prefer designing their app screens without being stuck with clunky templates.

Giving non-techy people the ability to create their software sounds exciting. But that's just the start:

  • As businesses expand, their data needs intensify. No one wishes to hear that once their orders reach 100k, they'll outgrow their current interface. Yet, many no-code platforms falter at such scales.
  • Most no-code platforms are cloud-based. This means your important data sits with the provider, and switching to another platform can be a headache.
  • Sometimes, no-code tools can't do what you want because of their limitations, leaving users stuck.
  • If a tool becomes essential, you'll eventually need some tech expertise. But developers often find these platforms tricky.
  • Maintaining systems with complex setups can be hard for developers, especially if these aren't built using common software standards.
  • Systems that don't use these standards might need revamping or replacing, costing more in the long run. It might even mean ditching the no-code route and going back to traditional coding.

What we think the future of no-code products look like

  • An interface that anyone can use to build applications easily.
  • Easy access to data, letting users grab, move, and reuse their information as they wish.
  • Data privacy and choice, whether that's in the cloud, on-premise, or even just on your local.
  • It needs to work for developers too, not just non-tech users.
  • It should handle lots of data, so it can grow with your business.
  • Flexibility to integrate with other software, combining strengths to get the job done.
  • Last, native AI integration to takes usability to the next level.

In essence, Teable isn't just another no-code solution, it's a comprehensive answer to the evolving demands of modern software development, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their technical proficiency, has a platform tailored to their needs.

Build a Simple Base

This article will guide you through creating an AI PDF Summary Base in Teable, step by step. This Base will help you manage PDF files and the data from PDF files organized by AI.

It might seem a bit complex for beginners, but I'll make the process as simple and understandable as possible. Let's tackle this task step by step.

you can find this template here: AI PDF Summary

Step One: Create Your Base

Create a New Base: After logging into your Teable account, click the "Create New Base" button on the interface. You have the option to start from scratch or use a template. In this example, we'll choose "Create Empty Database".

Name Your Base: After creating a new Base, click the dropdown button in the top left corner to rename it, entering “AI PDF Summary” as the name of your Base.

Step Two: Create two tables

After creating your Base, click the + sign on the left to create a table, and double-click the table name (default is “Table 1”) to rename it to “PDF List”, and create a table rename it to "PDF Category Table" as the same

Configure Fields:

Now you will see three default fields in each field. Delete the last two fields as they are not needed here, in both two tables. now we have two tables each just having one field. that is clean!

  • Go back to the "PDF List" table.
  • Rename the first field to FileName.
  • Click the add field button, choose “Attachment”, and name the field “PDF” to store PDF files.

  • Click the add field button, choose “Long Text”, and name the field “Text Content” to store the text content of the PDF files.

  • Repeat the previous step, choose “Long Text”, and name the field “Summary” to store summaries of the PDF documents.
  • Lastly, click the add field button, choose “Link to another table”, then choose “Create New Table”, and name it “PDF Category”. This will create a new table and link it to the “PDF List” table through the “Category” field. After that, select “Single Select”, as each PDF belongs to one category only.

Step Three: Configure the PDF Category Table

Since the PDF Category table has been created in the previous step we now need to further configure it.

Configure the PDF Category Table:

  • Teable has automatically created a “Name” field for us, which we will use to store the names of categories.
  • PDF List: This field has also been automatically created, corresponding to the Category field in the PDF List table.

Add Fields:

  • All Summary: Click the add field button, choose “Lookup”, target table select “PDF List”, and from there select the “Summary” field. This will allow us to view summaries of all PDFs under each category in the PDF Category table.

  • Count: Click the add field button, choose “Rollup”, target table select “PDF List”, rollup field select “FileName”, and rollup type select “Count”. This will display the number of PDF files under each category.

Step Four: Populate Data and Use Your Base

Now that your Base framework is set up, you can start adding information about PDF files to the “PDF List” table. When you categorize a PDF file, Teable will automatically update related fields in the “PDF Category” table, such as All Summary and Count.

  • Add PDF File Information: In the “PDF List” table, click to add a new row, then fill in the PDF file’s FileName, Text Content, and Summary. In the Category field, select an existing category or create a new one.
  • View Category Summaries: Switch to the “PDF Category” table, and you can see the count of PDF files and the summaries of all PDFs under each category.

Step Five: Optimization and Expansion

As you become more familiar with using Teable, you might want to add more features or fields to meet your needs, such as:

  • Adding More Fields: For example, adding “Upload Date”, “Author”, and other information for the PDF files.
  • Creating Views: Teable allows you to create different views for your tables, such as grid view, calendar view, kanban view, etc., to view and manage your data in various ways.

View Usage Example

The current view filters out content with empty TextContent and groups items by Category for a better visual layout.

Step Six: API Writing

Our primary design goal for the current Base is to store text content and summaries generated by AI analysis of PDFs for easy retrieval later. We can design a workflow where PDFs are parsed through a third-party AI tool, and then the data is written back into cells using an API.

To write data using the Teable API, you first need to create an Access Token, and then read the API documentation and debug.

Step Seven: Integrating Third-Party Platforms

Once your Base has accumulated enough data, you might need to perform data insights and analysis, such as using an open-source data analysis tool like Metabase to create data reports and dashboards. Most data analysis tools support Postgres connections to access data, so you can create a Postgres database connection directly in Teable, allowing third-party tools to read the data in your Base.

Similarly, if you need to build a customized application interface for collaboration with other co-workers, you can use open-source low-code software like AppSmith, flexibly reading and writing data through database connections + API.

Congratulations, you have now successfully created an AI PDF Summary Base and mastered the basics of using Teable. As you continue to practice, you'll be able to use Teable more flexibly to manage and analyze your data.