Smart Text

The Smart text field is an extension of the Long text field. It changes a cell into a document-style editor. It uses the same editor as NocoDocs. Thus every cell has headings, lists, tables, code blocks, images, file attachments, embeds, callouts and the full slash command menu.

Create a Smart text field

1. Click the + icon to the right of the Fields header.
2. Enter a field name.
3. Select Long text as the field type.
4. Turn on the smart text toggle.
5. (Optional) Add a description.
6. Click Save Field. NocoDB adds the field to your table.

Refer to the general guidelines on creating a field.

Mutual exclusivity

You cannot turn on Smart text, Rich text and Generate text using AI together on the same field. When you turn on Smart text, the other two turn off. When you turn on one of the others, Smart text turns off.

Display value

You cannot set a Smart text field as the display value of a table. Multi-line and formatted content does not show well in single-line places. Examples are linked record chips, breadcrumbs, audit entries and search results.

Cell display

In the grid, a Smart text cell renders only a limited subset of markdown. This keeps cells easy to read in compact row heights. Other block types (tables, code, callouts, embeds and so on) show as raw markdown source in the cell. To see them rendered, open the cell in the Smart Text panel or the expanded record.

What renders in a grid cell:

• Headings (# … ######): bold, larger size.
• Bullet lists (-, *, +).
• Numbered lists (1., 2., …).
• Bold (**text**).
• Italic (*text*, _text_).
• Strikethrough (~~text~~, <s>text</s>).
• Links ([text](url)).
• @mentions.

What does not render (the cell shows the raw markdown as plain text):

• Blockquotes (> …)
• Inline code and fenced code blocks
• Tables
• Horizontal rules / dividers
• Task list checkboxes ([ ], [x])
• Images, file attachments
• Math equations
• Callouts (note, warning, tip, important)
• Two-column layouts
• Tabs
• Underline
• Embeds (YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, Figma, Google Docs, NocoDB views, and so on)

When you click a Smart text cell, no inline editor opens. NocoDB opens a dedicated Smart Text panel. In the panel, you edit the cell content with the full document editor, and all blocks are rendered.

Edit content in the Smart Text panel

Click a Smart text cell. The panel opens. By default, it slides in from the right of the grid. The panel header has these items:

To resize the panel, drag its left edge. NocoDB remembers the width across sessions.

Fullscreen mode

Click the fullscreen icon in the panel header. The editor expands to fill the workspace area. A breadcrumb at the top shows the project, the display value of the active row and the field name. The panel controls (navigation, actions, close) stay available. To go back to the floating side panel, click the fullscreen icon again or press Esc.

Auto-save

NocoDB saves edits automatically. The panel saves changes when you do one of these actions:

• Close the panel.
• Switch fields.
• Go to another row.
• Click outside the panel.
• Hide the browser tab.
• Close the window.

Editor features

The Smart Text panel uses the same editor as NocoDocs. It supports all of these block types. Add them from the toolbar, or type / to open the slash command menu:

• Text formatting: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, inline code and text color. Refer to Text formatting.
• Headings: three heading levels.
• Lists: bullet, numbered and task lists with nesting.
• Blocks: blockquotes, dividers, two-column layouts, and tabs.
• Tables: refer to Tables.
• Code blocks: syntax highlighting for many languages. Refer to Code blocks.
• Math equations: LaTeX-style inline and block equations. Refer to Math equations.
• Images and file attachments: uploaded files belong to the cell only. Refer to Images and attachments.
• Callouts: note, warning, tip and important.
• Embeds: YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, Figma, Google Docs / Drive / Maps, NocoDB shared views and more. Refer to Embeds.

Actions menu

Open the More menu in the panel header. It has these actions:

Edit content in the expanded record

When you open a record with the Expand row action, Smart text fields show their content inline as a formatted preview. The preview is next to the other fields. Thus you see headings, blockquotes, lists and inline styles without leaving the record.

Click the preview of the field. A dedicated full-screen modal opens. It uses the same editor as the Smart Text panel. The modal saves when you close it.

Behaviour in shared views

Shared views include Smart text content. When a viewer clicks a Smart text cell in a shared view, the panel opens in read-only mode. The viewer can see and export the content, but cannot edit it.

Storage and search

Smart text stores content in two forms:

• Structured editor JSON, which the panel uses.

• Derived markdown, which is the cell value.

• The grid renders the markdown form, and the records API sends and receives it. You can search, filter and sort cells with the markdown text.

• Only the Smart Text panel reads and writes structured content (formatting, blocks, embeds). If you edit a cell as plain markdown from other entry points, the edit overwrites the structured content.

• NocoDB tracks inline images and file attachments for each Smart text cell. When you delete the row, NocoDB removes them automatically.

Good to know

• Maximum content size: 5 MB per cell.

Availability

• Availability: Smart text is available on all NocoDB Cloud plans and licensed self-hosted deployments (Business plan and above). It needs an internal NocoDB-managed PostgreSQL project. The toggle is hidden on unlicensed Community Edition, on external data sources and on non-PostgreSQL sources.

Related

• Docs