1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,340 [MUSIC] 2 00:00:09,340 --> 00:00:13,790 Hey everyone, Guil here, a developer and instructor at Treehouse. 3 00:00:13,790 --> 00:00:18,210 We've previously explored many of the core building blocks of Coda. 4 00:00:18,210 --> 00:00:23,068 You've learned how Coda empowers you with docs that can serve as a simple writing 5 00:00:23,068 --> 00:00:27,356 surface, a tool to manage data, a way to manage custom workflows, and 6 00:00:27,356 --> 00:00:30,216 even as a way to create app-like experiences, 7 00:00:30,216 --> 00:00:34,560 all without you ever needing to write a single line of code. 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:39,288 You've also created a data-powered doc using pages, with tables, templates, and 9 00:00:39,288 --> 00:00:42,340 buttons, then published it on the web. 10 00:00:42,340 --> 00:00:46,434 In this workshop you'll learn how to use Coda as a tool for learning, 11 00:00:46,434 --> 00:00:49,188 note-taking, time management, and more, 12 00:00:49,188 --> 00:00:55,000 by customizing a workbook doc we've built in Coda to best fit your learning needs. 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,808 Creating and tracking your learning goals helps you get the most out of your 14 00:00:58,808 --> 00:01:02,410 learning experience and helps you build good study habits. 15 00:01:02,410 --> 00:01:04,930 So let's get to know your Coda learning doc. 16 00:01:04,930 --> 00:01:05,612 To get started, 17 00:01:05,612 --> 00:01:08,650 review the instructions posted in the teacher's notes with this video. 18 00:01:09,790 --> 00:01:13,757 Shown here is an example of a Treehouse workbook you may use during your Treehouse 19 00:01:13,757 --> 00:01:15,110 learning journey. 20 00:01:15,110 --> 00:01:17,926 Be sure to copy this doc using the link posted in the teacher's notes, 21 00:01:17,926 --> 00:01:20,930 if you haven't already, so you can follow along with me. 22 00:01:20,930 --> 00:01:24,370 Because this workbook is built in Coda, it's customizable. 23 00:01:24,370 --> 00:01:27,700 I'll show you how to do this as it's a great way to learn how to use Coda. 24 00:01:27,700 --> 00:01:31,076 In just a minute, we'll get into our first exercise, but first, 25 00:01:31,076 --> 00:01:34,050 I'll give you a quick tour of the workbook. 26 00:01:34,050 --> 00:01:38,150 Notice how it's organized into three main sections. 27 00:01:38,150 --> 00:01:42,220 My Student Planner, where you can track your learning progress. 28 00:01:42,220 --> 00:01:46,714 My Binders, where you'll organize study notes, reference material, or 29 00:01:46,714 --> 00:01:50,440 anything related to course, or workshop projects. 30 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,059 And finally, the My Resources section, where you'll find information and 31 00:01:54,059 --> 00:01:56,518 tools that will support your learning experience. 32 00:01:59,496 --> 00:02:03,485 We'll start by diving a little deeper into the concepts of tables and 33 00:02:03,485 --> 00:02:05,340 how Coda uses them. 34 00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:08,074 As you've learned in the previous workshop, 35 00:02:08,074 --> 00:02:12,130 tables are one of the foundational building blocks of Coda. 36 00:02:12,130 --> 00:02:15,204 I'm guessing that you may be familiar with spreadsheets and 37 00:02:15,204 --> 00:02:17,320 how they are used to organize data. 38 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,346 Well, tables in Coda serve pretty much the same purpose, 39 00:02:20,346 --> 00:02:24,060 in that they're used to organize data, but what's different? 40 00:02:24,060 --> 00:02:27,016 Well, Coda tables behave more like databases, 41 00:02:27,016 --> 00:02:32,640 essentially a collection of tables that can easily be connected to each other. 42 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:36,594 A clear understanding of how Coda views tables as databases and 43 00:02:36,594 --> 00:02:41,460 not spreadsheets will go a long way in understanding how Coda works. 44 00:02:41,460 --> 00:02:45,746 A good place to start would be to understand some of the benefits of Coda 45 00:02:45,746 --> 00:02:48,120 tables over spreadsheets. 46 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:52,507 We'll use the Treehouse, Intro to Coda doc I presented in the Introducing Coda 47 00:02:52,507 --> 00:02:54,810 workshop to illustrate these benefits. 48 00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:01,870 First, Coda tables should feel a bit different to you from a spreadsheet. 49 00:03:01,870 --> 00:03:06,700 Rows and columns have clear meaning in Coda tables. 50 00:03:06,700 --> 00:03:10,075 Rows generally represent objects or things, and 51 00:03:10,075 --> 00:03:14,340 columns can be thought of as attributes of those things. 52 00:03:14,340 --> 00:03:17,320 Tables increase the consistency of your data. 53 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,362 For example, there's no A2, 54 00:03:19,362 --> 00:03:23,294 B2 numbering scheme like you may be used to in Google Sheets or 55 00:03:23,294 --> 00:03:28,300 Microsoft Excel, which makes it easier to filter, sort and group your data. 56 00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:34,312 Second, columns in Coda tables also come with more formats, 57 00:03:34,312 --> 00:03:37,910 which are more useful than just text and cells. 58 00:03:37,910 --> 00:03:42,855 For instance, there's dates, select lists, people sliders, 59 00:03:42,855 --> 00:03:46,310 images, attached files, or rating scales. 60 00:03:46,310 --> 00:03:51,287 Third, you can create views off of Coda tables, both to represent the data 61 00:03:51,287 --> 00:03:55,948 in different ways, like timelines or charts, and to create space for 62 00:03:55,948 --> 00:04:01,640 other collaborators to work on the same data without impacting your workflow. 63 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,939 The best part is that while the view can be tailored to your needs, 64 00:04:05,939 --> 00:04:09,500 the underlying data will always stay in sync. 65 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:11,624 I'll show you an example of that later in this workshop. 66 00:04:15,569 --> 00:04:18,810 Finally, Coda tables can talk to each other. 67 00:04:18,810 --> 00:04:21,960 When you have related items like projects and tasks, 68 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,010 Coda makes it easy to tie the tables together. 69 00:04:25,010 --> 00:04:29,070 No complex formulas required like you'd have to write with spreadsheets. 70 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,270 Here's an example of how Coda makes it easy for tables to talk to one another. 71 00:04:35,270 --> 00:04:39,574 Let's say we created a learning plan table in Google Sheets, and 72 00:04:39,574 --> 00:04:44,360 we wanted to reference a list of lessons stored in another table. 73 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,120 We'd want an easy way to look them up without having to look them up manually. 74 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,250 To do this, we'd need to go back and 75 00:04:51,250 --> 00:04:56,156 forth between the tables to write what's called a vlookup script that references 76 00:04:56,156 --> 00:04:59,940 the correct column IDs to pull the lesson information we need. 77 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,717 In Coda, both the Learning Plan and 78 00:05:03,717 --> 00:05:07,640 Lessons tables would behave more like databases. 79 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,440 Let's look at the Learning Plan table in the Treehouse Workbook. 80 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:16,250 Notice how the Lesson column has drop down lists. 81 00:05:16,250 --> 00:05:18,364 If you click on a Lesson drop down list, 82 00:05:18,364 --> 00:05:21,420 you'll see a list of lessons to choose from. 83 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:23,170 Where are these being pulled from? 84 00:05:23,170 --> 00:05:28,336 Well, a quick look at the lookup properties tells us that this column is 85 00:05:28,336 --> 00:05:33,418 referencing the Lessons table which we've pre-populated with some 86 00:05:33,418 --> 00:05:38,756 Treehouse courses and workshops, and it's located here in the Admin and 87 00:05:38,756 --> 00:05:44,120 Data page, that's a sub page of the My Treehouse Workbook Intro page. 88 00:05:47,670 --> 00:05:52,042 All right, now that you have a better understanding of how tables work in Coda, 89 00:05:52,042 --> 00:05:56,348 we're going to start customizing the Learning Plan table as a way to introduce 90 00:05:56,348 --> 00:05:58,320 more of Coda's functionalities.