Collaboration
TinyTables supports real-time collaboration. Multiple team members can view and edit the same table simultaneously, with live updates, presence indicators, and change tracking.
Real-time editing
When multiple people open the same table:
| Feature | How it works |
|---|---|
| Live updates | Changes appear instantly for all viewers, no refresh needed |
| Presence indicators | Colored avatars show who's currently viewing the table |
| Cell highlighting | See which cell another user is editing (their cursor color matches their avatar) |
| Conflict prevention | If two users edit the same cell simultaneously, the last save wins (with the overwritten value saved in change history) |
Presence
The top-right corner of the table shows avatars of all currently active viewers:
- Solid circle: user is actively viewing or editing
- Faded circle: user has the table open but is in another tab
- Hover: shows the user's name and what cell they're focused on
Comments
Leave comments on specific rows for team discussion:
- Open a row's detail view
- Scroll to the Activity section
- Type a comment and press Enter
Comments support:
- @mentions: tag a team member to notify them
- Thread replies: reply to a specific comment
- Rich text: bold, italic, links, and code snippets
See Comments for full details.
Change history
Every cell edit is tracked:
| Information | Description |
|---|---|
| Who | Which user made the change |
| When | Timestamp of the change |
| What | Old value → new value |
| Where | Which row and column |
Access change history:
- Row level: Open row detail → Activity → History tab
- Table level: Click History in the toolbar for a table-wide changelog
Notifications
Get notified about changes that matter to you:
| Event | Notification |
|---|---|
| @mentioned in comment | Email + in-app |
| Row assigned to you | In-app |
| Watched field changed | In-app (configurable to email) |
| New row added (watched table) | In-app |
Configure notification preferences in Settings → Notifications (see Notifications).
Working together effectively
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Use comments, not chat | Comments stay attached to the row; context is preserved |
| Assign rows to owners | Use a User/Assignee column to clarify who's responsible |
| Use personal views | Create filtered views that show only your assigned rows |
| Lock shared views | Prevent accidental changes to team dashboards and reports |
| Review history before overwriting | If a value seems wrong, check who changed it and why before reverting |
Create a "Status" choice column and a "Notes" long-text column on every shared table. Status shows where each row stands; Notes captures context that isn't obvious from the data fields alone.
Real-time collaboration works with up to 50 simultaneous editors. For tables with more concurrent users, consider using views to distribute activity across different filtered subsets.