Notion Tutorial: Relations and Rollups in Notion for Beginners! (Easy Guide)

Name: Notion Tutorial: Relations and Rollups in Notion for Beginners! (Easy Guide)
Uploaded: 2022-07-08T21:15:09.000Z
Duration: 38 min 57 s

Introduction to Relations and Roll-ups in Notion

In this video, Carter Serrano explains the concepts of relations and roll-ups in Notion. He acknowledges that these topics can be challenging at first but assures viewers that they will become clear with practice.

Understanding Databases and Properties

A database is a collection of related information organized into tables.

Each row in a database represents an individual item or entry.

Properties or attributes describe the characteristics of each item.

For example, a "Books" database may have properties like book title, number of pages, and genre.

Connecting Databases with Relations

Relations allow you to connect rows from one database to another.

You can establish a relation between a book title and a note title, for instance.

This connection enables you to link specific notes to corresponding books.

Utilizing Roll-ups

Roll-ups are used to bring over additional attributes or properties from one table to another.

For example, you can roll up tags from the notes database into the books database alongside the book titles.

Setting Up Books and Notes Databases in Notion

Carter demonstrates how to create a setup with separate databases for books and notes within Notion.

Creating Pages for Books and Notes

Start by creating a new page called "Books and Notes."

Within this page, create two sub-pages named "Books" and "Notes."

Creating the Books Database

Inside the "Books" sub-page, select the table option when prompted.

Create columns for different properties such as book title, number of pages, genre, etc.

Creating the Notes Database

Inside the "Notes" sub-page, select the table option when prompted.

Create columns for note title, tags, date, and any other desired properties.

Establishing Relations and Roll-ups

To connect the books and notes databases:

Use relations to link specific book titles with corresponding note titles.

Utilize roll-ups to bring over additional attributes like tags from the notes database into the books database.

Conclusion

Carter Serrano provides a clear explanation of relations and roll-ups in Notion. He emphasizes that understanding these concepts is crucial for effectively organizing information within databases. By establishing connections between different tables, users can enhance their productivity and streamline their workflow in Notion.

Adding Genre

In this section, the speaker explains how to add a genre property to the database.

Adding Genre

Rename the property to "genre".

Change the property type from multi-select to single select.

Add different genres such as business, self-help, and fiction.

Adding Number of Pages

The speaker demonstrates how to add a property for the number of pages in a book.

Adding Number of Pages

Rename the property to "number of pages".

Enter a value for the number of pages, e.g., 250.

Creating Notes Page

This section focuses on creating a notes page and connecting it with the books page.

Creating Notes Page

Go back to "Books and Notes" and click on "Add icon" to create a new page.

Type "/page" and name it "notes".

Select table as the page type.

Create a new database named "book notes" (to avoid confusion with other notes databases).

Add an icon for visual identification, such as a booklet.

Rename the column in this database as "note".

Adding Tags Column

The speaker explains how to add tags column for sorting and searching notes.

Adding Tags Column

In the "book notes" database, add a column named "tags".

Set this column as multi-select.

Use tags like "book notes", "business notes", etc. for easy searching and filtering.

Adding Created Time Column

This section covers adding a column to track the creation time of notes.

Adding Created Time Column

Add a new column named "created time" in the "book notes" database.

Set this column as "created time" type to track when each note was created.

Rename this column to "date created".

Give a name to the note, e.g., "business notes".

Connecting Books and Notes Databases

The speaker demonstrates how to connect the books and book notes databases.

Connecting Books and Notes Databases

In the "books" database, click on the plus button.

Select "relation" as the property type.

Choose the "book notes" database from the list of databases.

Toggle on/off the option to show relation in notes (optional).

Click on "Add relation".

Using Relations for Book Notes

This section explains how to use relations between books and book notes.

Using Relations for Book Notes

Click into the newly added relation column in the books database.

Access all pages from the book notes database related to a specific book title.

Add related properties by clicking on "+" button multiple times.

Rollups for Note Tags

The speaker demonstrates how to use rollups to display tags associated with a note in the books database.

Rollups for Note Tags

Click on "+" button in books database.

Select "rollup" as property type.

Choose a relation (e.g., business notes) that you want to pull tags from.

Change property setting to display tags associated with that note.

Understanding Rollups and Relations

In this section, the speaker introduces the concepts of rollups and relations. They provide an example using two databases - a recipes database and an ingredients database - to demonstrate how these concepts work.

Creating the Recipes Database

Create a new page called "Recipes and Ingredients" by typing "/page" and hitting enter.

Name the page "Recipes Database" and convert it into a table.

Add a column named "Recipe" where you can enter different recipes.

Optionally, add additional columns like tags or course types to categorize the recipes.

Creating the Ingredients Database

Create another new page within "Recipes and Ingredients" called "Ingredients Database".

Choose an appropriate icon for this page, such as a shopping cart.

Convert this page into a table as well.

Add a column named "Ingredients" to list out all the individual ingredients needed for the recipes.

Optionally, add more properties like an in-stock or out-of-stock status for each ingredient.

Relating Recipes to Ingredients

Go back to the "Recipes and Ingredients" page and open the "Recipes Database".

Click on the plus button to add a new entry.

Select "Relation" as the type of entry you want to add.

Choose the "Ingredients Database" as the related database for this recipe.

This allows you to connect specific ingredients with each recipe.

Using Rollups for Ingredient Status

To see if ingredients are in stock or out of stock, click on the plus button in the "Ingredients Database".

Select "Type", then choose "Rollup".

Reference the relation with the ingredients database that was created earlier.

Change the property from ingredients to status (in stock or out of stock).

Now you can see at a glance which ingredients are in stock or out of stock for each recipe.

[t=0:12:56] Connecting Recipes and Ingredients

In this section, the speaker continues the example of connecting recipes and ingredients databases. They explain how to relate multiple ingredients to one recipe and demonstrate the process.

Relating Multiple Ingredients to a Recipe

Open the "Recipes Database" within the "Recipes and Ingredients" page.

Click on the plus button to add a new entry.

Select "Relation" as the type of entry you want to add.

Choose the "Ingredients Database" as the related database for this recipe.

This allows you to connect multiple ingredients with each recipe.

Viewing Related Recipes in Ingredients Database

In the "Ingredients Database", turn on the option to see all recipes associated with specific ingredients.

This can be useful if you want to view all recipes that use a particular ingredient.

Using Rollups for Ingredient Status

To roll up and display ingredient status (in stock or out of stock), follow similar steps as before:

Click on the plus button in the "Ingredients Database".

Select "Type", then choose "Rollup".

Reference the relation with the ingredients database.

Change the property from ingredients to status (in stock or out of stock).

Now you can easily see whether each ingredient is in stock or out of stock for each recipe.

The transcript does not provide any further sections or timestamps beyond this point.

New Section

The speaker discusses the ingredients needed for making pancakes and highlights the usefulness of a recipe database.

Pancake Ingredients

The speaker suggests going back to their recipes and ingredients database.

They mention the ingredients needed for making pancakes: pancake mix, eggs, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

The speaker emphasizes that the recipe database is still very useful as it helps identify missing ingredients for various dishes.

Timestamp provided is 0:19:17 (1157 seconds).