Use multi-select dropdown columns in tables

Multi select lets one table cell hold several dropdown options instead of just one. It is off by default on every dropdown column, so you turn it on per column when you need it. After that, each cell shows your selections as badges, and paste, imports, formulas, and the AI assistant all work with the full list of selections.

Turn on Multi select

You switch Multi select on once per dropdown column, in the column's settings. The setting is off on both existing and new dropdown columns, and turning it on keeps any single selection the column already has.

1. In the table editor, click Manage columns at the top, or right-click a column header and choose Edit column. The Edit column panel opens.

2. Choose Dropdown as the column type.

3. Set Multi select to True.

Choose several options in a cell

With Multi select on, the option picker stays open after you click a cell, so you can choose more than one option before you move on. The cell shows each selection as a badge, a rounded chip carrying the option label.

1. Click the cell. The option picker opens and stays open.

2. Click every option you want. Each chosen option gets a checkmark.

3. Click a checked option again to remove it.

When you reorder a column's options, the badges and their order refresh immediately. Deleting an option keeps the remaining selections.

Wrap badges onto several lines

Badges stay on one line by default, and any overflow is cropped. Turn on wrapping when you want the badges in a cell to flow onto several lines instead.

1. Right-click the column header.

2. Choose Wrap content to turn wrapping on, or Unwrap content to turn it off.

Enter values by paste or import

Paste, imports, and programmatic row edits accept two forms for a multi-select cell, and both must use exact option labels from that column:

• One exact option label, for example Retail.

• A list of exact option labels in the form ["Retail","Wholesale"].

• An empty list [] clears the cell.

If any value in the operation is invalid, nothing is applied: the whole paste or row operation is rejected before it runs. A failed paste shows a message of the form:

Can't paste this selection. 'COLUMN' in row ROW must contain an existing dropdown option.

For row edits through the assistant, give the same values: one label for a single selection, or a list of labels for several. See Edit table rows with the AI assistant for how to ask.

Use the selection in formulas

FormulaScript reads a multi-select cell as a list of the current option labels. An empty selection is an empty list. INDEX(table, row, column) returns the complete selection for a multi-select cell.

Turn a row's selections into plain text with JOIN:

JOIN(INDEX(T1, 0, "B"), ", ")

To filter rows by a selection, TABLEFILTER matches your query against each label inside the cell. TABLEFILTER(T1, 1, "Retail") keeps rows whose cell contains the exact label Retail, alone or alongside other options. See TABLEFILTER for the details and the <> exclusion form.

In a Repeater, set the Repeater's data source to TABLEFILTER(T1, 1, "Retail") to repeat only the rows whose multi-select cell contains Retail. Inside the repeated row, use INDEX(RA, 0) with the Repeater's Item reference to pull values from the current row.

Switch back to single select

A column keeps Multi select on while any cell in it holds more than one option. In the Edit column panel, the False option is disabled and shows this explanation:

Keep at most one option in each cell before turning off multi select.

Remove the extra options from every cell first, then switch Multi select back to False.