Data table block
Spreadsheet with formulas, units and validation.
The data table block is an inline, typed spreadsheet. Unlike a free Markdown table, it has explicit column types, validation, formulas, and frozen headers — all the things you'd expect from a small Excel or Airtable view, but in your document.
When to reach for it
Use a data table when you want to capture or compute values inside a document (rather than persisting them to a workspace-level data environment). Typical uses:
- Buffer recipes with concentration / volume / final-concentration columns
- Daily body-weight readings for a small mouse cohort
- Reagent-prep checklists with computed totals
- Quick PK parameter calculations alongside narrative
If the data needs to be queryable across documents, use a Registration table (writes to an environment) or a Lookup table (reads from one) instead.
Example: reagent prep for an ELISA
The component below is the actual spreadsheet engine Dalea uses inside the data-table block. Edit any cell — change a stock concentration, retarget a final volume — and the formulas in the Vol stock (µL) column will recompute live:
This is the same spreadsheet engine Dalea uses inside the data-table block. Try editing the Final (µg/mL) or Stockcolumns — the formulas in Vol stock recompute live and the total updates. Click any cell starting with = to see its formula.
Formulas in the data-table block follow the same conventions you'd expect from a
spreadsheet: =ROUND(...), =SUM(...), cell references like =B2*D2/A2. Formulas
can also reference other tables in the same document (=Samples!B4).
Column types
- Text
- Free-form. Optional regex validation.
- Number
- With optional unit, min/max, decimal places.
- Date / DateTime
- ISO format, locale-aware display.
- Boolean
- Checkbox or yes/no toggle.
- Select
- Single value from an enum.
- Multi-select
- Multiple values from an enum (e.g. PPE list).
- Formula
- Computed value. Supports arithmetic, IF, AVG, SUM, REF.
- Reference
- Link to a row in another table or to an object in a data environment.
Validation
Column-level validation runs as the user types. Invalid cells get an amber flag and a tooltip. The document remains saveable but the chart blocks downstream will warn that they're computing on partial data.
Importing CSV
Drag a CSV file onto the table or use the slash menu's "Import CSV". Dalea will auto-detect column types and ask you to confirm. The first row is assumed to be a header unless you toggle otherwise.
For larger imports (≥ 10 k rows) use the Bulk import flow into a data environment instead — inline data tables are sized for tens to a few hundred rows.