Link Menu Expand (external link) Document Search Copy Copied
This website is for Zenphi public documentation.

How to Link a Zenphi Table to Multiple Spaces

Definition

In complex organizations, data rarely lives in a silo. You often need the same dataset—like a list of clients, products, or employees—to be accessible across different departments (e.g., HR, IT, and Finance).

The Link Table feature allows you to share a single Zenphi Table across multiple Spaces within your workspace.

Think of this as creating a “Shortcut” or a “Live Window” to the original table. It is not a copy; it is the exact same table instance. If a user in the “HR Space” adds a new row, that row instantly appears in the “IT Space” as well. This capability is essential for establishing a Single Source of Truth for your organization.

Common Use Cases

  1. Master Data Management (Single Source of Truth)
    • Scenario: You maintain a central “Employee Directory.”
    • Application: You keep the master table in a core “Data Space.” You then link it to the “HR Space” for leave requests and the “IT Space” for hardware provisioning. Both departments work from the same live list, eliminating duplicate data entry and sync errors.
  2. Cross-Department Handoffs
    • Scenario: A “Project Tracker” that moves through teams.
    • Application: The Sales team adds a new closed deal to the table (in the Sales Space). Because this table is linked to the Delivery Space, the Delivery team immediately sees the new project row and can begin their work without needing an email handoff.
  3. Moving Tables (The Workaround)
    • Scenario: You created a table in the wrong space and want to move it.
    • Application: Unlike Flows, Tables don’t have a direct “Move” button. Instead, you Link the table to the new destination, and then Unlink it from the old one.

The process is initiated from the Destination Space (the place where you want the table to appear).

  1. Navigate to the Space where you want the share the table TO.
  2. Click on the Tables section in the left-hand navigation bar.
  3. Look for the Chain Icon (Link Table) in the top right corner of the screen.
  4. A dropdown menu will appear listing all available tables from other spaces in your workspace.
  5. Select the table you wish to link.
  6. Click Save.

Result: The table now appears in your current space’s list. You can read, write, and query this table just like any local table.

💡 Pro Tip: Accessing Table Details

To perform advanced actions like Unlinking or checking which spaces a table is shared with, you must open the Table Details Pane.

The “Click” matters:

  • Clicking the Name: Opens the Table Editor (where you see the data rows).
  • Clicking the Row (Empty Space): Opens the Details Pane (where you see settings).

To open details, simply click anywhere on the table’s row except the blue name text.

If a space no longer needs access to a shared table, or if you are performing a “Move” operation, you can remove the link.

  1. Navigate to the Space you want to remove the table from.
  2. Go to the Tables section.
  3. Open Details: Click on the Table Row (the white space next to the name) to open the Details Pane on the right.
  4. In the Details Pane header, click the Unlink button.
  5. Confirm the action.

Result: The table disappears from the current space, but the original table and all its data remain safe in the other spaces.

Important Behaviors & Safeguards

1. Deletion Protection (The Safety Lock)

Zenphi enforces strict rules to prevent accidental data loss in shared environments:

  • Linked Tables cannot be deleted: If a table is linked to any other space, the “Delete” button will be disabled in all spaces. You cannot destroy the data until you have Unlinked it from every space except one.
  • Dependency Protection: A table cannot be deleted if it is currently being used by a Flow or a Dashboard, regardless of which space that flow lives in.

2. Data is Live

Remember that this is a live link.

  • Records: Adding, editing, or deleting a Row (Record) in one space happens immediately in all linked spaces.
  • Structure: If you change the Columns (Schema) of the table, that change is reflected everywhere.

3. How to “Move” a Table

Since there is no direct “Move Table” button, you can achieve a move by combining these features:

  1. Go to the New Space and Link the table.
  2. Go to the Old Space, open the Details Pane, and Unlink the table.
    • Outcome: The table has effectively “moved” to the new space without losing any data.

Example: The “Centralized Employee Directory”

Scenario: Your organization has three separate departments—HR, IT, and Finance—each operating in their own Zenphi Space to keep their workflows private. However, all three departments rely on the same list of employees to do their jobs (e.g., HR for leave, IT for laptop assignments, Finance for payroll).

The Problem: If each space has its own copy of the “Employee List,” you end up with three different versions. When an employee leaves, you have to update three separate tables.

The Solution:

  1. Create the Master: You create the master Employee Directory table inside the HR Space (since they own the data).
  2. Link to IT: You switch to the IT Space, go to Tables, click the Link icon, and select Employee Directory from the HR Space.
  3. Link to Finance: You repeat the process in the Finance Space.

Outcome: Now, when HR adds a new hire to the table in their space, the IT Onboarding Flow (running in the IT Space) instantly sees the new row and automatically provisions a laptop. You have achieved a “Single Source of Truth”—one table, visible everywhere, with zero risk of data mismatch.