Way to merge tables data
Asked by Chasovskikh Kirill:

Hi!

There is a table "employees" and there is a table "legal entities".  
Is there a way while editing the table "employees" in the COLUMN "legal entity" to give the user the opportunity to select one or more values from the TABLE "legal entity", the COLUMN "legal entity name"?


Answers:
author: Max Foerster - K15t
body: Hey [@Chasovskikh Kirill](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4814824),

as [@Andy Gladstone](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3498028) already mentioned, it is unfortunately impossible to implement this use case in Confluence without additional apps. Tables are just not smart enough and only static.

That was the not-so-good news, but that shouldn't get you down. ?   
There is also good news because one of the marketplace apps meant for your use case is [Orderly Databases for Confluence](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1227131/orderly-databases-for-confluence?hosting=cloud&tab=overview), which my team is working on at K15t. ?

But pictures are worth a thousand words, so I've reproduced your use case. Please excuse small inaccuracies. I have no idea what you want to store in your tables, so I improvised. ? But I hope you will be able to follow what I'm doing.

Let's assume you have set up a people directory in Confluence. It could look something like this after you set it up with Orderly. Looks like a table, but it has more features and is smart. Pretty nifty for structuring content. We have here a few different fields for text, select lists, images, nothing out of the ordinary.

![people_directory_orderly.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208594i42BD5FF5E94E06BF/image-dimensions/502x424?v=v2 "people_directory_orderly.png")

Your next step will probably be to set up the legal entities database. Again, some text, select lists, dates... One special field (Employees) I will explain later. ?

![legal_entities_configuration.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208595i268A5E86CAE7A067/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "legal_entities_configuration.png")

Now you want to bring that information into the people directory. That can be done using a new **Entry link field** in the people directory. Reference the Legal Entities database and save the configuration.

![entry_field_config.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208597iD3B00B36607AEB24/image-dimensions/360x398?v=v2 "entry_field_config.png")

Now you can start to select the correct legal entities for the employee in the table. The available values are the entries from the Legal Entities database.

![select_entity.gif](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208598i976899E668477E80/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "select_entity.gif")

And you might have noticed that the **Jurisdiction** field is automatically populated too. I added that as a little extra. You can reference any field from other databases related to this by using the **Lookup field** in Orderly. That's the configuration in my case:

![lookup_field_config.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208601i4B1ACB10096DAC72/image-dimensions/360x523?v=v2 "lookup_field_config.png")

Now let me come back to the Employees field. That's a **Backlink** **field**. It's displaying in what entries of other databases, such as the Employee Directory, this entity has been referenced.

I know this was just a quick guide, but if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I hope this has been useful. Have a great day. ??

Best, Max

comments: author: Chasovskikh Kirill
body: Hi [@Max Foerster - K15t](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/693014) !

This plugin is very similar to what we need. Thank you for the detailed response! We will try it!


author: Max Foerster - K15t
body: I am glad that I could help. You know where to find me if you need anything else. ?


author: Chasovskikh Kirill
body: hi, [@Max Foerster - K15t](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/693014) !

I have tried this plugin and find it wonderful!

But there is one more question - can we restrict people to view only some data from 1 database ?

For example user must see only entries, filtered by the field with value A, and must not see any others. Is it possible?

thank you!


author: Max Foerster - K15t
body: Hey [@Chasovskikh Kirill](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4814824)

So you can use the Orderly Database macro to allow users to see only a subset of data and no more. I assume that users have permission to view database contents. This is a prerequisite. Try the following Orderly Database macro configuration:

* Unselect **"Show database name"**.
* Unselect **"Show toolbar"**, so users cannot change the filter settings in the macro.
* Depending on the permissions you set up, consider changing the macro restrictions so users will be able to view data but are not able to interact with it (**e** **ntry editing** ) or editing and adding field types (**field editing**).

![macro_settings.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/212222i1006846B25EEAB80/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "macro_settings.png")

The result will be a read-only macro without additional options to interact (if you deselect the editing options)

![page.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/212226iD383781621379A71/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "page.png")

Currently, you can set permissions (view, edit, administer) only on the database level. So you won't be able to completely prevent users from having read access to all entries in a single database via the database overview in a space. It's either all or nothing for a single database. :)

Best, Max


author: Chasovskikh Kirill
body: ok, thank you for your answer!


author: Andy Gladstone
body: [@Chasovskikh Kirill](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4814824) this use case is not supported natively in Confluence Cloud. What you would like to do, create dependent drop down lists based on the data in a specific cell in a table in Confluence, just cannot be done. However, there may be an app in the [Marketplace](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/) that can accomplish this.

Good luck!

comments: author: Chasovskikh Kirill
body: Thank you for your answer!

Recommendation of a specific plugin could be a great help!


author: Andy Gladstone
body: [@Max Foerster - K15t](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/693014) has you covered. I could not remember the app, but k15t has you covered. I have seen this one in action (not installed in my instance ?) and it is EXACTLY what you are looking for [@Chasovskikh Kirill](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4814824). You should take it for a test drive.


author: Max Foerster - K15t
body: Thank you, [@Andy Gladstone](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3498028). ? What do I have to do or who do I have to talk to, so that you can take it for a test drive in your instance as well? Don't forget, it's free for small teams! ???

![5qP](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/208611i02F0C8EF80DA7DDD/image-dimensions/422x253?v=v2 "5qP")


Tags: cloud

confluence-cloud