Running a column fills in its cells. This article shows you how to add a column without running it, test one row, and then run the rest.
In the video, adding the column without running it and testing one row start at 0:42.
Check Auto-run first
Look at the top left of the table toolbar for Auto-run.
Hover it to read a tooltip. Or click it: a popover opens, headed Auto-run Off (or Auto-run On), with a switch and the same paragraph as the tooltip. The click itself does not change anything. The switch does. Press
Escto close the popover.
When Auto-run is Off, the app says: "New rows and values will not run on their own — trigger them from a column or row. Cells already queued still run."
When it is On, the app says: "New values in the first column will trigger the row workflow. Cells already queued run on their own either way."
Switching Auto-run on shows no confirmation, no price and no row count. In one test, nothing ran on rows that were added while it was Off, and they did not catch up later. To run them, click the play button on the column header, read the cost line, and choose Run all N empty rows.
What does a column's own Auto-run switch do?
Columns that have Run Settings, such as Normalize Company Name, have an Auto-run switch there. Its info icon says: "Runs this column on its own: for rows that arrive, and again for a row whose inputs change. Off means it only runs when you ask."
What the panel shows depends on the table:
Table Off: the switch is greyed out and shows Off. The text says: "Table Auto-run is off. This column will only run manually until table Auto-run is enabled."
Table On, switch On: "New trigger values can automatically run this column."
Table On, switch Off: a Won't auto-run badge appears next to Run Settings, and the text says: "Auto-run is off. Manual runs still work."
Formula and Run Regex columns compute on their own whether the table's Auto-run is Off or On. In the grid their headers show a check icon. The Run Regex edit panel has no Run Settings. In our tests, a free tool that does have Run Settings, such as Normalize Domain, stayed empty with Auto-run Off and ran by itself when the table and its own switch were both On.
Add a column without running it
This example uses Company profile, which is free with Loopster Data.
Click Add column, then Add enrichment.
Click Company profile. It needs one input: a company website or LinkedIn company page.
Click the input field and press
/. You get a list of your columns.Pick Company Domain. The field now shows a tag.
Do not click the main button, for example Add column and run 5 rows. Open the arrow next to it and choose Add column without running.
The column is added, but its cells are empty. Every row now has a play button (Run this row).
Test one row before running the rest
Click the play button on the first row.
Check the result.
Only that row fills in. The other rows stay empty.
Test a few rows without the dialog
To test several rows without opening the Run column dialog:
Drag across a few cells in the column to select them.
Right-click, then click Run N cells, for example Run 3 cells.
Right-click a single cell and the item reads Run 1 cell. A message says "Successfully queued 1 cell for processing".
In our tests, on free columns, the cells started at once, with a message such as "Queueing 3 cells...". Check the column's cost in the Run column dialog first. If you close that dialog with the X, nothing runs.
You can also tick rows and open Actions. It lists Run N rows.
Run the rest of the column
Click the play button on the column header (Run column).
The Run column dialog opens. In this example it has two options. The numbers depend on your table:
Run all 4 empty rows. In this example, row 1 already had a result, so rows 2 to 5 were queued.
Overwrite all 5 rows. It re-runs every row and overwrites completed cells.
Read the line under each option. For a free column such as Company profile, it says Spends nothing from your wallet. For a paid column it shows a cost. The wording depends on the column type.
Choose Run all 4 empty rows.
If you close the dialog with the X, nothing runs.
What other buttons can the dialog show?
Once some rows have run, the dialog can show more buttons:
Run N rows with no result: "Empty rows, plus every row that failed, found nothing, or was skipped"
Re-run N error rows: "Retry rows that previously failed"
Run all N empty rows is not shown when N is 0. Rows that failed, and rows that show "Run condition not met", are not counted as empty. They are counted under Run N rows with no result, and failed rows also under Re-run N error rows.
N counts only the rows you can see through a filter. Ticking rows does not change the dialog you open from the column header. The cost line under each button is worded differently for each column type. See What each button in the Run column dialog does.
What is Keep existing results?
When the table's Auto-run is On, a tick box called Keep existing results is ticked by default. It says: "Only errored, empty and new cells run. A completed answer is left alone even when one of its inputs changes."
Untick it and the text becomes: "Changing an input re-runs the columns below it and replaces their answers — which is billed again for those rows."
With the box ticked, editing an input recomputes a Formula column but does not re-run a paid column, and no charge appears. With the box unticked, the paid column re-runs and is billed again.
The tick box is in two places: the Auto-run popover in the toolbar, and Table settings under Run settings. It is hidden while Auto-run is Off. It is not in a column's Run Settings and not in the Run column dialog.
Good to know
Auto-run is a setting for each table, and a new table can start with it on or off. Check it on every table.
A column that has Run Settings also has its own Auto-run switch there. While the table's Auto-run is off, that switch is greyed out and the column only runs manually. The Run Regex edit panel has no Run Settings.
After you press
/, pick a column from the list. Picking a column replaces the/.The row play button and the column play button are separate. The row button runs one row, and the header button opens the Run column dialog.
A hidden paid column can still run on a new row when the table's Auto-run and the column's own switch are both on.
Rows you add with the box under the last row (Add 10 more rows at the bottom) are blank. In our tests, a blank new row did not start a paid column or an AI column. They ran after a value was typed in the column they read.
Cells that are already queued keep running when you switch Auto-run off. That includes Wait cells that are already counting down. To stop them, see Stop a run that is going.